Protests Against Hosni Mubarak, Paris

The chants were decisively personal - against Hosni Mubarak and his autocratic style of government. In the vicinity of the Egyptian Embassy in Paris, calls for him to step down were communicated clearly and left little room for doubt as to what protestors were calling for: - a change at the head of Egypt's government:

Here are a few images taken from my mobile phone, not all of them are quite clear - but they give a sense of the very broad support that Egyptians at home enjoy among their compatriots in Paris and several other supporters of their cause.

Chants in Arabic, mostly speaking directly against Hosni Mubarak...


More angst at the Egyptian Embassy, Paris...



Random Images of the Protest...

Fashion Week!

...in a world far away from exams, term papers, research reports - it is Paris Fashion Week! And, not one to disappoint, one designer that I have always been curious about - John Galliano did not disappoint - he unveiled one of the weirdly wnderful creations he is famous for, this year in the form of a wandering vagabond. I remember looking at some of his work at a very young age trying to figure out how his creative processes lead to such eccentric outcomes. This year only served to increase my curiosity abour Gallliano ...click here.

last glimpses of Monet

Saint-Christophe

Église Saint-Christophe de Créteil from George on Vimeo.

Sainte-Christophe, an intimate, beautiful church built in the 12th and 13th Centuries. One of the oldest pieces of architecture in the region around Paris...loved it!:-)

"Fave" Classic books on Paris

One of the advantages of traveling is catching up on reading - and especially on subjects you love but don;t get round to do so while in the 'rat race". So, I took the time away to read old books on Paris and these were my favourite classic titles:

Thomas Okey - The Story of Paris: insightful book set in early 20th Century Paris.



Paris: with Pen and Pencil, David W Bartlett: amazing depiction of a very old ("when Louis Napoleon was president of the Republic" and when Napolen III was emperor of France), by a Londoner. Fantastic sketches of the city!



The Paris Sketch book by William Makepeace Thackeray - another fantastic collection of sketches and an interesting insight into 19th Century Europe and France. Loved this!




This one was not quite exactly and solely about Paris, per se but inextricably linked to the city: Matilda Betham-Edwards' "East of Paris"




And the reading list for coming weeks will include:
"Paris as it was and as it is" by Francis W Blangdon
"A street in PAris and its inhabitant" by Honore de Balzac
"The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris" by Emile Zola

A warm welcome back to Paris - Chez Gladines Restaurant

After an absence from Paris, and getting to take in some sun in a much warmer part of the world, it's good to be back in Paris. And what better way to return to PAris' wintry climate than a hearty, warm meal at really good prices? Chez Gladines a t30 Rue des Cinq Diamants in the 13th arrondissement. The place is always well patronized - code for "it is always packed - so be prepared to wait if you go out in a large group". The prices are arguably the lowest you will find anywhere - and all transactions here are strictly cash (no bank cards accepted). Indeed, at the amounts that they charge for meals, large wads of cash are not necessary.

Bearing all of these factors in mind, I went out for a 26 euro dinner for two people, including wine - which was the most filling, heart and body warming meal I've had in a while. And a fantastic, down-to-earth way to return to the city!

Catching up on the Classics: Books on Paris (1)

This week my university studies have taken me far from Paris - all the way to West Africa.

And while the programme is demanding and the schedule is a bit tight - we had a respectably long flight here and have honorable slots of personal time - so what better to do than (of course apart from skype-ing family) read books that I've always wanted to read.

Of late I've had an itch to read 'classic books' - well, it's not quite an involuntary impulse to read old books but rather than that I finally gained access to Amazon.com's list of classic books published before 1923 that are now free of copyright and can be dowlnaded onto a kindle or ipad for free.

Naturally, I went wild on amazon and downloaded every classic that I've always wanted to read and never quite got round to getting hold off.

Among them is a stash of classics on Paris that I've been asolutely unable to stop reading - and a favourite thus far has been Thomas Okey's "The Story of Paris". Writtein the early 20th Century, the book is a fascinating insight into an old Paris that does not exist in the same state as it was a hundred years ago - it paints a picture of a city that emodies all of the historical positive and negative stereotypes that many of us would hold of the city> My personal favourite of his stereotypes is really that of being a s city of light in the sense of intellectual enlightenement. And here he writes one of hundreds of statements that prove just how deeply smitten with love for Paris Okey really was. He write how "There is something in the crisp, luiminous air of Paris that quickens the intelligence and stimulates the senses." If that isn't a love struck Paris-o-holic then I am not sure what is and even more, whether this luminous, wit quickening air is still as potent as it was a hundred years ago, is open to debate!

What I know is that this book, free on amazon if you own a kindle or an e-reader supported by Amazon is a great time travel experience back to an old version of that beautiful dame, Paris.

iPad + Apple Store,Opera Garnier = Customer Satisfaction

The Apple Store at Opera Garnier has to have some of the best service you will find anywhere in Paris. Well, in my limited experience. My views may not be representative of every customer that has ever sought the services of the Apple store here. Nonetheless, today I finally got round to purchasing an IPad - which is very well worth the investment I must add!

And, similar to a previous time that I had to go into the Apple store with a problem with my notebook - the staff went an extra 10 miles to be helpful, the service was impeccably fantastic and well, the product that you walk out with only compounds the joys of being loyal to Apple as I am :-)

Not only did I walk out of the store with a very handy tablet for my studies - the experience of buying the iPad was second to none.

