First, my apologies for this not terribly interesting shot. I was in a bit of a hurry this evening, heading over to Porte Maillot after work. I had a flight to catch, a weekend destination for a short getaway, and a bunch of amazing friends waiting for me across the Celtic Sea.

As I got to Porte Maillot and walking around part of the roundabout just in front of the Palais des Congrès, the Eiffel Tower began to play peek-a-boo with me. Sometimes I saw it, sometimes I didn’t. It was kind of fun, catering to my whimsical mood at that point in time. Perhaps it’s the excitement of what’s to come for the couple of days ahead. In a way, I’m going home…

It seems the end of daylight savings is going to be very challenging for me from now on, at least for the next two months, in getting decent photos for Project 365. And you may be getting a lot of night shots too, which means I really would need to learn how to use and optimise the camera for low-light conditions and start carrying a baby tripod with me everywhere. It’s not the same now compared to earlier in the year, when my movement was not constrained by working hours.

My attempt today was tricky at best. It was slightly drizzly and I have forgotten my tripod. Still, moving on, I took myself towards Invalides and decided it could be nice to try to photograph Pont Alexandre III by night, in the direction of the Grand Palais. As I stood there, the drizzle became progressively heavier but I played on with various settings. I had to pack up when it started to pour. I thought I managed a decent shot but I’m still not particularly happy with this one because it’s not as “crisp” as I’d like it to be.

Since I moved here, I’ve seen this bookseller at the main gate of Cité U nearly daily in the evening, either setting up the “stall” by displaying the books on the staircase (there are numerous editions of Petit Prince and in different languages), or chatting with punters (serious or otherwise), or trying to sell packets of tissue paper (10 cents each).

With his latest advertisement hung on the tree, I finally know name his name (Fabien). It has been a tad disconcerting walking past someone who regularly says hi to you but you haven’t a clue of who they are. I admire his tenacity, of staying outside and let fate chose the way things go. I also once saw him leaving in the evening – his bicycle was stacked with more books and he looked almost comical as he pedalled hard to go home for the night.

The carrousel is proving to be very popular in this town. Just go to any random corner and I bet there is yet another carrousel standing there, with queues of accompanying parent(s) and their little ones who “weaally, weaally, want to goooo” on the moving vechicles! The operator must be earning a small fortune.

This particular carrousel is found just across the road from the Eiffel Tower. It has proven to be popular not only with the tourists (well, mostly because of their kids) but locals alike. Tickets can normally bought in bulk which comes at discounted price and I’ve seen clever mommies around Paris who dishes out the ticket only one at a time. Time saving when you don’t have to queue up each time, and money saving with the reduced price to bundle of tickets.

As previously planned, I have gone back to Place de la Concorde for more photos, but with a promise that they’ll look different. Today, we are getting a view towards the north, with clear image of the fountain at this public square and a couple of landmark buildings at the background.

This fountain is called Fountain of the Rivers, with allegorical figures representing rivers Rhône and Rhine, surrounding by figures alluding to wheat, grapes, flowers and fruits, the main harvests of France. The classical and majestic building behind the fountain is Hôtel de Crillon, formerly a palace but today one of the luxury hotels of Paris with its own Michelin-starred restaurant. To the right corner of the picture, you’ll see La Madeleine, a church built as inspired by Maison Carrée of Nîmes. I’ll come back to La Madeleine another day.

After all the temple overload, here’s a change of image. I was up at Montmartre and spotted this church just across from Abbesses métro station – the Église St-Jean-de-Montmartre. Many would also call it Église des Abbesses, given its location, which makes it confusing for non-locals. Initially, I was wondering myself if the two names refer to the same church.

I love the bright colours used to stain this series of glass panels. The use of iconography here is very much along the classical line, but these glasses have been painted with clear landscape and swirling sky, a scene that is not typical for this depiction of Christ’s cruxifixion. At least none that I recall. Of course, one can argue, after countless of stained glass seen, how could I remember the details from one to another? It’s true, you know.

Remember my recent greedy/wild photography mission? Here’s a new shot of Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, and today the view point is none other than the newly-opened 5th floor gallery of Musée d’Orsay! After a week of strike action by the staff of the museum, it finally reopened on Thursday and I made good use of my MuséO card to gain entrance for a look at the new gallery.

From this shot, in the foreground, you can see Jardin des Tuileries in full autumn glory and the adjacent buildings of rue de Rivoli. But note the tiny golden statue at the left hand side, just peeking above the roofs. I’ve tried magnifying the photo to check, but couldn’t quite make it out. I’m deducing one of the golden sculptures above Opéra Garnier, but I can’t be absolutely certain. There’s something odd that makes me doubt this deduction. It needs further confirmation.

At the first glance, the walls of the Concorde station (for métro line 12, not 1 nor 8) seem to contain a whole bunch of decorative and alphabetised tiles, but surely that cannot be. If you take a little time though, words start to jump out, in French, but trying to make sense of it all is quite a daunting task. Without punctuations and spaces, to a non-native speaker like me, after a couple of lines, I was quite lost.

These tiles actually carry extracts from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen), a document dated back to the days of French Revolution. (Back then, however, they forgot women’s rights.) This was put in place in 1989-1991 during the renovation of the station by Françoise Schein.

Autumn colours have really bloom in the last few days. Last week when I passed this very same spot, there were speckles of orange and yellow, with a lot more green. But now, look at it, the leaves are burnt orange, ochre and golden in hues. Simply beautiful. Soon these trees would be stripped bare by nature though…

I like it how these péniches are so well lined up along the River Seine (at authorised quay sides of course), and the little touches the owners put to make them as homely as possible. In the horizon, Grand Palais looms large. It is currently hosting an exhibition of Matisse, Cézanne, Picasso… the Stein Family. Should be a good one, and I need to find time to go over.

Now that autumn leaves are showing their colours, I could not resist going back to Jardin du Luxembourg, to this spot where I have in past love the view it afforded me, with colourful flower beds and the Phanthéon standing proudly in the background.

This sculpture represents a Greek actor in rehearsal, with the manuscript in his hand containing the lines that he ought to learn, and a mask that will disguise his true self once drawn over his face. I do wonder if it is a tragedy that he’s rehearsing for, or perhaps something more cheerful instead?