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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 12, 2017 15:24:17 GMT
For technical reasons, I don't think that I will be able to really start documenting this year's department store Christmas windows for at least two weeks. However, I did dip into Galeries Lafayette today, and this year's Christmas tree merits a little video of its own, so here it is ---
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 12, 2017 15:31:13 GMT
Spectacular! And France has candy in the shape of cactus? It really is a civilized and sophisticated country. Love the pretzels interspersed throughout and the fact that all the visitors to the store were so enthralled. My only criticism is that maybe they should have Dolly Parton singing Hard Candy Christmas (in French) as the sound track.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 12, 2017 15:32:03 GMT
There are also slices of pizza on the tree.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 12, 2017 15:40:37 GMT
Oh, there are! I missed those first time around. On this second viewing I also noted sweet buns.
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Post by mossie on Nov 12, 2017 16:55:29 GMT
That is quite something, can't wait to actually see it in action.
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Post by lugg on Nov 13, 2017 18:33:24 GMT
That ceiling is just so beautiful what a setting for the tree. I think that your annual Xmas thread along with Bixa's annual Day of the Dead are my favourite posts on AP . Looking forward to seeing more
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 13, 2017 19:26:38 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Nov 17, 2017 6:02:15 GMT
Looks amazing ! - Mossie is a lucky fellow to go and see it.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 20, 2017 15:42:03 GMT
I'll be back in Paris in a week to update this -- and decorate Mossie.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 20, 2017 16:41:34 GMT
Yay! Mossie!
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Post by mich64 on Nov 20, 2017 20:42:30 GMT
I do like the decorations, they are youthful and brightly coloured.
The more I look at the whole picture of it, it reminds me of the candy crush game. Especially with the pieces moving up and down like in the game.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 23, 2017 12:51:06 GMT
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Post by whatagain on Nov 24, 2017 11:21:37 GMT
Lovely. hygienic too. Are napkins allowed ?
Give me a sausage must be the most watched sentence there ....
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 1, 2017 19:32:29 GMT
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Post by bjd on Dec 1, 2017 20:14:06 GMT
I drove through downtown Toulouse this evening and there were no Christmas lights anywhere. Maybe they are saving money this year?
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Post by lagatta on Dec 1, 2017 21:11:53 GMT
At least at Gare du nord there are clear lights, which are less garish. I always found the low-key Christmases in Paris a relief, though fortunately in Montréal one can escape the worst schlock if one stays outside shopping districts and centres. I won't say no to panettone tastings at nearby Fruiterie Milano! It is above 0c here now but I'm still wearing 3 layers of clothing (not counting bra)... the idea of a nudist resto with winter closing in does not appeal. Or ever.
I support the right of people to have nudist beaches and don't really care if they disrobe elsewhere - that isn't the point. I just don't like fetishising the idea; forcing people to disrobe, except in naturalist resorts and spaces which fear voyeurs. Clothing optional is fine in restaurants and cafés.
Off the topic a bit, but a fellow older than me was enjoying himself by rubbing against me while I was sitting on a bus this afternoon. I pointed out empty seats and he finally got the point (sorry) but had to pat me on the shoulder as he left. Yecchh!
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 8, 2017 23:25:11 GMT
I finally managed to shove those annoying children out of the way and made my Galeries Lafayette Christmas window video tonight. The Printemps video will follow.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 9, 2017 6:41:36 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 9, 2017 7:05:01 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 9, 2017 7:07:33 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 11, 2017 11:21:27 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 11, 2017 11:24:58 GMT
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Post by mossie on Dec 11, 2017 21:15:26 GMT
Well done Kerouac, you have obviously got a lot more patience than me.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 11, 2017 21:47:34 GMT
Is it me, or are the windows even more imaginative and fabulous this year? I love the popcorn machine and all the clever travelers.
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Post by questa on Dec 11, 2017 22:28:19 GMT
A fantastic set of images, a real record of the creative and technological effort that goes into making these displays. Around the world there are similar decorations, mostly now cleansed of any religious connections, that exist for a few weeks then disappear. Meanwhile the hungry and homeless, the people seeking refuge from war and famine all around the world, the sick people who cannot afford treatment and the lonely ones...what do they think about the shapes and colours, lights and music? What do others here think...? Thank you K2 for such excellent photos.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 11, 2017 23:20:45 GMT
It is hard to know whether they feel shut out or whether the artistic decorations and lights are a welcome distraction from endlessly queueing or walking nowhere.
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Post by mich64 on Dec 12, 2017 1:00:52 GMT
Each photo is a delight. I particularly enjoy the bears and rabbits.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2017 1:28:52 GMT
Questa, your question reminds me of this Alain Souchon song about Sudanese refugees in Belleville. Not really necessary to understand French with this evocative clip, though his lyrics are complex and more evocative still.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 12, 2017 6:09:57 GMT
Meanwhile the hungry and homeless, the people seeking refuge from war and famine all around the world, the sick people who cannot afford treatment and the lonely ones...what do they think about the shapes and colours, lights and music? What do others here think...? Thank you K2 for such excellent photos. For years, many of the local homeless have set down their meagre possessions all along the shop windows of the department stores every night to camp out on their collection of cardboard. They probably hate the holiday season because the windows perform their shows until midnight every night with masses of people coming to see. During the rest of the year, they can be camped out for the night starting around 10 p.m.
Nevertheless, this is a "prime" location used only by the established homeless with their mobile phones, pets and stocks of food, so it is already a different category of homeless. One might dare to call a lot of these the "voluntary" homeless. The basic homeless are out in the residential neighbourhoods such as mine to be near the meal distribution centres.
As for the migrants, I see them staring with wonder and envy at the twinkling lights of my local McDonald's. They don't need to go to boulevard Haussmann to see that the world they always hoped existed is really there. I would say that the majority of the poor are cheered up by such things. I only ever hear the "bah humbug" people complaining.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2017 12:33:27 GMT
That is an element in the clip I quoted "C'est déjà ça", as it is better in the eyes of those young men to be up shit's creek in a "Belle ville" (even in Belleville, not far from K2's hood) than in an impoverished conflict zone.
Though on the other hand, lots of people (even in the wealthier countries) have good reasons to dislike Christmas, and it doesn't make them Scrooges. Scrooge's "sin" was a love of lucre and lack of generosity, not an aversion to gaudy decorations. There simply weren't many of those a century and a half ago.
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