dhl messing up my shot

paris on fire

Nuit Blanche 2009. James just arrived and we went out to check out some of the exhibitions that are scattered outdoors around Paris for the night. We were confronted by an unusually large crowd on the northern tip of Ile Saint-Louis. I thought it was for some exhibition but it turned out to be an apartment fire. Ile Saint-Louis is the smaller of the two islands on the Seine in the middle of Paris. It's more residential than the other Ile de La Cité. Needless to say, a fire like this is quite scary given how tightly the buildings are laid out. We came back around 15 minutes later and the firemen had already put it out. Hopefully no one was hurt.

bugatti veyron

Apologies to those of you who aren't interested in cars. I spotted this during a walk in the 16th. This is one of those crazy super cars - it costs about $1.5 million. It's more exotic than most Ferrari's or Lamborghini's. It boasts 1000 horsepower from an 8L, 16 cylinder engine in a W configuration (W16). I think it's a Volkswagen design (VW owns Bugatti). It's got 4 turbochargers, is mid-engine, and has 4 wheel drive. Full throttle will bring the car over 250 mph, and James May said on Top Gear that "the tires will only last for about fifteen minutes, but it's okay because the fuel runs out in twelve minutes". Read more about it on the wikipedia entry.

place des vosges

The light is getting really nice here. The last time I posted a photo from here was in March (the actual photo was taken in January) when I was notified that my file had been sent to the consulate and that I'd get my visa shortly. On Monday I finally picked up my residency card.

I started a series of photos on La Promenade Plantée. I started the post and then realized while reading more about it that it continued quite a bit further than I thought. So I put the post on hold until I could photograph the other section. After having done that, I want to redo many of the original shots in better light. I've put that series on hold for now. You'll see it eventually but for now I'll just try to focus on posting more frequently.

trocadéro

Was by Trocadéro and discovered these inline skaters doing jumps off of a makeshift ramp. I expected someone to stop them at some point but several police came and went without any drama. They gathered a decent crowd as the raised the "bar" and tried for higher and higher jumps.

cognac

A couple of weeks ago, my parents came to visit. I have a cousin in Cognac, and we paid her a visit. Her husband works for Martell, so we took a tour of the grounds:





The smell of the cognac was strong in most of the rooms. We learned that the cognac we drink is a blend from different barrels and ages. Mainly Ugni Blanc grapes, a white grape, are used, one of the three that are required by French law to be called "Cognac". French law also says that it must be aged at least two years in oak barrels.

What is also interesting is that there's a certain type of bacteria that thrives on something that is given off in the manufacturing process, and this affects the town. My cousin told me that when they moved into their house, they power-washed the outer walls to reveal the light-yellow stone from under the dark colored bacteria.



River Charente.



Hennessey castle thing - I guess they make cognac there too :-p.



An abandoned abbey.

tour de france 2009

Waiting on the steps of la bibliothèque nationale...



I have no idea who's who...




Click through any of the photos to view the gallery with a couple more of the same type of photos.

a dreaded sunny day

I went to Père Lachaise recently. I picked up a map at the entrance that has all the famous people marked. It's not hard to find the bigger names, since there's likely to be people already at the grave or a fairly elaborate set of flowers. (or in Wilde's case, lipstick). I did have trouble finding some of the lesser known graves, since the markings on the map aren't so precise.

Here are some of the interesting things I found:







The crematorium:



There are a number of commemorating stones for Nazi victims:





I left out from this post all the famous graves - hopefully you'll want to see them in person. If you really want to see the photos you can click through any of the photos here and browse along. The official Père Lachaise website actually has a great virtual tour too.

parc de belleville

I tried to go to Père Lachaise yesterday but ended up arriving at closing time. So I headed up to parc de Belleville instead. Edward told me that he preferred this view of Paris to the one at Sacre Coeur and I think I agree with him.

fête de la musique

Music:




Flames:




Beer:



Not in any particular order. I hear they're trying to do this in New York now. There are a bunch of acts on the streets playing all different kinds of music. There are performances in restaurants and bars as well, who usually have their doors and windows wide open so you can enjoy the music from the street. Everyone's out on the street listening, sometimes dancing, drinking etc... It can get overwhelming in the crowded areas - the 5th was particularly difficult.




