Piquant Photos: Oct 2012: Walking in the early hours in Paris

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Oct 2012: Walking in the early hours in Paris

So I woke up at a disgusting time of 5 AM and went off on a photo walk. Even the bins were sleeping

A giant checkerboard in the middle of the street

long empty streets

nice little door

Le President?

I finally see a car but check out the sky…

that’s a strange window, what’s the point of those grills?

Another imposing door

Not quite sure what this is

still quiet, with lights disappearing down the street

I like these subway ventilation exit type of structures in the middle with advertisements, an interesting piece street architecture

this is one of the reasons why I love going out early morning, you see the city without the poxy humans, lol

a living wall of green colour

Another massive door

looking a bit dodgy

I wonder what the ship decal on the top stands for?

Another long empty street

Whoa, these chaps must feel tired..

nice hippo

bins lined up..

the entrance to a parking lot. Paris has quite a lot of these little lots around..

And another one

Another of those grand sweeps of road, gate, windows…Paris does this brilliantly

my old stamping grounds? :P

I cross the street

And whoa, here’s the old rascal’s house, the French President Sarkozy himself

Pretty impressive eh?

the next street over from the Presidential Palace, this is the Rue de Elysee.

Much greener than the usual other streets.

I am not really sure what they are trying to portray here..

Another huge big door…very impressive

Hmmmmm, what a strange store, but then, what would I know of fashion?

I am peering down Rue Royale to the Place de la Concorde, and you can see the Ramses II obelix in the distance

I think that’s the opera house

Here is the Notre Dame de l Assumption Church

The Rue Cambon

And then I come to Place Vendome

I turn into it

Its a big space

This is the Vendome Column, modelled after Trajan’s Column, to celebrate the Battle of Austerlitz. 425 bronze panels circle up..cast from bronze cannons captured at the battle. And at the top of is Napoleon himself. This column has come down and then went up again..

Nice sculpture

The Neon Lights give a strange colour on the panels.

pretty awesome

not very clear about the details, could do with a bit of scrub.

Looking back at where I came from.

Dog poo, damn city is full of it

A last view of the column

She was a communist and member of the French Resistance, she was captured and transported to Auschwitz and died there. Hats off to you lady.

Paris’s bike scheme

And another street..

The opera junction

All over the place, I make a bee line towards the library..Walking up the Rue des Petits Champs

Alimentation Japanese? hmm

Optics

Rue de Richelieu. What a man.

The entrance to the library…you could smell the books when you walked this street, what a lovely place to live.

Palais Royal. The Cardinal Richelieu lived here and then after that, Anne of Austria lived here.

The walls talked to me.

Long corridors of the Palace.

Very long

Some parts of the floor have some lovely mosaics

And some have vagrants..sad…

I emerge into the Rue Valois and in front of the Louvre

Looking back

I start walking down the Rue de Rivoli

A gift shop

A lovely building

pillars

An entrance to the metro..

chuckles.

a passage of laughs?

Keep walking back

A lovely little fountain.

Frey Wille? hmmm

heh@McDonalds

Walking past the gardens

Long way to go

The golden statue of Joan de Arc

A national heroine. Although I think she was a bit off the head.

what i love are these passageways

Baby Cuileries?

These windows are brilliant, just love them.

whoa, expensive stuff

More lovely buildings

all closed up but should be good to see when open :)

nice one..

English Church’s!!!! in Paris! check out the shot of the shoe.

Walking past Place Vendome.

More passageways

Now why have you locked up this poor little palm tree? afraid it will run off?

beautiful windows…

I reach the corner of the Place Concorde

Ah! I didnt know…really? very nice.

Looking back down Rue de Ravoli

The Place Concorde all lit up

Hotel de la Marine

the Obelix

Rue Royale, which ends at the Eglise de la Madeleine. It used to be a synagogue, then a church, then something else then this and that and now back to a church.