Magical moments in Paris

Motivation has been difficult to come by lately which means - for the first time in ten years - I have been lazy in feeding my blog. Inspiration is lacking albeit living in a worldly city such as Paris. For nearly a decade I  have been spoilt picking up the Parisian vibes as they come and taking advantage of all that the city of lights has to offer.

Eclectic as I am, rarely do I miss the occasion to adventure out to experience something new. My palate has been blessed with wonderful emotions and memorable stories: theatre class, cooking course, chocolate workshop, wine tasting, photography lessons, essay writing group, samba dancing, literary evenings, musical performances, classical concerts, jazz sessions, ballet premières, behind-the-scene opera insights, warehouse light shows, city tours, historical visits, UNESCO gatherings, Grand Palais openings, charity events, cultural encounters, ambassador's' receptions, consular lunch invitations, business networking hubs, peaceful manifestations, fashion shows, foodie gatherings, garden parties, heritage days, National Christmas bazaars, Foundation vernissages, Europe's largest flea market, the flavours and colours of the fresh produce "marchés" and I am forgetting many more.

However, the most memorable moments remain the magical terraces views: from the roof top yoga class looking onto the Eiffel Tower, to a farewell picnic on top of the Arc de Triomphe. A clandestine champagne brunch on the Eiffel tower's second floor springs to mind as does the unforgettable grand opening of the Peninsula Palace or the well-deserved pink champagne glass in the rose garden on top of Hotel Raffael. The first visit to the Louis Vuitton foundation and its many level terrasses was breathtaking as is the view of the St.Jacques tower in the city center. The ice rink on top was the Eiffel Tower was another fun moment.

So, the lights have gone out for a while but I am ready to jump into action and start "flaneusing" around town as soon as the portals open up again... and it looks like it will happen soon... slowly but surely. Stay tuned!

Tour de St.Jacques

Centre Pompidou

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

Tour de St.Jacques

Arc de Triomphe

Tour Eiffel

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Peninsula Hotel terrace

Eiffel Tower

UNESCO building

Maison Blanche roof top yoga session

Galeries Lafayette roof top ice rink

Motivation zero!

Never in the past ten years have I ever lacked inspiration to write and share my adventures on my blog. However, these past three months have been tough. Sitting down in front of my screen to fill an empty blog page was way down on my priority list. Finding the motivation is challenging. I do not blame the pandemic nor the bad weather, rather the general daily routine that has become monotonous.

Paris has been essentially closed down since October 2020. No cultural activities, no sports events, no concerts, no meals out, no meeting friends. Museums, cinema, bars, restaurants, gyms, all closed until further notice.  

I have avoided public transport all together and riding the bike in winter is no fun which translates into the same daily route just to get a minimum of exercise. My bonus is a jog under the Eiffel Tower, down the Champs de Mars and back up past Trocadero a couple of times a week. When I feel particularly energetic a run through the Bois de Boulogne does the trick.

With nowhere to go the daily highlight has become the grocery shopping possibly during a time with the least people around to respect social distancing.

So, with all that Paris has to offer and none of it available, I might as well move to the country side! At least, I would get to enjoy the exceptional snowfalls...

Happy New Year 2021

My photos - My Paris

I am no professional photographer, useless at manual mode and own a pink camera. Over the past ten years my canvas has been colourful and my inspiration the Eiffel Tower. Every year I print some of my pictures to sell at the school Holiday Bazaar to raise money for charity. This year the holiday season will be different in many ways and charities need all the help they can get... so here I am - sitting in confinement in Paris - choosing my favourite shots to prepare my greeting cards à la Parisienne!

Where has everyone gone?

Paris feels subdued. Although nobody really wants to admit it, this city might actually start missing its tourists. 

Whenever did we have Fashion week and Roland Garros the same week and both virtually went unnoticed! These events are huge happenings for France's capital and even if you don't care about fashion or know how to play tennis you can't help noticing the extra excitement in the air as the city's social scene along with the traffic step up into 5th gear.

