Joyeux

One of my favorite Paris hangouts, spruced up for the holidays.

Café de Flore
172 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75006

To my devoted visitors, blog stalkers and drop-ins:
I will be returning after the holidays.

 

***

 

Here's wishing every one of you a very Merry and Happy everything, and an effervescent New Year.

See you in January - BPJ

Back in time

Early morning and Place du Tertre is eerily transformed into the village square it once was before tourists and souvenir shops took over.

Above: twinkling Christmas lights left on all night;
main street just off the square minus crowds and postcard stands

The singer

Man plays guitar to backdrop of a Christmas market on Place des Abbesses.

Nativity ball

Nativity scene inside a giant inflated ball in front of l'Église Saint-Pierre in Montmartre.

Montmartre dawn

Sunrise over the city on a brisk December morning. 

 

 

Not just men

At a busy café on rue de Rennes a waitress sports the white tablier and black vest traditionally worn by Parisian waiters.

Behind doors

Double doors of what appears to be an ordinary apartment building conceal a long passageway.

Bread basket

Fresh baguettes, as much a symbol of Paris as the Eiffel Tower.

Blur of lights

Frenzy of traffic and shoppers on the grands boulevards as stores stay open later for the holidays.

Boulevard Haussmann

- Printemps -

- Galeries Lafayette -

Froth art

A café crème gets la touche finale by a talented barista.

***
Café Craft
Holybelly
Le Peloton Café
Fragments
Café Cuillier
Matamata....

 In January newsletter: My pick of Paris' best coffee shops.
Plus: tucked away on Plaza de los Mártires in Malaga, Spain, Mia Coffee Shop packs a punch
[3 hours (or less) from Paris: Pueblos Blancos, Andalucia]

Touch of red

A splash of Christmas on a terrace atop the Pompidou Center.

Royal entry

 

Entrance into Palais du Louvre's pyramid courtyard from rue de Rivoli.

All thumb

An enormous bronze thumb by French artist César Baldaccini in front of the Centre Pompidou.

"The mandrill indicates with thumb

Auroraborealic bum!"

Michael Alexander, British author, explorer, poet

(of the infamous "Prominente" at Colditz Castle WWII)

R.I.P.

***

"César: La Rétrospective"

 

 Ends March 26, 2018

Centre Georges Pompidou

Place Georges-Pompidou 75004

In flight

Pigeons and seagulls take flight at the Porte Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement.

Bear windows

This year's Ralph Lauren holiday window display.

Ralph Lauren
173 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75006

Marron Man

 

Freshly roasted chestnuts heat up a cold December evening.

Lamb dressed as sheep

Printed on window, "Also available for humans."

Diesel

1 rue du Four 75006

Girl time

Time to sip into something comfortable.

Bistrot Vivienne
4 rue des Petits Champs 75002

Her too

Bronze bust of French pop icon singer entertainer Dalida on the Montmartre square named after her.

Henri on horseback

Statue of Henri IV on the Pont Neuf as seen from the Square du Vert-Galant.

***

In this month's newsletter
Nouveautés

Deck the halls

Christmas trees sparkle as an almost-full moon peeks over clouds at the town hall of the 18th arrondissement.

Warming up

With the holidays closing in, chocolat chaud, hot spiced wine and tea stalls are popping up on squares such as this one at l'Église Saint-Pierre. 

Metropolitan man

"Jules" was missed when this ad at a métro station entrance was finally removed.

Gyoza gyoza

Gyoza addicts head here to inhale a dozen at a time.

Gyoza Bar

56 Passage des Panoramas

11 Boulevard Montmartre 75002

Inside art

Boutique shopping in Paris as an art experience.

Isabel Marant

1 rue Jacob 75006

Also at:

469 Broome Street Soho 

New York 10013

Coffee and caramel

Craft coffee houses like this Left Bank brûlerie often excel in unique pastries.

Above: raspberries and cream, caramel-filled pastry cups topped with toasted hazelnuts, dark chocolate tartelettes

Malongo Atelier Barista

50 rue Saint-André des Arts 75006

Watch tower

The Eiffel Tower keeping watch over its city.

Going gothic

- Thanksgiving present: much to be thankful for -

Thanksgivings past: more photos in December newsletter

Wild turkey

Fall means hunting season and game - hare, pheasant, quail, duck, turkey - in butcher shops all over the city.

Balloon art

Small faces transformed into a bouquet of balloons on a Montmartre wall.

Elephant and dancer

Sculpture of an elephant and behind it, an image from upcoming Tribute to Edgar Degas at the Musée d'Orsay.

November 28, 2017 - February 25, 2018

Orsay Museum

***

- Danseuse Assise by Edgar Degas -

 

 

***

 

Dorothy : Supposing you met an elephant?

Lion : I'd wrap him up in cellophant! - The Wizard of Oz

Bride on a bridge

A photographer readies the bride before posing the couple.

Fall silence

Autumn colors behind Notre Dame Cathedral.

Below: a gazebo, alive with music and laughter in summer, sits silent except for the sound of falling leaves.

Matzele'h

These large crackly Israeli flatbreads (red onion, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt toppings) perfect for hummus and dips are quite different from their Eastern European cousins.

Florence Kahn
24 rue des Écouffes 75004

Through the grid

Looking out onto a small pyramid from under the Louvre's great Pyramide.

Lobster tales

Long conversations over a long lunch at a fashionista hub where lobster is on the lunch menu every day.

L'Avenue
41 avenue Montaigne 75008

***

Our shared starters:

- grilled eggplant with burrata and fresh herbs

- ginger citrus tuna tartare

- fresh green beans with raspberries and mint dressing

Muchos chicos

A poster on a metro station wall advertises a wonderfully picante dance revue.
More photos December newsletter

Tutu: Chicos Mambo
Ends January 14, 2018

Théâtre Bobino
20 rue de la Gaîté 75014