Petits Plaisirs

La vie quotidienne à La Napoule

Pictures from an (almost) abandoned town

A lack of pleasure

I'm back from my hiatus. Moving back to Copenhagen hasn't been all the easy for me and with the disparation of my digital camera adapter I haven't been able to eternalize my little everyday pleasures either. A new one should arrive any day now, though and I can't wait to snap the nice spaces in Copenhagen (yes, they do exist). I was going through old pictures from Paris and this is from my last night in Paris, which I spent with my loved one on the back of his red Vespa.

I was driving past Rundetårn on my bike yesterday. It's probably the closest we come to having an equivalent to la Tour d'Eiffel. You see, the famous tower of Copenhagen kind of lacks that extra.. Sparkle.

Photo credit for the picture of Rundetårn: Flickr.com

I ♥ stuffed animals

I bet that some people who are working in the touristy latin quarter of St. Michel (the less touristy is the one you will find just south of - Rue Mouffetard is the center of it.) are wearing t-shirts with print like that. A strange trend, don't you agree? These dead things surely don't enhance my desire to eat cheap 10euro menus.

These pictures are all I got before strange stares started to come my direction. But believe me, there are several safari restaurants in this area. The only reason one should go to St. Michel - if you're a gourmet like me I highly doubt the food in the picture just above will make your mouth water at least.

Rue de la Huchette, 5th arrondissement, Metro: St. Michel

In ze ZOO

Or well. Not quite. The zoological garden of Paris you will find as a part of the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern side of Paris, just outside le périphérique. There I never quite made it to, however it seems a giraffe escaped from there. In a boat. With some of its human friends. At least that's theory #1.

Theory #2: polterabend?

City of Pretty

I'm orginally from Copenhagen - a city that I love from the buttom of my heart - but what I absolutely adore about Paris but I'm aware that the Danish capital lacks, is the great diversity. Therefore I love to spend my off-days discovering the different ethnic areas of Paris. Today I went to the 2nd largest China Town in Paris (the largest you will find in the area between Place d'Italie and Porte d'Ivry in the 13th) to enjoy the busy Saturday atmosphere. Belleville is the place to go to if you need a lacquered duck with its head still attached, a 7euro haircut - or if you, like me, love Asian supermarkets.

For your information, this is what 15.05euros will buy you.

(Mango and lychee juice, oyster and sweet and sour sauce, sunflower seeds, crackers, all sorts of chocolate biscuit thingys, the best caramels in the world - the ones with the rabbit on - and last but not least, marshmallows but in small, pastelcolored cones - too peculiar to not at least try them. Besides, they're very decorative.)

Bonjour Supermarché, 16 rue de Belleville in the 20th arrondissement, Métro: Belleville.

Shopping malls of yesterday

Once busy shopping malls, but today les passage couverts - which by the way trace all the way back to the 19th century - are much more quiet; probably because of their discrete facades and unflashy stores these places are never crowded. Perfect spots to use a rainy afternoon, they are located pretty much like pearls on a string in the area of les Grands Boulevards. Here you will find shops which offer you everything from modern art to huge collections of old postcards, here and there a fancy fashion store and more than a handful of good restos. And even if you are looking for neither of that, the beauty of les galeries themselves are worth going for.

Galérie Véro-Dodat, 19 rue Jean-Jaques Rousseau, 1st arrondissement:

Galérie Vivienne, 6 rue Vivienne, 2nd arrondissement:

Ça vient de la rue!

Sorry already. Never again shall I quote such bad, bad, BAD music. Shame on me.

Anyways, good things do come from the streets. In Paris the street art is partout and today when I took a stroll through the quarter of Butte-aux-Cailles just behind the Place d'Italie, I found these beautiful examples thereof which I wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

Garden of Secret

That Paris is loaded with beautiful parks I guess is no secret to anyone. Les Tuileries, Le Jardin Luxembourg, Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes.. You know them all already. But La Promenade Plantée, does that ring a bell? No? I figured.

That is probably because it's actually possible to cross or pass this beautiful promenade without ever knowing it's there. What makes this parc so very special - actually one-of-a-kind in this world - is that the first 4.5km, which stretch from Bastille out towards Bois de Vincennes, are elevated. From the busy street below all you see is what you might mistake for a city wall (that's what I did for months) but once you find your way up, you will find a stunning garden environment with beautiful flowers and exotic plants. The perfect place to bring your lunch or go for a lazy Sunday stroll. So now the secret is out, what are you waiting for?

During the summer La Promenade Plantée is open daily from 8am-9:30pm, Acces it from l'Avenue Daumesnil, Metro: Bastille.