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Post by woody77 on May 1, 2013 20:30:30 GMT
One thing that I remembered from my last trip here (2 years ago) was that Paris has a lot of surprising juxtapositions. But usually, it's architectural. In scoping out one of the flats that we're staying in on this rather long trip (we're here for a year), I noted that the end of my street was one of the boulevards. But I didn't pay too close of attention to which one it was. Oh well. My first walk to the Monoprix was a bit surprising, and disorientating. And then I noticed the sheer variety of people walking down the center of the boulevard, and realized that they just didn't pay any attention to what was off on the sides. In fact, in another few weeks, as everything leafs out, you'll barely be able to see what's on the side of the boulevard from the central promenade. That central promenade as it looks today: DSC_3885 by aaronwood77, on Flickr But, wait, what's that off to the side? DSC_3888 by aaronwood77, on Flickr Gah! I moved to the seediest part of Paris!?!? Wait... maybe not. What's down this side-street (Cité du Midí) ? DSC_3890 by aaronwood77, on Flickr DSC_3898 by aaronwood77, on Flickr It's a quiet, pretty residential street, un-marred by the sex shops and strip clubs on Blvd Clichy. Huh.. But then there's this beautiful building right on the Blvd itself: DSC_3899 by aaronwood77, on Flickr And the people that I saw coming and going from these were surprising. They simply seemed to be ignoring everything, or they just don't care. As a newcomer, I really don't know. But the casual attitude of those walking on the blvd seemed to be one of everything around them as normal. For someone that grew up in the Midwest (Michigan), and then moved to Northern California, this is honestly surprising. It's not that there aren't areas with these sorts of stores in places that I've lived, but that they ONLY exist in very rough areas. And that doesn't seem to be the case here. Especially when one makes it to the famed Moulin Rouge itself, and heads up rue Lepic: DSC_3901Where you find the quaint little diner from Amélie: DSC_3905 by aaronwood77, on Flickr Apparently it's now a big tourist destination. I admit to being intrigued (as I love the movie), but it's not the same cafe, it's just the same building. Unfortunately, as today was France's "Labor Day", almost all the little shops that give Rue Lepic a special feeling were closed. But this one was open: DSC_3908A glance down rue Véron shows that all the on-street parking on this back-street is full, so Abbesses must be pretty busy. DSC_3909 by aaronwood77, on Flickr And so far, we've travelled about 600m (per Google Maps). And that walk up Lepic is only 200m long. Things apparently change quickly here.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2013 20:48:43 GMT
It will be very nice to see this area through your eyes.
You would be amazed at how many top French media stars and actors and actresses live in and love this area, not just in upper chic Montmartre but right down on boulevard de Clichy and boulevard Rochechouart.
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Post by woody77 on May 1, 2013 20:58:11 GMT
And then we arrive at Abbesses itself, a very short walk up the hill from Clichy. DSC_3911 by aaronwood77, on Flickr Here, there were a lot more open shops and cafés. In fact, the further along Abbesses I went, getting closer to the metro station, the more open shops and cafés there were. DSC_3915 by aaronwood77, on Flickr Taking a glimpse back down my own street (rue Germain Pilon), I was surprised to the the Tour Montparnasse looming in the distance: DSC_3918 by aaronwood77, on Flickr Man that thing is big, and ugly. No wonder it caused a commotion when it was built. Standing at the same location, but on the other side of the street, another building came into view: DSC_3921 by aaronwood77, on Flickr I have no idea what/which it is. Moving on, my favorite neighborhood boulangerie: DSC_3922 by aaronwood77, on Flickr And then we get to the litte square with the Abbesses metro station itself, and this lovely church: DSC_3945 by aaronwood77, on Flickr Which has a great deal of beautiful painted stained glass work inside: DSC_3925 by aaronwood77, on Flickr as well as some stutuary: DSC_3926 by aaronwood77, on Flickr DSC_3927 by aaronwood77, on Flickr A few visitors were leaving candles, and there were two people actually there to pray (not photographed