Paris is already teeming with people everywhere on any ordinary day. On a Saturday, it’s akin to madness in the city. Go near anywhere popular and you’ll find yourself crowded in very quickly. Of course, for those on a leisurely walk or sitting at the terrace of a café somewhere, it is the perfect opportunity to people-watch.

Zarin is in town for a couple of days, and we met up this morning for a walking tour, some sightseeing and food hunting. When we stopped by the fountain at Place St Michel for a spot of photo taking, I saw these two cutest little girls grinning for their photographer, presumably their mum? Quietly, I slipped behind them and grabbed this shot. The composition is not perfect, but that’s what stealth photography is like. A hit or a miss. This is about half-half. ;)

There are statues and sculptures aplenty in Luxembourg Garden, including replica of the Statue of Liberty. Random information of the day: the Statue of Liberty is French by nationality, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and brought to life by Gustave Eiffel, who was assisted by Maurice Koechlin. The completed statue was disassembled and shipped in crates across the ocean before being reassembled – the latter took some six months for the erection to be completed.

Back to the sculpture above. Named “Faune dansant” (i.e. dancing faun), this sculpture of merriment and music can be found close to the site of the Medici Fountain in Luco. Despite the name, the depiction is really that of a satyr rather than a faun, which is half goat, half human. In mythology, satyrs are pipe-carrying and dance-loving creatures. Looking at this sculpture, I half expect woodwind tunes to fill the air, so I can close my eyes and twirl to the melody.

As you may have noticed, most of my exploration of Paris so far has been on the Left Bank (“Rive Gauche” as we call it here). Today is no difference. Well, it is weekday and there’s a limit of how much distance I can cover after work. Inevitably, it’ll be somewhere nearby that I can get to, easily, on foot.

This door on rue Monsieur Le Prince has a lovely sense of perspective and depth to it. The door was cleverly carved in the way it looks nearly three-dimensional, and felt quite the same way too. It was not a simple flat carving by any mean. To me, this is no longer just the front to a building. It is a work of art in its own right.

Métro stations in Paris have their own characters. Certain stations are cultural, e.g. if you’re at Louvre-Rivoli, you’ll see casings with “artefacts” to reflect the fact that you’re at the station for Musée du Louvre (although I assume the items are replica rather than the real deal); certain stations are under renovation works (these are not that interesting); certain stations get thematic advertisement series, like this one.

Odéon has been given the creative advertisement treatment this week. Walking along the platform, the faces of the kids looking surprised, astonished, delighted, gleeful and all, it pulled me in right away and I knew I had to act fast. One minute before my train arrived and off I scrambled, searching for my camera in my bag. Reviewing the photos at home, the posters are marked with “Ce qu’il/elle a vu? Regardez le quai d’en face” – “What did he/she see? Look at the opposing platform”.

Don’t ask me what were the advertisement posters on my side of the platform. I didn’t pay any attention at all.

From time to time, photo exhibitions are held along the fence of Jardin du Luxembourg. In conjunction with International Women’s Day a couple of weeks ago, the French Senate together with Olivier Martel brought forth “Femmes Éternelles”, an exhibition of 80 portraits of women from all over the world, with scenes from daily lives to ceremonial events. I have been over to look at them a number of times at this stage. What can I say? I really like them.

One particular photo that touched me most is that of mother and child in hospital, taken in 1987. The baby was living inside a bubble and yet laughing so joyously, a look reflected in the mother’s visage, despite what must have been poignant that she could not yet held her baby close to her without the barrier but keeping her morale high that this would be the good start the child needed. It is a powerful image, even if not as colourful or exotic as other shots of the series.

The exhibition runs until 15 June 2011, and if you can’t make it to Paris between now and then, you can still enjoy the photos from Martel’s website. Which photo inspires you most?

I happily took a detour today from my usual route after work, just so I can grab a photo of this fountain that can be found adjacent to the RER station of Port Royal. It has a couple other names, including Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde (Fountain of the Four Parts/Corners of the World) and Fontaine Carpeaux (named after the sculptor). The four corners of the world, represented by female figures, are Asia, Europe, America and Africa. You should also be able to see the symbols of the 12 zodiac around the “equator” of the globe upheld by the figures.

