Paris Day 3 / Pt 3

The Arc de Triomphe. I'll be honest, I mostly wanted to see it just so I could say "Yes, I saw the Arc too" when people asked about our trip to Paris. I wasn't expecting to really like it. However, to get to it we were at first puzzled, as the constant ring of traffic meant trying to run across was an act of suicide. 

Eventually though, we found one of the entrances to the tunnel that leads you to the center. 

When we got up, we noticed something that we never knew about the Arc. There were names on it. Lots of them. 

Clearly, there was a lot more effort here than simply a stack of smoothed marble bricks. 

Plus, like many other structures of Europe, the scale of it was larger than I thought it'd be. Ok, we were warming up to this stone stool. 

Well, I was anyways. Don't think Michelle cared much for it. 

One good thing about being in the middle of a giant round about in Paris? Great car sightings!

Such as this massive 612. I think people will remember these as well as the 456; that is, they won't. IMO, it was a nice V12 GT that was too subtle for its own good. I doubt the 612 will hold their value as well as the faster, more in-your-face 599, 575M, or even its controversially styled and AWD successor, the FF. 

I'll wrap this post up with the most French car of them all, the beloved Citroen 2CV. Next post, we'll look at some newer French metal. 

Paris Day 3 / Pt 2

Ah, finally we arrive at the tower. 

One thing that I really admired was the walk up to it, it really helped give a sense at the size of the structure.

It's certainly a lot grander than the one in Vegas! Haha

The were constructing something to be held in the middle, I think it's a new viewing center. Must come back to visit in the future then!

Being a national monument in a city that is familiar with terrorist attacks, security was not to be taken lightly. 

Didn't expect this guy! He sits outside of the elevator that takes you up the tower, which is where we're headed next...

Standing above a city and looking outward to the developed horizon is a feeling that can be replicated in many cities, but so rarely is the city so filled with history or the skyline so open to air. There are more developed regions of the city, as modern and tall as any other international powerhouses. However, the heart of the city remains free and open, and that openness is what makes the biggest difference between London and Paris. Needless to say, I fully preferred the Parisian freedom to that of the darker, narrow London streets. 

Interesting shape for a bike taxi. I wonder if the shape helps any or protects the occupants much. The "driver's" seat certainly looks more comfy than a typical bike. 

Personally though, I'd rather take a car taxi. A brand new E class would be nice...

Though this little guy certainly looked fun! I spy with my little eye, something black and Italian...

Though speaking of Italians, this really puzzled me. So there's a business in Paris called "Drive Me" which offers 1 hour drives in either a Gallardo or California through the streets of Paris. Ok, I can understand the appeal of that. Both cars are also paddle-shifting so you don't even need to know how to handle a clutch! But what I didn't understand was how so many locals (or at least people who seemed to be local) were so excited to see them. Every day while walking around I had seen more exclusive and desirable cars driving around (such as that Murcielago just before or the F12 posted earlier) and this is an international city with many exotics cruising around. A California or Gallardo was as rare as a Land Cruiser in SF; you're not likely to see one every day but there are plenty around. So I couldn't understand why they were going nuts with these but rarely batted an eye at more valuable cars. Maybe it has something to do with messing with the customers or maybe I'm just jaded? 

So that should be enough pics of the Eiffel Tower. Next post, the Arc de Triomphe.

Ok, one more pic

Paris Day 3 / Pt 1

Today's our really big tourist day as we hit the Eiffel Tower and what's around it. 

First thing first though, the SL caught my eye. They exist in the States too, but rarely do you ever see them this clean. Change out the wheels and you could have a really great looking cruiser. 

We start out at the Musee d'Histoire Contemporaine, a large old building full of canons, Napoleon statues, and a very wide open central space. 

The Napoleon statues begin to make more sense as we entered the rear of Le Tombeau de Napoleon. We didn't get much information about it, but it appeared to be a church with some strong ties to Napoleon, as told by the name. As with all the churches in Paris, it was certainly impressive.