for obvious reasons). DSC_3928 by aaronwood77, on Flickr The floor was a wonderful parquet which was lit lovely in the light DSC_3932 by aaronwood77, on Flickr But the real surprise was at the back DSC_3934 by aaronwood77, on Flickr DSC_3936 by aaronwood77, on Flickr And then, right across the street, the carousel DSC_3944 by aaronwood77, on Flickr DSC_3947 by aaronwood77, on Flickr My toddler hasn't ridden it yet, but her eyes light up every time we go past it. This is Square Rictus, which has a nice, albeit *very* small little playground in it, right behind the metro stop. It's very easy to miss. DSC_3950 by aaronwood77, on Flickr As a parent, one of the things I love is the number of little parks and playgrounds scattered through the city. And then a view of the back of the bell tower, as we head down the stairs to rue Andé Antoine, to link back up with rue Véron, and head back towards home (well, home for now). DSC_3960 by aaronwood77, on Flickr DSC_3962 by aaronwood77, on Flickr
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Post by woody77 on May 1, 2013 21:08:29 GMT
As I turned back onto rue Germain Pilon, I saw this passage again, and decided that since I was in full photo-tourist mode, I might as well look down it. Usually there are kids playing in it, but not today. DSC_3964 by aaronwood77, on Flickr DSC_3965I had been wondering what was making it look so dark back there, and then I found out: DSC_3967DSC_3968DSC_3969It appears to be a structure for holding up the facade of the building while they reconstruct it? as dark and foreboding as it looks to my eyes (especially at night), the street was cheerful, with the laughter of small children playing in the background. at the end, it nearly meets Cité du Midí, from the start of the thread.
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Post by htmb on May 1, 2013 21:14:03 GMT
Oh, Woody, what a great start! I'm looking forward to seeing many more of your posts over the course of your year in Paris. Welcome to AnyPort. This is an area where I haven't done much exploring, so I'm taking notes! Maybe next time...
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Post by woody77 on May 1, 2013 21:17:10 GMT
Fixed the duplicate image in that last one, it was supposed to be the closeup of the brace against the other building across the way.
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Post by woody77 on May 1, 2013 21:25:06 GMT
Ok, the site just ate a comment. But the internet here at the flat is kinda crap. I had 4x the speed at my house in the mountains outside of San Francisco. Anyway, thanks for the welcome, htmb! I'm really liking the Abbesses area, and still trying to figure out Clichy. What helps, Kerouac, is the locals. When I stop and look at who I see walking on the street, in particular with the shopping carts headed to the supermarché, I get a more realistic view of who lives here, and who comes to play. But this area has really blown all my calibrations, and that's going to take some time to sort out. A number of the kebab places look good, and could be amazing, or dismal greasy affairs. I really would appreciate food recommendations, both Clichy, Lepic, and Abbesses. Even if it's just a warning to stay away from various places. As the jetlag (and the current cold) passes, we'll become more adventuresome eaters. But for now, we're more or less cooking for ourselves. A flat with a real kitchen (by SF foodie standards) was a requirement. My wife and daughter baked today. That was nice. Anyway, I look forward to exploring more, and perhaps adding a couple more side streets into this (I glossed over the short streets from Abbesses to Véron, but they're very short). But we found a nice pizza place on one that handled our (somewhat American) 2yo quite well. One tip for other parents when travelling: Your US stroller is a behemoth on these streets, and they generally aren't taken inside. While we were there, a woman came in with a full size jogging stroller, toddler zonked out, and without so much as a Bounjour!, opened in American English asking for a table for 6 (with 2 kids). The Maclaren Quest we picked up (last week) is certainly a better fit for the scale streets here than the City Micro we had was.
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Post by mossie on May 2, 2013 7:38:19 GMT
Well done for plunging in to Paris. Now you are beginning to understand "cosmopolitan". Thanks for the photos showing real life.