The sculpture itself is facing towards the observatory referred to in its name. From the Luxembourg Garden, one should be able to look southward from the central pond, and have uninterrupted view of the fountain and the observatory. Paris Meridian can be found at the observatory, which today, is still one of the largest astronomical centre in the world.

There’s so much to tell today and I don’t know where to start. Or how to keep it short-ish. Just know that it has been a gloriously warm Sunday and I wish everyday is as wonderful as this.

Only one museum visited this morning – Chloé and I went to the Musée des Arts et Métiers where we caught live demonstrations of Pascaline calculator and Faucault’s Pendulum – before our stomach rumbled and we got very lucky to get a table at Breizh Café without reservation. A galette Breton and a sweet crepe each, yum. Sitting outside at the terrace for a bit of a tan while eating delicious brunch – bonus of the day.

That was not all. Today is Jour du Macaron as well, so we made it to Pierre Hermé’s shop near Pasteur (the queue at the shop near St Sulpice was crazy long and we didn’t even try to go there) for some treats. The flavours I picked: fig, sweetbriar and foie gras; white truffle and hazelnut; and “dépaysé” which combined matcha green tea, azuki bean, lime and ginger. Two words to describe them all – flavoursome, delectable.

As the Salon du Livre was also running this weekend, I went over to check it out. Free entry with my Paris public library card – nice! I bought a couple of books, including Dessine-moi un parisien by Olivier Magny (who keeps an entertaining blog of Stuff Parisians Like), which he also kindly autographed. I would have like to stay and chat with him for a bit, but my French was failing me…

The day was capped off with dinner at Chloé’s where the girls and I were served raclette with potato, salad and saucissons. Even though we were stuffed in the end, we incorporated a little twist to dessert, by serving roti bakar, Malaysian style.

I am having the time of my life :D

Weekend numero deux in Paris and it is a cooooold Saturday despite the sunny blue sky. This morning, I conquered the communal laundry machine and dryer (yay) with the help of my neighbour and I am also all set for a weekend at the museums, thanks to Chloé’s mum who furnished us with a Télérama pass which entitles free entry (for up to 4 person) to selected museums both today and tomorrow.

But first thing first – la manif. Purportedly one of French’s favourite pastimes (apart from la grève), the educators are on the demonstration path this time round, starting from Luxembourg. When I went past, they were just getting themselves organised, with brightly coloured balloons, gigantic banners, oversized puppets, and photographers are swarming the place, amateurs (like me) and professionals alike.

I didn’t stay around. Instead I was away to the Musée du Quai Branly and Musée d’Art Moderne, near the neighbourhood of the Eiffel Tower. I know, I know, I haven’t yet taken a single photograph of that iconic Parisian structure since I got here. It’ll come, at some stage. Just not today. Stories of the museums to come separately when I have a bit more time to write. Plenty of accompanying photos as well. ;)

I mentioned the Maison Internationale a few days ago and thought, why not show it off? So voila, the grand building that welcomes all visitors to Cité U, looming majestically just as one walks past the main gate to the campus. It is supposed to be a replica of the Château de Fontainebleau. Since I’ve not been out in Fontainebleau, I can’t verify it. I shall check it during one of the upcoming weekends. ;)

Maison Internationale was built thanks to the contribution of JD Rockefeller Jnr and today, it houses a number of “stuff”, including a bank, the main campus restaurant, the library, the language lab (which I seriously need to pay a visit and make full use of) and even sports facilities to include swimming pool. Pretty impressive, right?

Ah, Paddy’s Day away from Ireland. It really is not quite the same, where in Dublin, it’s all celebratory with the day off (it’s business as usual around here) to be out watching the parade on Dame Street, then over to Harcourt for street ceili, and of course then a wee pub crawl with friends for a convivial and light-hearted celebratory food and drinks.

Over in Paris, the celebration is a tad unorthodox, with me meeting up with Chloé and Hélène for a Vietnamese dinner (how Irish is that? ;)) followed by an attempt to go to an Irish bar nearby but it’s absolutely packed that the people were spilling out to the streets with their pints. All around Quartier Latin, revellers in tall squishy hat (apparently Guinness is running promos and gives those out for free) are about town, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

If only they wear a bit more green (I am! In green tank top!) and start to sing a bit, then it’ll feel a bit more like Dublin. Happy Paddy’s Day!