That organ..

Such a cool tank. WWI era I think.

Some car spotting at the round about in front of the property. Black and tan, what a classic combination.

"Hello!"

This was a great sighting. In retrospect I wish I had taken more time to shoot it, but it had started to rain for a moment and chose seeking shelter over taking pics of the F12, the fastest and most powerful street legal Ferrari ever made (until the LaFerrari comes out that is). Great color too, I don't need my Ferrari to always be red. 

One thing that sort of surprised me was how popular Wranglers are out here! In Paris, I saw more Jeeps than Land Rovers, though to be honest, I didn't really expect British goods to be popular in France. Still though, woo! Go USA!

Apparently a brand new C350 isn't really worth taking care of for one Parisian. 

Thankfully, those with more tasteful cars have a better sense on how to take care of their possessions. Mmmmm, long-nose 911s...

Next up, the tower!

Paris Day 2 / Pt 4

We end the day walking around more alleys in the Latin Quarter.

It's easy to forget these alleys are still streets people drive down. This Peugeot RZC kinda looks like a meaner, bigger TT. Pretty cool, except I personally think that lacking a beefy AWD powertrain and sticking with a FWD layout means its mostly for looks and going quickly on mostly straight roads. 

Malongo was probably the only really neat coffee shop we spotted while in Paris. Turns out they also sold most of the machinery one would need to start up their own coffee shop so it was definitely a great place to swing by. Would have gotten some coffee as well if the prices in Paris wasn't so unreasonably expensive. Six Euros for an Americano? Pass.

Really great bookstore with some of the most impressive photo books I've seen in a long time. Wish I had room to bring some of them home with me.

Paris definitely had the better collection of dope bike spottings. I mean, how cool is it when you're riding a "Wolf"?

Ending day 2. Next up, we finally go to the tower!

Paris Day 2 / Pt 3

Now we cross over the river into the Latin Quarter. 

In this area was a lot of little alleyways and shops. 

Ok, this is the first time that a Smart and iQ really do make a lot of sense. 

Seeing this 2nd gen 4Runner here brought back some good memories. 

And here we are at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Doggie butt.

This poor Citroen CX has seen better days. They look pretty slammed though when the air suspension fails. 

Man, Alfas do look good in black.

The final part coming up soon.

Paris / Day 2 Pt 2

I'm reminded by visions of famous chase scenes in Ronin and Bourne as we cross over the river and to the island. 

Diplo would be proud, might even like it more that it's the misspelled.

Some great smelling lavender soap bars.

The protesters spirit is still alive an well here, we've seen a fair number of these banners and groups chanting while here. 

And here it is, the world famous Notre Dame! 

Fortunately, despite the high expectations I had, the church was still very impressive for me. The amount of detail and work on it is just staggering. Not the largest church, but the size is still something to behold. 

Fortunately, photography was permitted so long as I refrained from using my nonexistent flash. It's always shocking that there are still many people who persist on strobing away despite how poor it makes the images appear and how much it upsets the clergy (and police officers). 

Despite the flashes though, I was relieved that the noise level was kept to a respectful whisper. This is after all still an active church. 

Those stained glass artworks...

Every church we've been to, in service or not, there were always several tourists paying respects. 

And so concludes Notre Dame. Next up, Jardin du Luxembourg and a little of the Latin Quarter. 

Paris / Day 2 Pt. 1

We begin day 2 off to a wet start. Almost as soon as we get out of the Metro to our first stop, it begins to rain. Apparently, 20% chance means 20 min. of rain, which doesn't sound that bad except during that 20 min. it absolutely cascades. It goes bright and sunny, sudden biblical flooding (lightning and thunder included), then back to sun again. Best thing to do is just wait it out, as we did at the entrance of beautiful St. Merry. 