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Post by tod2 on May 2, 2013 7:53:10 GMT
I'm lovin' it! Your photos and commentary are delightful Woody and whats so nice is that I have been to Montmartre several times so it's exciting to see the difference in your photos and mine --- yours are infinitely better! You have captured angles I wouldn't have dreamed of pointing my camera at. Extremely well done and I can't wait for more!
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Post by woody77 on May 2, 2013 11:42:46 GMT
tod2, thanks! Hopefully the sun will come out soon (although today is starting to look a lot better). The sun makes a huge difference here. This was the view from my flat the last time I was here (January, 2011), 8th floor, on rue du Square Carpeaux: DSC_5986This is my street (with my wife and daughter walking ahead of me), last week on the one nice sunny day we had. DSC_3847Sunlight just transforms this city. (although I do need to figure out why my white-balance is so off on cloudy days here, the photos came out with a decidedly pink cast to them).
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2013 12:29:12 GMT
I hope you get to see something at the Théâtre des Abbesses while you are in Paris -- it is really a lovely place, and since it is a municipal theatre, ticket prices are lower than in the private places.
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on May 2, 2013 14:13:12 GMT
Fabulous photos woody, I can't wait to see and read more !!!!
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Post by bixaorellana on May 4, 2013 13:52:02 GMT
Just now coming to this very interesting and lively thread ~~
I had to laugh when I got near the bottom and saw that you were complaining about a "pink cast", Woody. That's because I was wondering how you got that really luscious look to your photos. Certainly the pink works to beautiful advantage in the first pic in #9.
This is a super read, in addition to your excellent pictures -- you really capture that slightly off-balance but happy & excited feeling of people visiting an eagerly anticipated city. It's going to be so interesting to see how your little girl (is there more than one?) develops and interacts throughout your year there.
I love all your photos, but the facade of the church at the metro station just made my day. An exceptionally enjoyable thread -- thanks!
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Post by woody77 on May 4, 2013 19:41:24 GMT
Bixaorellana, thanks! I figured the pink cast out yesterday. I shot a grey card and set the camera (Nikon D50) to custom white-balanced based on that. And in Lightroom, I looked at the results. temp 6800 and tint -33 This is the pinkest sky I've ever seen! The default whitebalance settings in Lightroom are all at +10 (adding a touch of red warmth), but when coupled with the light here, it's just way too much. Seeing how much light changes from city to city is amazing. I had a similar problem on the US mid-Atlantic coast, where the pics just kept coming out off.. until i finally found something to calibrate white balance with. This is one of those: www.flickr.com/photos/98355595@N00/7841010190/in/set-72157626457112878/Ok, enough photo geeking for now. Yes, there's only the one little girl (and Mama), it's going to be fun to see how she gets along. We spent a bunch of time in Square Rictus today catching both the pre-lunch and goûter (4pm snack) rush. Which was really good for her. She didn't know what any of the other kids were saying, but that doesn't stop a kid at her age (2). Actually, some of the kids this morning were Italian, which really wasn't going to work, but both they and her just plowed ahead, speaking their own language as they went along.
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Post by woody77 on May 5, 2013 13:10:56 GMT
Bix, I just realized you were talking about the rooftops photo, and went back to Lightroom to look at how I processed that one. It's been manipulated a fair bit.
Color temp set for 6800/+10 (cloudy), +20 saturation, and then some luminance shifting. I dropped the aqua, blue, and purple channels to make the sky darker, so the clouds had more contrast, and then upped the green and yellow to bring out highlights on the plants and on the walls.
80% of the look is getting the right whitebalance and the increased saturation.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 5, 2013 13:45:17 GMT
I really enjoyed the insights into how you get a photo to yield what you actually saw. I'm not even in the same universe of picture-taking, relying on a freebie service to work with my point&shoot efforts. Still, one day I hope to advance enough to use tips I pick up on the way to being more skilled. That's an absolutely fascinating insight about how light changes from city to city. Once you pointed it out, I realized that it's a logical thing, but even so, there's something magical about it. I'm excited on behalf of your little girl, who will easily become comfortable in a new culture. I imagine having a small child will open avenues into French life for you & your wife that you might not have found otherwise. You're going to amass quite an audience here, all wanting to see how your lives unfold during the coming year.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2013 15:14:43 GMT
Funnily enough, on Friday I had drinks with an internet forum poster who is currently in town to look for an apartment for one year and who will have a child in school. He isn't registered here but he does drop in from time to time to see what is going on.
