Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Eiffel Fracture . . .

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Life continues to race along. I'm off today to London for a couple of days, a trip which once involved six or seven hours on a bus, as I couldn't afford airfare back then, now takes under two hours on the train. Will be back on Friday, but may not have much connectivity between now and then...
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Yesterday, was in Paris on what felt like the first day of Spring, to have lunch with Peter, of Peter's Paris, and Adam, of Invisible Paris, and then an afternoon of walking, exploring, discovering some of the infinity of nooks and crannies that Paris has to offer. Peter is a most excellent companion and guide for such outings, for he has a wealth of knowledge up his sleeve about all sorts of off-the-beaten-track places around the City of Light. Adam would also be, no doubt, but he had to get back to work after lunch.
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One must always be alert for unexpected treasures. At one point I stepped quickly up a side street while Peter took a phone call, and found myself face to face with a broken window in a restaurant that was being renovated. In Paris, even when something simple happens such as a pane of glass getting shattered by some accident of fate, there can be magic about it. For it is evident that this windowpane, which had lived its life as a transparent part of a window in a Paris restaurant, harbored aspirations in the depths of its windowed soul to be something greater, to one day emulate that most Parisian of Paris icons, the Eiffel Tower. It seems to me it succeeded. What do you think ?
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Yes, there is magic in the streets of Paris, if one is willing to go look for it.
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There are also many good things to eat in Paris, as multitudes of streetside menus will attest. Frog's legs, anyone ? Snails ?
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53 comments:

Stickup Artist said...

I see Cassolette is on the menu. I've had that cooked up by a certain Frencher half of the Pliers. And Yes, I thought the Eiffel Tower right off when I saw the shattered window pane. Looks like a day of finding the color red too, accompanied by the warmth of good times with good friends. Enjoy your trip to London. Hope you get to take some pictures for us!

Lena said...

Seems like you had a great day, Owen!
Girolles á la crème? Miaaam!
I love the broken window photo... :)
Have the best of times in London... Make sure you have a pint thinking of us! LOL!
Warmest hugs!

mythopolis said...

Well, pardon my paranoid ways, but maybe it is an omen...a premonition....how's security on the Eiffel Tower these days?

Lorrene said...

The broken window looks like a spiders web making a veil over the Eiffel tower. Somewhat quaint don't ya think.

Jess said...

Yes! It does look like the Eiffel Tower doesn't it?! I'm off to London on saturday, it's not a patch on beautiful, magical Paris though! :)

Scott Law said...

For photographers, certainly Paris is one of the treasure capitols of the world. Love your Eiffel tower window.

Pastelle said...

La magie est dans le regard ! :)

Le Journal de Chrys said...

Héhé, je vais prendre des cuisses de grenouilles... Ben oui, j'adore!!!!

Lynne with an e said...

these sorts of pictures entice me to paris. hidden charms. imperfections. everyday beauty. the extraordinary of the ordinary. local colour.

Whilst in London, perhaps a dish or two of chicken-from-the spit, spotted dick, and/or toad-in-the hole, all washed down with stout, followed by a blanc-mange for dessert, accompanied by a tepid cup of instant Nescafé, will compensate for the lack of the fine French cuisine's snails and frog legs.

Lynne with an e said...

PS. Speaking of snails, happy trails to you!

Céline said...

Heureusement, il y a une pharmacie juste en face : du sparadrap fera l'affaire pour arrêter cette fêlure !
Have a safe trip to London.

jeff said...

Est-ce que la digestion du plat du jour est magique elle aussi ! ! !...:)

jeff said...

Au fait !
Bien vu la photo sur cette fenêtre brisée ! C'est un client qui a voulu fuir ?

Steve said...

Whatever man builds nature and physics creates more beautifully left to their own devices...

PeterParis said...

Thanks for the nice lunch and walk together! ... and I now could see in practice how your special eyes for "odd things" work! Bravo!!

Yes, French people are supposed to be frog eaters, but I wonder how many French have really eaten them? (By the way, I have, and I like it!) :-)

Anonymous said...