Yes, the store looks busy at first glance but the service personnel is forthcoming, helpful and courteous. As the year kicks off, it's great to have a piece of Apple hardware, if only to enjoy the great service and experience at Apple's store around the Opera Garnier.

Eiffel Tower Sunset Video @ World's Greatest Attractions

Visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France at Sunset

"BoBo" Batignolles: A new favourite Parisian neighbourhood

"Batignolles" is a lively, energetic neighbourhood of Paris that this blogger is increasingly fond of as a place to go out for dinner, Sunday afternoon expeditions and the like.

In the past, the neighbourhood ( a formerly separate village, annexed uder Napoleon III in the 19th century. Batignolles was also home to some of France's famous impressionist painters includng Edouard Manet, whose depiction of the Batignolles is shown above.

The neighbourhood is increasingly associated with stylish 'BoBo' Parisians - those with both tendenices toward being Bohemian and Bourgeois.

Below I've included a few images of the church of Sainte-Marie des Batignolles at the core of the neighbourhood:

Sainte-Marie des Batignolles from George on Vimeo.

Hemingway's 1920s Paris!

Prior to coming to Paris, one of the books that I was most eager to get my hands on was Hemingway's " a moveable feast" - I had even thought of naming the blog " A moveable Feast" before I was lovingly told that the reference would be difficult to understand and meaningless. Not that Anon's Paris makes significantly more sense - but I digress. "A moveable feast' was one of those memoirs of a young person who lived in Paris for a while, fell in love with the place - so much that it ended up making a lasting impression upon his (Hemingway's) life. I imagined (rather presumptuously putting myself in the same league of Ernest Hemingway!) that I would definitely relate to author's memoirs of living in this city.

So, I was very pleasantly surprised to pick up a new edition of "A moveable feast' that incorporates parts of the manuscript initially edited out, while modifying some of the remaining sections.

Thus far, Hemingway's writing and description of an old Paris are captivating and vivid. As a case in point - walking on place St Michel will never be quite the same experience after reading Hemingway's description of a Paris that at once sounds extremely different from the one emerging at the dawn of the second century of the 21st century - while sounding largely familiar. Where Hemingway saw cafes, "boulangeries", bars - one can pretty much see the same today. Yet, his description of the decor, conditions and 'ambience' of 1920s bars sounds radically different from the contemporary age of well designed flushed toilets, electric air conditioning and anti-smoking regulations.

The book, so far, wins at powerfully painting images of a familiar but distant place, while presenting Hemingway's lucidly written memories of living in Paris during the 1920s.

(Glad to finally have a copy - picked up at Shakespeare and Company.)

Jean Jacques Henner Museum

Jean Jacques Henner Museum from George on Vimeo.

These are images from the Jean Jacques Henner Museum, possibly my favourite so far. It's a tribute to one of the city's greatest artists - who was respected as such at the beginning of the 20th century. It is clear why he built up such a reputation after a visit to his old residence that is way off the beaten tourist path. Jean Jacques Henner's skill with the paint brush is remarkably displayed in this multi-storeyed, recently restored tribute to a astonishingly talented artist.

La Conciergerie

La Conciergerie, Paris from George on Vimeo.

These are images from the "conciegerie" , the (in) famous site where Marie Antoinette and several other French faced the "Revolutionary Tribunal" - and their tragic fates where decided. In more recent times, it has become the set of many period pieces and movies. These aspects combined make a visit to the museum a glum depressing reminder of the now ennobled savagery of the Revolutionary tribunal - and evidence of how far France has moved from its past and continues to create a new image of itself and its future.

Free Entrance to Paris Museums - First Sunday of the Month

Found this useful list of places that grant free entrance today, given that it is the first Sunday of the month!

i.Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine - Cité Chaillot - Place du Trocadéro (Paris 16e)
ii.Cité nationale de l'histoire et de l'immigration - Palais de la Porte Dorée (Billet jumelé Aquarium + Cité Nationale) (Paris 12e)
iii.Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Paris 3e)
iv. Musée de l'Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris - Musée AP-HP (Paris 5e)
v. Musée d'Orsay (Paris 7e)
vi. Musée du Louvre (Paris 1er)
vii. Musée du Quai Branly (Paris 7e)
viii. Musée Gustave Moreau (Paris 9e)
ix. Musée national d'art moderne - Centre Pompidou (Accès panorama gratuit le 1er dimanche du mois) (Paris 4e)
x. Musée national de l'Orangerie (Paris 1er)
xi. Musée national des Arts asiatiques - Panthéon bouddhique gratuit (Paris 16e)
xii.Musée national du Moyen Âge (Paris 5e)
xiii. Musée national Ernest Hébert (fermé pour travaux) (Paris 6e)
xiv. Musée national Eugène Delacroix (Paris 6e)
xv. Musée national Jean-Jacques Henner (Paris 17e)
xvi.Musée Picasso (fermé jusqu'en 2012) (Paris 3e)
xvii. Musée Rodin (Paris 7e)

Holiday Cinematic Expedition: Harry Potter, JK Rowling interview

Finally got round to watching "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (Pt 1). Great cinematic experience, as a matter of course!

Interesting to know is that JK Rowling is a former Parisienne - well, she spent a year here as a student reading toward a French and Classics degree.

In late 2010, the former Parisienne- for- a-year sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a conversation on Harry Potter and other things. click here

Eiffel Tower - In the wee hours of 2011

After the clock struck twelve, firework displays over -half of the Eiffel Tower was under a very unique cloud of smoke. Above are some images of the Eiffel Tower in the very first moments of 2011: