Panthéon@dusk

The Panthéon (from Greek Pantheon, meaning "All the gods") is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but after many changes now combines liturgical functions with its role as a famous burial place. It is an early example of Neoclassicism, with a façade modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a small dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto". Located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the Panthéon looks out over all of Paris.
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Its architect, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the gothic cathedral with classical principles. Soufflot died before his work was achieved, and his plans were not entirely followed. The transparency he had planned for his masterpiece was not attained. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important architectural achievements of its time and the first great neoclassical monument.
And its beauty stands out even more at dusk, thanks to the nice combination of the blue sky with the orange light of the sun.

The Pope

Snapshot of the Mass of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in Notre Dame, Paris.

Papagirl

Moulin Rouge

Le Moulin Rouge is a traditional cabaret, built in 1889 by Joseph Oller. It is situated in the red-light district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, near Montmartre, in Paris.


The main feature of an evening at the Moulin Rouge is the nightly performance. The Moulin Rouge is famous internationally as the 'spiritual home' of the traditional French Can-Can, which is still performed there today. Whilst the dance of the can-can had existed for many years as a respectable, working-class party dance, it was in the early days of the Moulin Rouge when courtesans first adapted the dance to entertain the male clientele. It was usually performed individually, with the courtesan moving in an increasingly energetic and provocative way in an attempt to seduce a potential client.

Arc de Triomphe & Tour Eiffel

Puppet Show in the metro

One of the big differences of the French metro compared to the Japanese one is the presence of artists who jump into a car, perform for a couple of minutes, and then move on. Most of them are musicians, playing the accordion or similar instruments. From time to time, however, there is something different, like in the picture below.



The puppet here was singing and dancing on the sound of Speedy Gonzales.

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame at sunset is breathtaking, isn't it?

Drawbacks of photography

Photography is a very interesting art. Sometimes, in order to get a good shot, you have to take the picture from an unusual angle. So it might happen that, trying to take a nice picture of Montmartre with the people, you would like to lay on the street, and use a very low angle.
The problem is that in this way most of the people do not see you, so they just stand between you and your target.


Or, as in this case, they almost sit on your lens... :-)

Abbesses

Abbesses is one of the few deep stations of Paris métro, at 30 metres below ground. To get out of the station, you can take these wonderful decorated stairs.








Too bad that some stupid idiot decided that it was cool to write on it.

Paris

A few pictures taken in Paris...


La Seine, and Notre Dame on the background

Le Louvre

Gare du Nord

Walking in the rain