We eventually arrived at Pompidou which was larger than I always imagined. Architecture with an external structural skeleton isn't really unique nowadays and the elevator tubes reminds me of the Macy's Mall in Beverly Hills, but it still looked pretty impressive nonetheless. 

These smoke stack things looked pretty neat, but the acoustics from them facing down towards the museum entrance was really, really good. You could hear this kid playing some little weird sax throughout the whole courtyard.

Up we go...

This was the first time seeing above the city up close (Sacre Coeur was great, but it was too far). As far as size goes, it's definitely larger than London. I was able to walk across London fairly easily, but walking across Paris would take the majority of the day. 

There's that Eiffel tempting us again. We'll get there soon enough...

Mandatory selfie for Michelle.

Sacre Coeur again. Again, from the looks of it, you'd never guess that only an hour ago there was pouring rain, lightning and thunder. This wild weather is something we've had to get used to while staying here. On the plus side, it tends to leave as fast as it shows up, so you only need to find shelter for at most 30 min. before being ok to go back out agian. 

Cool LED signs inside. 

Here's the Stravinsky Fountain with a bunch of cool sculptures. Wish they were running though. Finding a fountain in Paris this time of the year that's actually running proved to be pretty rare. 

Gotta love the juxtaposition of these two great pieces of art being adjacent to each other. 

The full sun just after the rain made for some wonderful (although very intense) lighting. 

And lastly we saw the Saint Jacques before heading to the island to see the most famous Parisian church of them all. 

Paris / Day 1 Pt. 2

After beginning to get the ins and outs of the city, we began heading towards Sacre Coeur. 

Old school Saab 9000 with old meshies somehow fit really well here on the Parisian streets. 

At first glance, I thought it looked like an Indian temple at the top of the hill. Maybe because it was so much cleaner (whiter) than most of the other churches and temples we saw. The domed tops helped the Taj Mahal affect too. 

Look at these punks causing a ruckus with their skateboarding and scootering. Actually, the real delinquents was the scum at the base of the hill that'd grab people's hands (mostly women) and try to put a piece of colored string on your finger so you'd be "forced" to buy their crappy excuse of a souvenir. Despite the police being in clear eyesight of the activity, they just kept at it the entire time we were there. If you happen to see them, don't be shy to physically push them away and tell them to [shoo] off; it's the only way they'll understand you're more trouble than you're worth and they'll just move onto the next victim. 

Once you move past that unfortunately scum though, the rest of the area was really pleasant. Even the pigeons, which look a lot healthier than those in London/SF/LA, were friendly. 

It's really refreshing how clear and open the city feels compared to London. Even with the local smoking and the weird smelling grocery stores, the air here is just so much cleaner. 

It even managed to get Michelle to crack a smile. 

And have I mentioned that I miss hills and breaking up the monotony of the flat, featureless slab of land that is London? Yeah it may be a little bit of an exercise to get up to the top, but I enjoyed every moment of it. 

Finally we arrive. 

And what a view!

Through the trees and buildings, we even got our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower. Definitely a great area to live for the view, though I'd try to avoid the bottom of the hill. 

Because when you think of Memphis, you think of palm trees? Gotta love the crazy MKIII Golf specials. 

Alfa Romeo may only have a collection of fwd hatches and saloons/estates (if you exclude the 8C and newly introduced 4C) but man these things are lookers. My favorite looking modern fwd hatch for the longest time has been the VW Scirocco R, but the Alfa Romeo Brera is a very close second. 

Peace brah!

The local ads tend to have a fun vibe about them compared to the serious and clean ads of London. 

I know this is considered to be the city of lights but it feels like the city of color coming from the bleak streets of London. 

One thing that I've noticed these past 3 days is that Paris is the sheer number of scooters and motorcycles, which makes sense when there's almost no parking and the traffic is crazy. What this means to me is plenty of great 60-early 90s bikes to spot, like this Yamaha and BMW. 

This wraps up the first day. Stay tuned for the next day as we go to Notre Dame and Pompidou.