On A Carousel

On A Carousel, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

If there's one thing we can thank Christmas for, it's colourful lights.

Here's a whirly twirly carousel to wrap your eyes around I took using a fancy slow exposure setting which gives a nice effect whilst protecting innocent children's identities.

Paris is full of these brightly lit roundabouts, seemingly at every tourist hot spot and busy intersection so keep your eyes open for them and see what you can do with a little camera phone.

Dutifully Devoted

Dutifully Devoted, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

One for the festive season, not that my allegiances lie in this sort of establishment particularly.

It's a fair turnout, I suppose, for a fairly average service (not Christmas, in fact).

There are still a few people who go to church at the allotted time other than tourists and curiosity seekers.

The lighting's delightfully contrasty and impossible for my little iPhone camera to deal with but it gives it a certain something I guess. Peace.

Tartan Tales

Tartan Tales, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

Sitting in a Paris pub you don't generally expect to see a picture of a bellicose sabre-wielding Scot, nor a list of the principle clans on the wall.

This is reality, however, in one of Paris' two or three Scottish watering holes, either the Highlander, the Auld Alliance or the Thistle, I can't quite remember which.

I was born in Edinburgh, and my grandfather, from the Highlands, was always adamant about us having a tartan and wore it proudly. I've never worn a kilt, but I think I had a pair of tartan trousers at one point in my early years. Thanks mum. The photo's unfortunately been misplaced...

Blue Is The Colour

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Blue Is The Colour ~

Blue Is The Colour, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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Another of those bizarre Paris passages, and quite a striking one, with that ethereal blue of the sort they put under certain bridges for reasons known only to themselves.

Does it entice you in or repel you? I'm ambivalent but the image pleases me, and that's what counts as far as I'm concerned.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Graffiti Head

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Graffiti Head ~

Graffiti Head, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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I don't know what it was that attracted me to this particular defiled poster. Maybe it was the blatant disregard for the feelings of the model if she were ever to see it. Or the total lack of respect for yet another stupid advertising campaign.

Maybe the scrawler wasn't even thinking on that level and just wanted to get their name out there.

Whatever, it's a nice contrast in messages which has been noted, for better or for worse.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Ball Battering

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Ball Battering ~

Ball Battering, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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Some structures are more welcoming than others.

This particular one, despite being brightly lit and energetically populated, doesn't do anything for me.

It's down on the banks of the river Seine at the end of a rather creepy descent towards the water and a few lonesome barges (and the Paris open air sculpture park) and is where certain individuals chose to spend their evenings battering away at their balls. Ping pong balls in this case.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Enter The Labyrinth

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Enter The Labyrinth ~

Enter The Labyrinth, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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I've always been a fan of spooky Paris passages,and here's a prime example.

There's something about playing around with photos though, I concede, which makes the final images much better in the end than the grim and often boring reality. That's the magic of photography.

Here we're looking into the lesser visited Village Saint Paul, which it takes the casual observer a while to discover if they don't tend to venture off the beaten track...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Boating About The Bush

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Boating About The Bush ~

Boating About The Bush, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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Imagine my delight, as an avid collector of the Paris boat symbol, to discover this door sagging under the watery weight of marvellous nautical images in the form of heavy metal plaques.

The more I look, the more of these things I find, in one form or another. They're literally everywhere in all shapes and sizes, from the most modest to the most elaborate.

I started a photographic collection once but soon realised I'd never be able to keep up with all my sightings, so now just offer a select few. What's your favourite?

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Sparkle In Your Step

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Sparkle In Your Step ~

Sparkle In Your Step, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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You can add a sparkle to your semaine for the price of a button push these days in Paris.

Just head over to the eau pétillante fountain in the Jardin de Reuilly, as many do, to fill up your bottles with bubbles and your stomachs with fizz.

It's a great idea as part of the on-going campaign to convince people that free Paris drinking water is as good as, well, the real thing, whatever that is. Perrier?

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Balk This Way

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Balk This Way ~

Balk This Way, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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Talking of wild horses, which I was in my last post, here are some which occasionally end up in our plates, and people who aren't happy about it.

It seems rather out of place on a Paris metro map, but then again stickers often do, don't they?

There was a scandal recently about horse meat ending up in burgers proclaiming their ingredients as 100% pure beef. Even though there are specialist boutiques in France selling old nag proudly for all their worth.

Weird, it's interesting to see at just what people turn their noses, or stomachs, up at. Does it depend upon how pretty we perceive the living creature to be? And yet, why would it then be less objectionable, therefore, to eat only the ugliest beasts? Go figure...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Gothic Glory

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Gothic Glory ~

Gothic Glory, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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My favourite gothic Paris tower, the Tour Saint-Jacques, here bathed in golden light in all her sparkly spendour after her recent facelift.

I heard it was even opened, exceptionally, to the public one day, and I missed it. Oh well, next time I'll be there and wild horses won't keep me away...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Back To The Big Pea

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Back To The Big Pea ~

Back To The Big Pea, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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Tomorrow I'll be chugging my way across, or rather under, the English channel on Eurostar with my 4-year-old son for Christmas.

This isn't the Eurostar mind you, just the good old RER, with seven little passengers, all in a row.

There will be more of us tomorrow, that's for sure, and I hope the trip will pass without major incident. When I come back I'll be looking for somewhere to live in Paris - yep, I'm moving back to the Big Pea from the far-flung suburbs, folks. Watch this space for more news...

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Wistfully Waiting

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Wistfully Waiting ~

Wistfully Waiting, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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My favourite girl from Père Lachaise cemetery hardly needs any introduction for regular readers, I must have featured her here before, but she's still there, throughout the years, gently wistful as the seasons pass by.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Café of Delights

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Café of Delights ~

Café of Delights, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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This unusual piece of street furniture is to be found in one of Paris' most graffiti-daubed streets, just off Belleville, a colourful area indeed.

Advertising a café, it's shoddiness is an integral part of its charm, which could go for the entire area if you think about it.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Inspiring Architecture

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Inspiring Architecture ~

Inspiring Architecture, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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Holey steeple jokes aside, this is still one of my favourite religious icons in the city.

Designed to stop the wind from repeating its trick of slamming a previous structure to the ground, it adds up to one of the most curious sights Paris has to offer.

The sideways mounted clock is just one other oddity to savour, made that way coz a classic flat-on-the-wall design would be too difficult to see in this narrow street on the Ile Saint-Louis. Genius.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Little Miss Muffet

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Little Miss Muffet ~

Little Miss Muffet, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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Strange and obscure Parisian graffiti on a wall near the Saint-Sulpice church in the 6th arrondissement.

I don't know what it means and I assume you don't either.

End of story. Sometimes the intrigue is tastier than the solution.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Swing Low Sweet Chariot ~

Swing Low Sweet Chariot, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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I always enjoy this incredible statue which looks like the horse has got a whole bunch of garden implements shoved up its backside but which I think are actually supposed to be a tail...

A couple of cannon balls have also been put to eye-wateringly effective use.

Not the sort of thing you expect to see whilst wandering the streets of Paris unless you're like me and expect the unexpected. And this should do it for you.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.

Flood Warning

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Flood Warning ~

Flood Warning, a photo by Paris Set Me Free on Flickr.

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On Sunnier days this little semi-circle would be covered in tango dancers, but not today.

We're in full flood territory, with the Seine getting worryingly high, although nothing like that fateful time back in 1910 when people were rowing through the streets.

Although the mega flood is supposed to be on a 100 year cycle, if that does it for you. We're still waiting.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

_________________________________________________________________________________
© 2013 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.