New Year's eye

Tomorrow a new year begins, a time for reflection... and looking toward the future.

 

May yours be prosperous and filled with joy and love.

Above: from JR exhibition, Momentum, la mécanique de l'épreuve
[installation with dancers from New York City Ballet]

Maison Européenne de la Photographie

5/7 rue de Fourcy 75004

Ends February 10, 2019

 

***

 

- Bonne Année / Happy New Year 2019 -

Lobster eve

With visitors in Paris and much going on I will be returning next week.

As always, here's sending warmest wishes for a Joyeux everything! - BPJ

Sapin de Noël

Galeries Lafayette's gigantic suspended Christmas tree spans the length of two floors.
 

Il était une fois

This year's CHANEL winter collection is filled with surprises.

 

***

Once Upon A Time.... a short film by Karl Lagerfeld

w/Keira Knightley as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

 

 

 

Sparkling

Glittery welcome at Hôtel Pavillon de la Reine on Place des Vosges.

PH balance

A touch of raspberry helps to make the season bright.

Café Pierre Hermé - Beaupassage

53 rue de Grenelle 75007

Pierre-y Christmas

Pierre Hermé's second tea room / café is tucked away in a foodie passageway.

Café Pierre Hermé - Beaupassage

53 rue de Grenelle 75007

Giacometti, prolonged

Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman, printmaker, lived/worked mostly in Paris.

Musée Maillol

"Giacometti: From Tradition to Avant-Garde"

 

Ends February 3 , 2019

 

Below: coffee downstairs in museum's art deco Café des Frères Prévert

(click to enlarge)

Au coin du feu

A spot of tea, a cozy fire and good conversation warm up long winter evenings... along with holiday baking.

Below: fresh-from-oven pecan brownies; Vanillekipferl, Austrian butter crescents (mom's version w/crushed hazelnuts instead of almonds)

Christmas market

A small Christmas market outside l'Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

A cocktail in Pigalle

I drink to make other people more interesting.

Ernest Hemingway

Lantern light

Beneath arches on Place des Vosges. Evening.

Watching #4

Last of my photos in this series, Eyes On Paris, of citywide photography installation by JR.
More in January newsletter.

Ends February 10, 2019

Above: at station Hôtel de Ville (Line 1)

Below: at station Nanterre-Université (RER A)
 

 (click to enlarge)

Watching #3

Above: at station Pyramides (Line 7)


***

Eyes on Paris: I've been getting quite a few emails and texts asking whether it's safe to come to Paris.
 

Here's what U.S. food writer David Lebovitz has to say on the subject, along with some very good travel advice:

Is it safe to come to Paris?

Watching #2

And waiting.

Above: at station Hôtel de Ville (Line 1)

Watching #1

Giant photographs of eyes by Parisian artist JR have been installed at métro stations around the city.

Above: at station Saint-Michel (Line 4)

Holiday shopping

Le Bon Marché's Dior window display.

[Bring your passport if spending 176 euros or more at any one store on same day for airport de-taxe refund of up to 15%, even on items on sale]

Lunch for two

Elegant dining at the Hôtel Régina in holiday regalia.

Hôtel Régina
2 Place des Pyramides 75001

Bastille column

The "July Column" at Place de la Bastille towers over a crowded outdoor market.

Love and water

Over a drinking fountain at CDG Airport: "In Paris, we live on love and cold water."

In-spiring

Royal chapel Sainte-Chapelle from Place Louis Lépine on a wintry day.

Warmly

Blankets cozily cover backs of chairs outside a small coffee shop near Bastille.

Flower hour

A flowering plant on an autumn morning in botanical garden Jardin des Plantes.

Tai chi

Early morning Tai Chi in the Jardin des Plantes.

Chocolat chaud

Chocolate nibs fill a porcelain cup in a window.

Fashion fronds

Exotic colors and plants decorate a window on rue Cambon.

Souvenirs

Iconic Paris souvenirs at a bouquiniste stall, with Notre-Dame Cathedral beyond.

Fig heaven

Tartes in a local pâtisserie loaded with fresh figs, a perfect Thanksgiving dessert.

- Happy Thanksgiving 2018 -

["Thanksgivings Past": much-viewed post from 2015]

Leaves

Golden leaves on a Montmartre stairway.

Quaiside café

A café-restaurant along the Seine.

Chez les voisins

An impromptu casual dinner at the neighbors'.

On the menu: crab avocado verrines, roasted lamb, platter of farm cheeses, heavenly dessert

Below: pre-dinner apéritif w/chilled pink champagne

Reflective

Woman seated on the métro.

Sax relax

Jazzing it up on a bench in a small Montmartre square.

La muette

A seagull perches on a wall near Notre-Dame Cathedral.