Unlike New York and London’s city centres, Paris’s heart continues to beat in every quartier, Covid or not, and whether people work from home or not. This city is made of a mosaic of buoyant villages. The risk of Paris becoming deserted is nil.

Nevertheless, this melting pot with a meli-melo of cultures and races, does get an extra buzz of the sheer quantity of people running around all year long. Paris' tourist season has no real beginning and end to it, the locals have just learnt to absorb the masses and live with it.

The local residents - forever complaining how overrun their city is - never quite realized how much they had adapted to their visitors' pace. All of a sudden, we can start navigating in a lower gear and it seems unnatural!

Counting lovelocks in absence of tourists

Now that the confinement has been lifted and Paris is finally back in the green zone - who would have thought we'd ever make it into the green zone before summer break - it is a pleasure to stroll around Paris.

Tourists have not found their way back to the city of love yet. Orly airport is still closed and most airlines have grounded their planes, however, the local residents are doing a good job of filling the city.

Everyone is out and about either exercising, going for a walk, hanging out along the Seine, enjoying a coffee on the terrasse or queuing at the fresh produce market. 

Picnicking in one of the "bois" (the bigger parks) is high on everybody's priority list! It is easy to score one of the green metal chairs dotted around the fountains and under shady chestnut trees in the city parks. The Mayor has allowed cafés, restaurants and bars to annex more space on pavements and added pedestrian-only streets, giving the city a joyfully chaotic vibe.

Paris welcomes about 50 million visitors, making it the world’s top tourist destination, but for now only the lovelocks remain proof of their presence. So, don't tell everyone yet that Paris is back in business, let's enjoy this unusual opportunity of having the city to ourselves.

A colourful moment at the market

Today I ventured down to the local market curious to see how they coped with the government's Covid restrictions knowing that the Avenue President Wilson's market is the largest open-air market in Paris. Apparently this is where all the top three-star chefs come pick the best products.

As always, there were multiple stands with a wide array of prepared foods, cheese, produce, fish, meat, breads and pastries, olives, dried fruits and flowers as well as some less interesting clothing goods. 

What changed was the space left between each stand and the little amount of people. Usually this place is brimming with shoppers and you need to squeeze around the food trolleys and baskets. Today, however, there were few queues at select stands and lots of moving space to avoid close contact with others. All in all, it was a rather pleasant experience albeit the untypical circumstances.

What makes the farmers' market such a special place is that it creates a community around food. Just take a glimpse of some of the lovely stands that typify the President Wilson market:

Who can resist "produits italiens"?

A splash of my favourite colour

Sheets of see-thru plastic are wrapped around most stalls

 in order to protect produce

A tropical vibe

Ratatouille anyone?!?

Essential ingredients for a "Soupe à l'onion"

Loyal clientele

Home-made apple juice

Loving these colours

Fresh eggs, anyone?

My favourite fish mongrel

I'll take a kilo of that, please.

May is not a month for oysters as it does not have an "r"

Could not resist a shot of the fish packaging

Parisian bikes are called la petite reine

Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants to make Paris the world’s most bikeable city but we are a far cry from Amsterdam or Copenhagen. During France’s 46-day transit strike last year, however, many metro-goers switched to cycling, doubling the number of cyclists on the roads. Le vélo became known as la petite reine (the little Queen).

Then, Paris rolled out emergency bike lanes for the use of key workers during the lockdown. A total of 650 km of cycleway - including a number of "pop-up corona cycleways”- were readied when déconfinement began two weeks ago.

Bicycles were very popular in the French capital up until the 1940s. They were then gradually squeezed out by war and the boom in the auto industry. Bikes are now back in business with a 131% year-on-year rise in the number of cyclists. Car use in Paris is falling for the first time since the 1940s!

If Paris' mayor has her way, we will become the "Ville Du Quart D’Heure" (City of fifteen minutes) an ambitious plan promising that every street will have a cycle path, every bridge will have protected cycleways, and every resident can walk or cycle to get anything they need. Stay tuned...