Do you enjoy movies? On this day in 1895, the brothers Lumière held the first screening of a motion picture where admission was charged, at Paris's Salon Indien du Grand Café.
Sure their 1st film was a bit simple, running only 45 seconds and showing people leaving their own factory... but in 1895, a moving picture was simply amazing.
The brothers Lumière were no slouches because they patented amongst other things, sprocket holes so the film could be run through the camera at a constant rate and speed.
They made 10 known films and declared at one point “the cinema is an invention without any future” . If only George Lucas could sit down and enjoy their company now.
There was a little road work being done with the usual fence around it and a nearby store took the opportunity to put their Xmas trees inside, creating Xmas trees in bondage.
Shoppers aren't too crazy this year. Just today I bought the cheese for Xmas eve dinner at a mid-sized shop (a reasonable 33 €uros for what I bought) .
They had no less than 4 clerks working and 1 guy at the register, with a line out the door.
It was like human bumper cars! But nobody raised their voice or was impatient. In fact the little girl who was maybe 8 years old in front of me at the register grabbed a small roll and started eating it and the clerk just told her it was a small gift.
Of course Monoprix was a different story. Fairly long lines and when you got close to the register the clerk would magically disappear to search for some paperwork.
You might pay a bit more in small shop but if the staff are helpful and efficient, then it's well worth it. And the quality, well you can't beat it.
December has been so nice it only feels like autumn. But it's brought some amazing color and clear light to the city.
There's no freezing temps just yet, so you can still put on your hat and coat to take a pleasant stroll in the Tuilieries.
I couldn't believe my eyes but walking down a quiet street on my way to do a little shopping I saw a parked, AMC Pacer.
Tough enough to see in the US, I was floored to see one in perfect condition, just parked casually in a side street.
It was a great flashback to Wayne's World and their "mirth mobile".
I looked for it the next day to take a photo but sadly it was gone, gracing another curb someplace.
The Funiculaire that takes you up to Sacré Coeur was undergoing tests and failed because one carriage rammed into the base of the transit stop.
In my photo, the top of the car is supposed to align with the long gray parts to the left and right of it. But it ran away during testing and crashed.
In the front, it rammed into a glass wall with such force that it even made a protrusion in the safety glass. The glass on the right side was also completely cracked by the impact.
But since it was a test the car was empty and nobody was hurt.
So if you're planning on visiting Sacré Coeur soon, plan on walking the 225 steps to reach it.
Find a great hotel location: Try the search engine above to find things in any price range, 13 different languages and your own currency.
The most important thing to look for is a location so you can avoid demonstrations in the streets and strikes.
The usual route for demonstrations both large and small is from Bastille to place de la République.
Many visitors love the 7éme Arrondissement but that's also the location of many Ministries.
Only 500 people could show up to protest and march to a Ministry, which could make getting to your hotel a tad more interesting than you'd planned on.
With the search engine you can see maps of where your hotel is located and avoid any trouble spots.
Not only was Paris Photo, the international gathering of galleries and publishers an amazing event but I got the inside scoop on Helmut Newton's book SUMO right from the director of corp. communications for TASCHAN.
Out of 10K signed and numbered copies, there are only 54 left in the entire world.
When first offered for sale it was $1,500 but now they are $6,500 or 5000 €uros .
At 20 x 27.5 inches, 66 lbs with a stand designed by Phillipe Starck, it's a safe investment. Click the image to read a few reviews and see some images.
I took a seat on the Metro heading South. Then a young man who was about 27-31 years old sitting next to me asked me for directions because he had no idea which Metro stop to get off for the Institut Pasteur.
I was on my way to photograph the Tuileries gardens and whipped out my Paris Pratique, the one thing no Parisian lives without.
He had a printout and I asked him if knew the street address: " No "
I asked him if knew which arrondissement it was in: " No "
After he used my Paris Pratique and found exactly which Metro stop he should get out at he gave it back me with his insightful comment
" It's not very practical, I use the Michelin map ".
So I had to ask him where his Michelin map was. He said he left it at home.
Evidently he has a good map but was stupid enough to leave at home.
The only thing I could do was to tell him that if he left at home then it wasn't so practical after all.
He really was a king size jerk who only reinforced decades of myths about how arrogant the French are.
I can only hope was visiting the Institut for a mental evaluation because he really didn't have a clue as to how rude and condescending he was.
November brings the Mois de la Photo back, with some amazing shows all throughout the city.
At the Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson you can see his scrapbooks of his own personal images made over the years.
At the Site Richelieu of the Bibliothèque nationale you can take in prints from Boubat, Brassaï, Doisneau and Willy Ronis.
The Jeu de Paume has 2 locations with Lee Friedlander at Concorde and Joel Meyerowitz at site Sully.
One of the best clearing houses for everything that's going on (and the list is huge), is the Maison Européeanne de la Photographie. Don't miss the shows inside MEP either.
Will there be riots and burning of cars in Paris tonight because of the first anniversary of what happened last fall?
The Paris tourist office doesn't want to scare anybody so they certainly don't want to talk about it.
The quick answer is, if you're staying or visiting Paris you'll probably be very safe.
Last year when under 30 cars in Paris were burned, the Government brought in 2000 extra riot police (CRS) and shut down one RER commuter rail line the next evening to help avoid people coming in from the suburbs to torch cars in Paris itself.
As it turns out this year, the government added 4K extra police throughout the suburbs and four buses were burned.
In Marseille a young woman did suffer burns over about 60% of her body, so on Monday the government held a high level meeting to address public safety.
Compared to last year, things were pretty calm and especially so in Paris itself.
So the question of " Is it safe in Paris? " can be answered with a resounding Yes!
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