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New Real Estate for Paris Sidewalk Cafés
It is June 2. Parisians are in front of a café drinking their coffee, chatting with a table mate under a red awning and a bright blue sky. This sounds so normal. But it is another memorable day in history. The restaurants have gone from strictly take away to serving sit-down customers. Location, location. If the restaurant is lucky enough to front a wide space or a wide sidewalk, tables may legally extend way beyond their normal space for now. Outside dining is de rigueur until Prime Minister Eduoard Philippe's next status announcement or until it rains.... (Click on the title to read more.)
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Fashionable Paris Masks
I am no longer desperate to find just any kind of face mask. Finding a mask has transitioned into its fashionable period in Paris. Face masks are no longer hard to find. They come in various shapes, prices and patterns. One day I saw a mask that coordinated with the skirt a girl was wearing. What would you think of fashionable Italian designed masks? The Italian-designed face masks are sold at the Casino grocery store on Rue Chemin du Vert. Piled together in a cardboard box without any fanfare, they sell for 3,50 Euros. They are comfortable, lightweight, washable, perfect for summer. The Italian-designed and imported to France masks include…
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Paris: 5 Bridges and the Sun Set
One Saturday evening in Paris along the Boulevard Henri IV I made my way to Pont de Sully and the Quai des Célestins. During my stroll by Notre-Dame de Paris an exhibition is underway. This Saturday I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the city during a special time. The Conciergerie became a silhouette as the earth rotated until the horizon reached the sun, which burst into vibrant yellows and greys.
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Paris Markets Wrapped in Plastic
Life at the Parisian market has taken on a new form. The market is wrapped in plastic wrap. I could only look on. The scene was very surrealistic. On May 13 the markets reopened with new sanitary guidelines. The last time I visited the Bastille Market at Boulevard Richard Lenoir was March 22. Plastic crates separated the shoppers to provide distance. On March 23, the Mayor's office closed all outdoor and indoor markets. The ban did not include the grocery stores. Who needs a straw shopping basket ("panier") to carry around anymore? Market shopping is now available online for home delivery. The delivery order goes through Mayor's Office website, takes…
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Le Doggy Bag Concept Expands in Paris
Paris has a new dining style in 2020: Take Away or in French "emporter" in le "doggy bag". All closed for health reasons, some cafés and restaurants are creatively staying in business. At the entry door is a table, display case of food, posted menus and sometimes flowers welcome walk-up guests to place their order. Using a paper bag to carry out your lunch or dinner in France, got its start in 2010. Le loi Grenelle 2 required restaurants to reduce their biodegradable garbage whence came le doggy bag or "sac à toutou". Home delivery from chocolate to sushi to pizza is catching on with riders on motor scooters and…
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Stroll at La Place Saint-Germain des Près
Want to travel or go outside but cannot? Visit parts of Paris with Colleen's Paris. Take a bus ride and a stroll (flânerie) with Colleen’s Paris on a 2-minute visit to La Place Saint-Germain des Près, Les Deux Magots and the Gothic Saint-Germain des Près with the oldest bell tower in Paris
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One Year Ago-One Month Ago in Paris
One year ago, April 15, the steeple of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc burned and crashed through the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris: architectural flaw? One month ago, March 15, the sun was shining; everyone ignored a lockdown, went to the "beach" and socialised. An invisible agent locked down work on Notre Dame and confined us to one meter apart. One month from now, work on the new scaffolding holding the burnt scaffolding may continue and we may be less confined. In the meantime, the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining and garbage trucks still pass through my Paris street on time.
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Bell Rings Tonight at Notre-Dame
At 8 pm Paris time, tonight, April 15, the south tower bell, “Emmanuel”, will ring at Notre-Dame de Paris. It is one year since the fire April 15, 2019. General Jean-Louis Georgelin, in charge of the cathedral’s restoration, decided on this time, which coincides with the evening applause for health care workers during the Covid-19.
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Stopped by the Gendarmes
It is Covid-19 time and I am out for a beautiful, blue-sky morning walk with my camera. The delivery men on bicycles are collecting bags of chocolate for Easter from the chocolate shop on La rue du Pas-de-la-Mule. Walking past Places des Vosges, I passed a cinematographer and a director/producer filming for the gendarmery television network. Two mounted gendarmes were being filmed while questioning and chatting with locals about the document...