(This was actually a few weeks ago on the summer solstice - I just never had a chance to post).

notre-dame

Went for a walk this morning...

stuff

Sorry, no beautiful pictures of Paris. Instead, here's a bunch of stuff I recently acquired.


I'm still very excited about my apartment. There's alot that needs to be done of course, but the more time I spend in it, the more I like it. Today, I managed to lock myself out of the apartment (already). I had to go to the real estate agent (very nice lady) to help me contact the owner of the apartment (also very nice). I went into the 13th to get the extra key. It was fairly painless but it was just sort of annoying.



It's sort of boring to sit around an empty apartment and since music is very important to me, speakers were a priority. I still prefer my old speakers I had in New York, but these Altec Lansings aren't bad. And they come with a remote which my old Klipsch's lacked. Funny French word of the day: "speaker" in French is "enceinte", the adjective used to describe a pregnant woman. I actually remember being taught this but it was funny seeing it on a big sign at the computer store.


Again, I got pretty bored with nothing to do. I'd been trying to get a guitar for the past week but the only store near me has been closed with no explanation whatsoever (bienvenue en France!). In the 9th, there's a cluster of guitar stores where I picked up this Lag. I'd never heard of the brand but I loved the sound once I played this model. I sometimes think I should've gotten the smaller version as this one is quite loud, but I like it anyway.


And finally, I got my internet ! (Hence the update.)

updates

I thought I should give a more detailed rundown of events since I arrived. I came in Friday morning a little later than expected - around 10am. Edward accompanied me to the bank where we found out that my checkbook was never ordered (I knew that I'd need to write checks for my 3:30 appointment to sign the lease for my apt). Instead I had to issue bank checks that would cost me 13€ each. Of course there ended up being 4 separate checks to be made... We later found out when we actually ordered the checks that each had to be hand written by the clerk, with some information having to be then entered into the computer. A long process for 4 checks - we created a queue of irritated French people behind us.

I signed the lease without too many problems. Unfortunately, when I returned to the apt the next day, I found that the code that they gave me didn't work. Only today were we able to catch a couple going into the building to get the real code (the one I had was missing a number).

I was able to order a mattress yesterday and I was told that it would take 2 weeks to deliver. I decided to buy an air mattress to hold me over, but we found that Edward's friend already had one I could use for a few weeks.

So I really like my apartment. I was originally concerned about not getting enough sunlight, but from yesterday's post, you can see that a fair bit gets into the apt. The building across from me is rather low, so that helps. One of the bad sides of the apt is that there's really no closet space. I need to buy wardrobes and storage pieces. The kitchen still needs to be equipped with and oven, fridge and possibly washing machine. The spaces for the fridge and washing machine are rather small however, so that narrows down my choices.

I'm still staying with Edward at the moment, only having acquired the airbed today. Tomorrow I think I can start moving things over to my place. I was supposed to start working tomorrow but it turns out to be a French holiday (Pentecost). Figures that my first day working in France is a holiday :-).

The weather has been pretty great. Mostly sunny with passing cloud systems. I felt a couple of drops of rain today but the sun soon came back out. The photo above is just a random photo I took today on Rue Saint-Ambroise in the 11th. You can see the church Saint-Ambroise at the end of the street.

salut le monde

So it's been over a month since the last post. As you all know I've been super busy and haven't had the time to keep this updated. I'm happy to inform all of you that I've made it to Paris and have signed the lease to my new apartment.





The flight was pretty awful. We waited on the tarmac for about an hour before takeoff, and then I was stuck with a screaming child two rows ahead. Luckily I had good in ear monitors (fancy term for headphones).

I'll still be super busy for quite some time but I'll do my best to keep this updated with my goings on. Up next I need to get my name on the electricity and gas bills, get a mattress and a fridge.

i got the visa

jackson heights

I know I've been slacking... Move preparations have started :-).

colors in mexico

golden gate in the wind

From last year.

vélib

These bikes are a part of the Paris "rent-a-bike" scheme (vélib). Unfortunately, they seem to be having a hard time financially and they might have to shut it down. Read about it here.

On a happier note, my appointment to pick up my visa is next Wednesday !

slides

I guess I like these types of slides... Three years went by between these photos. The first was taken in winter 2005, in Inwood, Manhattan, when I just started taking photos. The second is from winter 2008, in Long Island City, Queens.