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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2009 4:39:09 GMT
Is Paul the same chain as in London? Yes, Paul is spreading everywhere -- Great Britain, Dubai, China, Morocco, Japan, etc... Still only 5 locations in the U.S. at the moment, all in Florida.
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Post by gusm on Aug 26, 2009 3:18:32 GMT
Bixarellana; Thank You for the welcome. It is a most wonderful forum. I too was reeling when I saw the bill! But it was only once and a special occasion.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 26, 2009 3:26:22 GMT
Well, Gus ~~ I guess that's one of those anecdotes that ends in ".... people-watching on the Champs Elysées: priceless!"
(and thank you for the kind words)
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Post by nic on Aug 31, 2009 23:44:06 GMT
Ah, the Champs Elysées. How I remember trying to spell that when I first heard it pronounced -- not a good phonetic transitive! If you want to horrify a Frenchman though, call it "Champs E-lee-sees". It cracks me up every time.
I went their once -- saw Sweeney Todd when it came out, and bought my obligatory t-shirt at Niketown & the Adidas Store. Of all the streets in Paris, it was hard to actually like the avenue; after seeing what it was like in the past, it looks like Parisians threw-up a small segment of Times Square. If it wasn't for the Arc, and it's historical connections, I wonder if it would get as much activity as it does?
Great read, K2. It makes me glad I discovered a fondness for tea, and indulged in bottled water.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2009 22:15:04 GMT
We get a lot of Arabic transliterations in messages at our office. They ask about:
shans ilizes shemp eles sawlissess
etc.
I am usually the first person to figure out what the fuck they are talking about.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2009 8:45:03 GMT
The 61 employees of "Culture Bière" are on strike, because Heineken is going to close the place down. They can't afford the rent anymore.
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Post by fumobici on Sept 10, 2009 15:53:04 GMT
I'm not sure I see the logic in striking to protest an impending shutdown. Of course I'm not seeing much logic in not striking either.
The Champs Elysées seems like a caricature of Paris, like the new Times Square in NYC. Disneyfied, emasculated, stripped of whatever once made it authentic and repackaged as some sort of glossy soulless corporate amusement park for the semi-sentient lumpen moneyed masses. I assume the rents there are so high nobody actually makes money conducting retail business, that the shops are are about branding, corporate flag planting, tax write-offs, having a branch to use as a carrot or to send the pouty niece, dissolute child or mistress that will minimize the potential blowbacks.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2009 16:52:42 GMT
Indeed, it is a place to be seen, not a cash cow for any business there, like the Ginza in Tokyo or 5th Avenue in New York. I wouldn't say that the shops change often, but I have seen tons of changes over the years. In fact, I cannot think of one single shop presently there that was already there when I moved to Paris. Only some of the restaurants, cinemas and automobile showrooms are the same.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2017 8:15:20 GMT
Naturally, the cola report is completely out of date and maybe 20% of the places mentioned do not even exist anymore, but it seemed like a good place to put this report for people who want to know more about the Champs Elysées.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 26, 2017 15:39:21 GMT
Thank you Kerouac for the video:
Some hate it but I absolutely love the Champs Elysees. If visitors took time to read up on the history of this slice of Paris, it would come alive in many other ways.
Whizzing around the Arc de Triomph on the flattened summit of the hill of Chaillot, known as Place de l'Etoile, either in a bus, taxi or by incredible luck in a tiny little black Fiat with Kerouac, one has to not only hold your breath while inwardly screaming "Oh....S H I T!", but put your eyes back in their sockets as the scenery becomes a blurr.
I usually stick to the left-hand side of the Champs as I walk down from the Arc. From here on it's a historical journey all the way starting at the ancient street of Rue de Berri ( and a lovely Chinese restaurant with glass floors). On the corner is an 18thC mansion once occupied by Thomas JEFFERSON, the then US Ambassador to France. On the opposite side of the avenue on another corner of rue de Bassano is a stunning building in Art Nouveau nouille style, complete with cherubs and garlands. This was once the l'Elysees Palace luxury hotel with 400 rooms and where spy Mata Hari was arrested on 13 February 1917. And so on and so on. The Champs Elysees becomes so much more than just a commercial touristy wide road. Look deeper and you will see so much more.
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Post by chexbres on Feb 26, 2017 21:26:11 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Feb 26, 2017 23:22:10 GMT
While the green part of les Champs is lovely, although I do know about the history of what has become the weird Disneyland for the moneyed, I can't stand being there and only explored some of the lovely buildings very early, preferably on a Sunday, once or twice. I've been nearby for gallery openings. Kerouac worked there; I've also worked in some posh areas here, though they'll never be as posh as those in London or Paris. And never had the sheen of the young ladies from those milieux.
I'm glad I have a small, collapsable water gourd in my bag for long walks. Couldn't imagine paying that for water and I don't drink sweet fizzy things.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 27, 2017 17:40:41 GMT
Thanks for that tip Chexbres. I will try and see the interior sometime when we are staying in Paris for more than just 4 nights. It certainly looks marvellous.
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Post by mossie on Feb 28, 2017 14:15:50 GMT
I don't often stray that far, but it is a great place for people watching. Remember sitting down at a cafe table outside to order a coffee wondering whether I would need to take out a mortgage, I think it cost me about €8.00.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 28, 2017 15:16:11 GMT
Funny you should say that Mossie, but there are very reasonable eats to be had on the Champs. Kerouac used to tantilize the life out of me with his almost weekly dose of Pho in an arcade there. You may not be into Asian cuisine but Pho will change you mind for sure. When staying on rue de Bessanno I often ate on the Champs Elysees. My most memorable meal was at Laduree. The food was exquisite and the Chateau Neuf du Pape was 9 euros a glass. Not bad. Because the chef made a blue with my order and gave me the most soft succulent lamb chops instead of the fish I ordered I got another glass of C N du P on the house
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 15:21:24 GMT
Back when I made the cola report in 2009, one of the reasons was to help people figure out for themselves which places were charging far, far too much. I chose the price of cola because it was the only item that I could be sure was sold in every single establishment.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 3, 2017 3:18:55 GMT
That is a lovely, very enjoyable video. It celebrates a justifiably iconic street and you are so right that it is a good report for those wanting to know more about the Champs Elysees. It's also good for a nice 10 minutes of imagining oneself in Paris.
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