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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 21, 2020 18:19:19 GMT
It's not finished yet, not here, not anywhere.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 22, 2020 1:16:52 GMT
Well, if that picture isn't iconic of 2020, I don't know what is.
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Post by lugg on Aug 27, 2020 20:35:31 GMT
Absolutely, fabulous image .
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Post by lagatta on Aug 28, 2020 1:01:09 GMT
That sums up the Stones' "Living in a ghost town" in a single image, without the budget.
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Post by patricklondon on Aug 28, 2020 19:56:44 GMT
Just seen on TV some photos of deserted Paris streets in a montage of empty cities around the world (to accompany Copland's Quiet City, played as part of the live but audience-free First Night of the BBC Proms). I never noticed before that the road surface around the Arc de Triomphe has been coloured in a star pattern to match the Étoile name. Or is that something new that the lockdown gave them the opportunity to do? My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings"too literate to be spam"
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 28, 2020 20:07:02 GMT
No, the étoile pattern has been like that for decades. But you only see it if you go on top of the Arc de Triomphe.
Meanwhile, seating on public transportation is no longer restricted. All of the "don't sit here" stickers are being removed from the metro, trams and buses.
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Post by lugg on Aug 29, 2020 10:21:03 GMT
Meanwhile, seating on public transportation is no longer restricted. All of the "don't sit here" stickers are being removed from the metro, trams and buses I thought things were being tightened up again in Paris - cant remember where I read that .
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 29, 2020 11:15:33 GMT
Yes, they are tightening things up. Masks must be worn everywhere now and as of today, even when seated at the cinema.
However, ridership of public transportation is getting close to normal with the end of the summer holidays, so it was silly to make people stand up in a crowd when there are unoccupied seats. And in any case, it was never an absolute order not to sit in those seats, just a suggestion.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 6, 2020 9:57:29 GMT
We are in a sort of semi-confinement again until December, but this time the small shops were able to stop the hypermarkets and variety stores like Monoprix from selling non essential items, something they did blithely during the first confinement. What is authorised at the moment is food, health care products, hardware, computer supplies and probably a couple of things that I forgot. So here is what my local Monoprix looks like right now.
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Post by bjd on Nov 6, 2020 10:07:04 GMT
Same here. I went to Leclerc yesterday and all the clothes, toys and non-essential items were taped off.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 6, 2020 10:11:27 GMT
My street is being transformed into a protected " corona-piste" for bicycles. It's not quite finished yet. There are two dedicated bus and taxi lanes and one lane for cars leaving the city, making it a one way street for private vehicles. At the moment, incoming cars are not blocked because it is not officially in service, but I don't know how they are going to route the incoming cars. So far the changes are only in "temporary" form, but the mayor would like to make it permanent. I think it should be possible because the rest of the street leading into the centre is already only one way northbound all the way from the Seine, so the change is perfectly logical. Will it cause chaos? We should know as soon as confinement ends.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 6, 2020 13:17:24 GMT
I read in the UK a lot of these 'pop up' bike lanes that have appeared during Covid have caused so many complaints and so much congestion they are having to be taken down again.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 7, 2020 12:02:05 GMT
Just found this latest update Kerouac of what's going on in your immediate area around your apartment. Thanks.
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Post by spaceneedle on Nov 8, 2020 10:43:26 GMT
Thanks for the update K2. My heart skipped a beat because this is my favorite time of year in Paris. I know, sometimes rainy and cold, but I like it.
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Post by lugg on Nov 11, 2020 11:12:28 GMT
I read in the UK a lot of these 'pop up' bike lanes that have appeared during Covid have caused so many complaints and so much congestion they are having to be taken down again. yes that has happened here in the city ... but only some have been removed the council is holding out against some of the backlash at the moment.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 19, 2020 21:17:01 GMT
Normally Paris is full of both Parisians and tourists at this time of year, and this is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. You be the judge.
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Post by htmb on Dec 19, 2020 21:47:30 GMT
Nice video, Kerouac. Good to see Paris, but it also makes me a little sad.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2020 23:17:37 GMT
Yes, ditto to what Htmb said. The video is lovely and the music you chose is perfect.
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Post by fumobici on Dec 20, 2020 4:50:20 GMT
Nice. All looks quite dreary and forlorn, particularly the Jardin du Luxembourg, which I've only ever seen and picture pretty teeming. But maybe on a wet December day it would look that way even in a more normal year.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 21, 2020 9:34:04 GMT
You captured history Kerouac. A sad moment in the life of Paris, the world and of course all of us. Lovely music which added that poignant feeling.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 1, 2021 15:14:41 GMT
The Morris columns (often confused terminologically with kiosks by visitors -- those are the newsstands) displayed movies and plays that were no longer on the agenda for months. It was a relief to me when JC Decaux finally replaced all of the posters with a new message. "While awaiting the return of spectacles, let's cultivate the art of solidarity and responsibility." Meanwhile, the metro has a new display for the current shows. The few that are displayed are hoping for the month of March.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 2, 2021 17:27:53 GMT
The new message on the column is rather soothing, with its good advice and implicit hope for better days ahead.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 7, 2021 22:03:15 GMT
A year into the "problem" the decline continues. I went by my old office to say hello to the building receptionist who has been there for about 40 years and who is now looking over a completely empty building. It was quite symbolic of the rest of avenue George V, one of the most expensive streets in the city. The evenue has clearly seen better times. Bulgari BMW the 5-star Fouquet's hotel
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 7, 2021 22:06:48 GMT
Also in the news this week was the fact that the Ladurée pastry and restaurant chain is selling all of its locations. Foreign tourists used to queue up to buy macarons, but the French don't really eat that stuff much, and they certainly don't pay Ladurée prices.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 23, 2021 17:58:02 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 23, 2021 18:05:30 GMT
Will Captain America and the Winter Soldier come to save us?
The remake of the Paris GPO on rue du Louvre is nearing completion. GPO? Not really: hotel, shopping mall, social housing...
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 23, 2021 18:13:30 GMT
The Pinault Collection is also awaiting its grand opening. Saint Eustache has seen it all and just admires the flowering trees of the Nelson Mandela park. Under the Canopée, it was very spacious. a few more people out and about Boulevard de Sébastopol is where I got my bus back home.
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Post by fumobici on Mar 23, 2021 19:05:23 GMT
Love these new photos. Saint Eustache positively glows in the spring light and the long views down the streets can be striking.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 23, 2021 19:19:45 GMT
Thank you for the updates Kerouac. It is shocking to see virtually no one out and about. I can appreciate how you are enjoying the tranquility. On our last holiday there we stayed in the 16th and early morning strolls looked similiar to this, we were in a sleepy neighbourhood.
We just came out of lockdown and a stay at home order that we were under since Boxing Day, so many of our citizens never paid any attention to either order, it was so frustrating. It looks like people are heeding the rules there.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 23, 2021 19:47:09 GMT
Interestingly enough, this new "lockdown" is more "locked outside." We can go anywhere we want within 10km during the day, but there is nothing much to do other than walking around or visiting parks. That's still good, because it is healthier than staying in confinement indoors.
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