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Post by woody77 on May 5, 2013 18:17:23 GMT
Bix, I think you could get similar results with Photoshop Elements. But even then, Lightroom isn't that expensive of software (nothing like the full blown Photoshop). But it makes such a huge difference to be able to manipulate color temp. I actually started with iPhoto (which works quite well, until you get enough images in you collection).
Kerouac, child care is one thing that we definitely have run up against. We need to sort out a nanny soon. Since the creche waiting lists are so long, and we're changing arrondissements in a bit over a month (to the 2nd, on rue du Nil). We went to the Mairie, and discovered that our French isn't good enough to have an effective conversation there... That will be interesting.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2013 18:39:51 GMT
Crèche places are indeed are indeed hard to find. Many people start registering even before their child is born. One interesting alternative is a 'crèche familiale' which is a system in which a number of families get together to make their own cooperative crèche. It is much cheaper but it also entails responsibilities such as being in charge of the food for a week and things like that. And of course, there are the private nannies. Many people opt for an illegal one, generally African (they are considered by far the best for child care), but of course this requires a leap of faith and some very careful interviewing. Nevertheless, I have never had any friends who had a problem with this solution. In fact, the biggest problem is usually when you decide to end the contract -- these young women become very attached to the babies and it is heartbreaking the day you tell them that their services are no longer required. It is rather ironic because often they have 3 or 4 young children of their own at home, being looked after by their mother, sister or cousin.
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Post by bjd on May 5, 2013 18:41:16 GMT
How close is your child to her 3rd birthday? You might be able to sign her up for nursery school instead of finding a nanny.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2013 18:46:16 GMT
Yes, nursery school starts at age 3 in France. Some children even start at age 2 of they are toilet trained.
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Post by woody77 on May 5, 2013 18:49:21 GMT
She just turned two about a month ago, so far too young for the nursery schools... We're pretty sure that we're going to end up with a private nanny, although our preference would be for one of the public crèches. Not for the rates, but for the socialization.
Watching her at the playground today (we're now regulars at Square Rictus) was almost heartbreaking when she kept trying to talk to the other kids, and they would chatter back in French.
So a french-speaking nanny that can help (our french is honestly dismal) would be a big help to us.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2013 19:12:45 GMT
With a French nanny, she will be able to teach you French.
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Post by woody77 on May 5, 2013 19:27:58 GMT
Better than me teaching her.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2013 19:35:08 GMT
Of course she might have an African accent.
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Post by woody77 on May 5, 2013 20:09:35 GMT
Is that better or worse than the American buzzsaw accent?
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2013 20:24:49 GMT
It is quite pleasant. The best part is the vocabulary. One day I heard an African nanny telling her disobedient charge, "I am going to mutilate you!" (Naturally, they do not actually carry out their threats.)
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Post by woody77 on May 5, 2013 20:28:16 GMT
That had me laughing out loud, Kerouac!
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Post by lola on May 7, 2013 0:34:10 GMT
These are great, woody. When I tried to view photos earlier, I got "flickr won't let you see them" type message for all but one. Now they're all up, and fun to see. I'm if anything more envious of your Paris stay than before.
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Post by woody77 on May 7, 2013 8:36:51 GMT
lola, sorry about that earlier, when I re-uploaded the images to flickr to remove the pink cast, all the links broke, so I had to edit with new links to the images. It's definitely frustrating that Flickr's api won't break the links to images when you update them.
I have a bunch more photos to put up, but the write-ups take time (I'm amazed at what Kerouac has done, after having done this one).
- Hotel de Ville, Il de Cite, Notre Dame (exterior), and the view from Il Saint Louis - Abbesses up to Montmartre and back
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