Come Go Figure

Sunset, or should i say moonrise, looking towards Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, from the right bank (northern) end of Pont des Arts, the least romantic bridge in Paris? ;-)

i learnt a couple of interesting things about Pont Neuf the other day. One is that it was the first Parisian bridge not to be inhabited. That is to say, not to have houses and shops built on it.

Because although it is the oldest Parisian bridge, it certainly isn't the first!

I can't remember the other thing, but i can tell you that the little semi-circular alcoves used to have mini-boutiques in 'em, that a large number of wonderfully fanciful faces line both sides of all the 12 arches, and that a bondage artist wrapped the entire thing up in canvas or something a good few years ago now and offered it back to us calling it art...

Come to Paris and go figure is what i say!

(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)

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Shadows of Grief

As with many great churches, l'Eglise Saint-Eustache de Paris is divided into several parts.

Here, directly behind the altar but hidden from regular worshippers, is a less imposing area set aside for quiet reflection and personal prayer.

And it is said that at times when your grief is particularly acute you can come here and a shadow-encloaked figure will walk slowly past, pause a moment...and turn to you. And the face will be that of your lost beloved one...

(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)

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From Da Vinci To DiCaprio

Can you just imagine Catherine de Médicis mounting one of these shiny escalators and shouting over to Henri II on the other: "We do like a good Leonardo DiCaprio piece - Italian cinema's our absolute favourite, not that we're biased or anything, hehe! Now, let's see what our stars say today..."

This strange tower (La Colonne Médicis) provides an impressive sight as you emerge from one of the numerous entrances to the Les Halles commercial centre. Indeed, considering all the upheavels around this area in the last 450 years or so, it's something of a miracle it's still standing at all...

It was used - the tower, not the commercial centre - by the French Queen to read her horoscope in the skies with help from her shady, black-clad astrologer, a certain Cosimo Ruggieri, who also sounds Italian but wasn't quite as big a star as Leonardo. Either of them. Buon giorno!

(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)

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Coming McClean

i'm feeling guilty and totally hypocritical about slagging off McDonalds having written this last post from one, enjoying an excellent, extremely reasonable and most beautifully presented cappuccino and pain au chocolat...

So i'm coming clean and admitting that i'm not quite as anti-establishment as i sometimes make out to be...

i can't say i'm a fan of fast food on principle but have to admit to regularly consuming it and, if nothing else, i admire their business acumen. Enough said - another McDinoNugget (R), anyone?

(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)

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McMammoth Burgers Are Go

Great news for major munchers coming to you from Paris today!

Your favourite traditional Parisian burger bistrot, 'Dedonalde', the new majority shareholder of the Musée de l'Histoire Naturelle', proudly brings you a culinary first: the utterly exclusive and totally unique gustatory experience ~ The McMammoth Burger!

Along with the museum, the world's largest fastfood chain also obtained full exploitation rights to the ground-breaking 'Prehistoric In-vitro Genome Simulator' (PIGS).

This cutting edge technology has the potential to bring to life many of the mythical creatures of the past, thanks to heavy exploitation of the museum's superb source of dinosaur DNA from microscopic marrow tissue and cartilage samples discovered inside fossilised bones in their unmatched collection.

"We eventually hope to be able to introduce a whole new range of McDinoBurgers (R) including the McDiploBurger (R) for veges, the McPteroBurger (R) for when a terrible hunger strikes, and of course the incredible McTyrannoBurger (R) but i can't say any more right now - the details are still a bit wooly," joked a gleeful McManaging Director, Slay Croc, at a recent shareholders meeting.

"The potential is enormous," continued an energised Croc. "We eventually envisage opening an entirely new chain of McDinoDiners (R), a kids version called McDinoSnacks (R) and i hardly need to tell you what the potential for derivatives and spin-offs is!

"Of course, a lot still depends on finding secure breeding facilities, but with our increasing commitment to this country and its eleaders, i'm sure solutions will be forthcoming," he continued with a wink.

"The past is looking rosy folks," concluded a smiling, perspiring Croc.

(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)

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Ghost Train A-Coming

"There's a Paris train that runs between

Auteuil-Boulogne and old Belleville

And at dead of night the whistle blows

And people hear she's running still"

(with thanks to Chris de Burgh)

That's right folks! All around the city runs a strange, seemingly long-abandonned railway line.

Sometimes passing overhead by black rivetted bridges, sometimes sneaking below us through deep trenches, is this railway relic quite as abandonned as it's made out to be..?

(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)

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Leaf It Out

They call this tree 'a living fossil' as it's practically one of a kind, botanically speaking. Aparently there are clear fossils of this beauty from 270 million years ago (which, let's face it, is a lot), but it has hardly changed since.

You can find splendid specimens in various Parisian parcs, including Parc Montsouris and its big sister, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, and it goes by the catchy name of Ginkgo Biloba.

Guess why the 'biloba' bit? i'll give you a clue: 'bi' means two, and 'loba' is related to a part of the ear. Now look at the picture again... answers on a postcard (or just leaf {geddit?} a comment below)!

(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)

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