Unique.

Please have a wonderful journey and time as well.

Catherine said...

Yes it is a bit tower shaped - enjoy the London trip and just to let you know I will be joining the French bloggers' group when I move to South of France this August - any that you know of in Nice / Monaco area???

Nathalie said...

Lucky you to get to stroll through Paris with Peter. Now that's a treat! No wonder you had a great time. Enjoy London!

Dee Newman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dee Newman said...

So Owen, where is the Pharmacie that is reflected in the Eiffel Fracture? What was the name of the side street? Were you close to the Tower?

The Sagittarian said...

You have a handy knack of being in the right place at the right time eh? Lunch AND broken windows, well done! It is an amazing photo, I took a pic of a broken window in one of the erathquake damaged buildings (a recent quake broke this window, not the big one in Sept) but it's not as exquisite as your window.

As Big Sis said, Happy Trails to you and don't eat the fish and chips in London, they're not as good as the one's you'll get here! :-)

Clytie said...

Yep, I see the Eiffel Tower there! Good eye you have, Mr. Toad!

Nevine Sultan said...

Oh, that first photo, Owen! No, it's not the magic in the glass. It's the magic that you make when you snap! But I do have to admit I'm a sucker for Paris. Now, how about some of those escargots? ;-)

Enjoy London!!!

Nevine

James said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I'm amazed by your keen eye for details. I'm sure I would have walked right by the "Eiffel Tower".
Then again it might have been a bonus that came with the reflections. :)

Owen said...

Stickup, excellent trip to London, plenty of pictures to sort out, and add to the ever growing holding pattern of photos waiting to make an appearance here. How lucky you are to have been able to sample some of the frencher half's cuisine... I hope to have the privilege someday. But a little bird told me they were in your neck of the woods... maybe you will be able to get some more of that good cooking ???
Bon appetit !

Owen said...

Hi Lena, for sure, I did indeed sit down and have just one pint of Guiness Stout, while thinking of all of you good people out there in the blogosphere, raised the pint glass to you all... (for some that is a workout !)

Ah, so you have a soft spot for girolles ? They go so well with many dishes, or as a dish apart, which was the case here. Yep, I'm beginning to think you're not so dumb as you let on to be... anyone who says "Miaamm!" about girolles cannot possibly be.
:-)

Owen said...

Hey Mythops, perhaps we'd best send Bond, James Bond, around to check out the tower security again. The last time he was things were pretty tense...

Owen said...

Lorrene, I'm not sure I want to meet the spider capable of spinning a misty web over the Eiffel Tower ! I think I'll go spend a few weeks in the countryside until the French army can get things under control again...

Owen said...

Hi Jessie, have a fine time in London. It's more crowded than I remember it being, but still some fine things to see there. I was amazed at prices though. We thought we might want to see a movie one night, until the man at the ticket window told me the tickets were 15£, which is close to 18 euros... I said thanks but no thanks !

Owen said...

@ Scott, Paris can compete with the best of them... glad you like the window, I was afraid it might leave people feeling a little shattered...
:-)

Owen said...

Chère Pastelle,
Je pense que la magie est quelque part entre le regard et la chose regardée, car il faut les deux pour que les réactions chimiques puissent démarrer...
:-)

Owen said...

Chrys, bon bah, ça fait deux assiettes de cuisses de grenouille, cela me tentait aussi... bon ap !

Owen said...

Lynne ! Ahem !
Yes, hidden charms... Well, I found the stout alright, but no spit, dick, or toad in hole; guess I wasn't looking hard enough.

Did find a couple of odds and ends to photograph though, stay tuned...

Owen said...

Hi Celine,
Je pense qu'il faudrait prendre un peu de Doliprane aussi avec le sparadrap... un coup comme ça pourrait donner mal à la tête...

Anonymous said...

oh, I like the broken window. The Eiffel Tour, a work of art! Beautiful post!

Have a nice week-end, dear Owen!

Renée

Elisa said...

Yes it sure is Eiffel tower! Amazing.. I would rather be there now, we have here such a cold weather.. -32 and today -25 C. Have a nice weekend. ;)

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a good trip to London. As a welcome back surprise, I have left you something at my blog. Come over to collect.

Owen said...

Bonjour Jeff!
La digestion va toujours mieux avec une longue promenade, dans les rues de Paris, ou ailleurs, d'ailleurs... mais tu as raison, les cuisses de grenouille qui sautent encore dans le ventre, le secret pour aider à les digérer sans tracas c'est de boire assez de vin pour bien les noyer...

Quant à la fenêtre, je pense qu'il s'agissait d'un couple sur le point de rupture, elle lui a balancé un cendrier sur la tête, qui a heurté la fenêtre après un ricochet rocambulesque...

Owen said...

Steve, absolutely, and even for what man may have built, nature and physics will always work to tear it back down. That's where I come in, to document the tearing down process...

Owen said...

Hi Peter, guess a poll, un sondage, will have to be done, to see how many French have actually eaten frogs legs... me too, and I liked them ! A little white wine to wash them down with... It was a pleasure, and am looking forward to the next stroll, in the countryside this time...

Owen said...

Tag Robert, danke schon, indeed did have a fine trip, and am grateful for you positive thoughts...

Owen said...

Catherine, wow, what's this ?!? You're moving to southern France ??? That's fantastic ! As for blogs down in that part of the world, two that I know of and like alot, both are in my sidebar, are Avignon in Photos, by Nathalie, and Menton Daily Photo, by Jilly, who also has another blog about dogs on the Riviera... well, it's a dog's life down there. Will look forward to hearing more about your adventure in moving !

Owen said...

Hi Nathalie, thanks so much, London was great, and as you know, an afternoon with Peter is a rare pleasure. It is amazing how much he knows about Paris...

Owen said...

Hi Dee, are you going to be in Paris soon to track it down ? It was not all that near the Eiffel Tower, we were walking in the 8th Arrondissement, it was near where the rue Fontaine, rue Chaptal, rue Notre Dame de Lorette, and rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle all meet... happy hunting !

Owen said...

Dear Saj,
Saw your message too late, after I'd already had some fish and chips in London, and they were pretty good, love the vinegar on the chips ! But if yours are even better, guess I'll have to come see one of these days... And I'm betting you know what's best to wash them down with too !

So, hope we'll get to see your broken window art from earthquake alley...

Owen said...

Hi Clytie... being a toad and all, I was down at ground level, had to jump really high to see and photograph this one... but jumping is good for a toad's legs...

Owen said...

Dear Nevine,
Escargots it is then ! What I love best about the escargots, the way they're often presented in garlic-butter sauce, is soaking up the hot garlic butter with fresh bread... yum !

Hope there is plenty to celebrate in what has just happened in Egypt ! Hopefully whoever the new regime will be, will be better than the last...

Owen said...

Hey James,
Well, thanks to you, I'm far more conscious of reflections than before, even if I already had a little "thing" for reflections in general. Properties of light, refraction, reflection, absorbtion, and combinations of them, constantly amaze me. I guess I'm just a light junkie. And I'm not so sure, having seen you at work for a day, that you would have walked by this...
:-)

Owen said...

Dear Renée, thanks so much !

Owen said...

Hei Elisa, I'm amazed you have not turned into an ice cube by now ! Hope it will start warming up soon... There's a restaurant on the first level of the Eiffel Tower which is supposed to be quite nice, just imagine sitting in there with a good hot dinner and a bottle of wine, watching the boats go by on the Seine, the tourists lined up to visit the tower, and the Paris lights out the window...

Owen said...

Dear Squirrel, oh lone and grey one... thanks a zillion for the award tag... I really appreciate it. Don't know if I'll have time to actually do the meme, and post it, but these blog awards are really a case of it being the thought that counts... And I think it's amazing that you can turn backflips ! Bravo !

Ola said...

the menu is inviting:)

Eleonora Baldwin said...

We are surrounded by magic, all we have to do is LOOK and we'll SEE it!

Ciao
E xx