The soldiers of the French Revolution are coming back to the Invalides in Paris!

French Revolution soldiers in the "Cour d'Honneur" (Court of Honor) of the Invalides

Do you know the "Hotel National des Invalides" in Paris?
The King Louis XIV built the "Invalides", a military hospital for war veterans and unwell soldiers (the "invalides" of war). See this link.

Les Invalides - La Cour d'Honneur

The Dome Church is very famous (now covered by gold), notably because it contains the tomb of Napoleon I.

Napoleon I in the Cour d'Honneur (statue previously at the top of the Vendôme Column)

This weekend of December 7th and 8th is the celebration of the Artillerymen with numerous Artillery demonstrations and many historical re-enactments. See the following program:

Click on the picture for a larger view

Horse drawn Gribeauval cannon in the Invalides

See the following films of some of these demonstrations (you can choose HD mode):

Where was the FIAC?

WHERE

HERE (Jean Dupuy - 2013)

Where was the FIAC this year? Here => http://www.fiac.com/en/hlmfiac2011.html?lg=en

Read this post of 2012 for more explanations.
Look at some of the FIAC artistic pieces in Paris gardens:

• Like WHERE and HERE, also in the Tuileries:

The Golden Sphere - James Lee Byars - 1992-2012

Pont - Shen Yuan - 2004

• or in the Garden of the Plants:

Nijinski Hare - Barry Flanagan - 1996

Château de tôle - Stéphane Vigny - 2011

Man Still - Gilles Barbier - 2013

• or on the new banks of the river Seine:

Rémanence Chlorophyllienne - Philippe Rahm - 2011-2013

You can still see some of them in November. Enjoy!

Growth of the "love" padlocks on the "Pont des Arts" in Paris

7 days of a new railing on the Arts footbridge ("Passerelle des Arts" or "Pont des Arts")

Look at the following slideshow. See how quickly evolves the newly installed railings on the Bridge of Arts.
See 7 days of these 3 new railings, from 13th to 20th August 2013:

The "Love padlocks" have been very much in the media. You surely heard about them. The "Pont des Arts" is surely one of the most romantic spots in the world that is why it has such a success with the padlocks...

See three posts of mine with some pictures and explanations:
A little pause on the Pont des Arts (see the bridge in 2010 and the density of the padlocks)
On the bridge of "L'archeveché" (explanations of the "Love padlocks")
The bridge in June 2012 (see the bridge in 2012 and the density of the padlocks)

This "Love Padlocks" fashion is recent, look at the "Pont des Arts" in 2009:

Le Pont des Arts in 2009 - You can see the water through it (no padlocks at the time)

Consider the density of the padlocks now, in 2013:

Compare the left railing to the new installed one on the right

Why does the City of Paris installs new railings?

Look at this photo:

Heavy padlocks - This railing is to be replaced

Installation of a new railing:

There are nearly 84 railings on the Pont des Arts, each one, due to the padlocks, weighing 150 kg, it gives more than 12 tons of padlocks for the Bridge...

Paris replaces them regularly to avoid a security issue due to the weight.
Well, don't worry too much for your padlock, your love is forever and the key at the bottom of the river Seine is still there to testify your link!

See also this report (in French):
http://www.francetvinfo.fr/tourisme-le-canal-du-pont-des-arts_372692.html

At the very top of the Saint Jacques tower, a fantastic point of view on Paris!

Saint-Jacques tower on early morning (Sunday 11-Aug-2013 - 6h50 AM)

Don't miss the visit of the "Tour Saint-Jacques"!
Exceptionally, the tower can be visit for a short period this summer, each weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) until the 15th of September 2013.
See here for more information: http://en.parisinfo.com/musee-monument-paris/71267/Tour-Saint-Jacques

Even though the reservation starts at 9:30 AM, I recommend to be there early, before 7:00 AM, because the line can be long and only a limited number of persons will access (reservation only made for the day).
It is worth the waiting time, the visit is interesting (in French but you will see interesting spots, pictures, the tower from the inside, etc.) and the view at the top is amazing! You are at the center of Paris, in the middle of the sky!

Well, if you can't go there, have a look to the following 360° video (not the best, maybe, but with many labels explaining which are the monuments and buildings).
The video will stop many times to let you read these labels. If you want more time to read them, you can pause the video.

Paris News: 1. Did they move Roland-Garros at the heart of Paris? 2.Plants on the river Seine?

Spectators looking at the Roland Garros tennis matches - In the background, the Saint Jacques tower

Floating gardens on the river Seine (work in progress) - In the background, the American church

1. Did they move Roland-Garros at the heart of Paris?
The French Open tennis tournament, Roland Garros tournament, started on May, 21st.
Roland Garros takes place in the west part of Paris, near the park of the "Bois de Boulogne".
Nowadays, it is very hard to get a ticket for a seat (you have to be fast on the online booking). Say that before the 80's, it was easy to get in, you even can buy a seat on the spot the day of the final!

Well, fortunately, there is another possibility to see Roland Garros in a nice way. Roland Garros can be watched on the esplanade of the Paris town hall ("Hôtel de Ville"). If the sun is present, what a nice manner to see the tournament, in the heart of Paris!

On the esplanade of the "Hôtel de Ville de Paris" - In the background, one of the tower of Notre Dame

"Hôtel de Ville" The event is called "La Terrasse"

2. Plants on the river Seine?

Do you remember the Parisian T-Rex?

T-Rex on the right bank, near the "Place de l'Alma"

Just in front, on the left bank of the Seine, floating gardens are appearing:

Floating gardens (still in work) - In the background, the bridge of the Invalides, and then, the Alexandre III bridge

The Parisian banks of the Seine are changing, for the joy of the Parisians. Less cars, more nature and pedestrians (See the website in French or in English)... Changes... under the look amazed of the "zouave" of the Alma Bridge, just near (see here some information about the "zouave").

"Zouave du Pont de l'Alma"

Another amazing animal in Paris! A T-Rex!

T-Rex looking at the Eiffel tower

Since last march 2013, a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex occupied the "Port de la Conférence" on the river Seine, near the bridge of "l'Alma" ("Pont de l'Alma").
It is a 7 meter sculpture made in aluminium and silvered chrome by the artist Philippe Pasqua for the "Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches", well-known parisian touristic boats.
By this sculpture, the lady who manages the "Bateaux-Mouches" company wants to promote Contemporary Art along the river.

T-Rex on the pier of the "Bateaux-Mouches"

T-Rex - Far off, the American Church

Little guessing game - Solutions

Here are the solutions of the last little guessing game post.

1) The pidgeon was on a statue near the Arc of the Carousel at the Louvre:

Click on the picture for a larger view

Location in Paris

2) The big lizard is on the left bank of the river Seine, close to the Alexander III bridge. They are two on both sides of the bridge:

Click on the picture for a larger view

Location in Paris

3) The salamander is on the door of an amazing "Art déco" building (1900), located Avenue Rapp:

Click on the picture for a larger view

Location in Paris

Many places in Paris with animal sculptures. Will you find the other ones?

Little guessing game

Will you be able to tell where you can find these Parisian animals?

1) The triumph of the pigeon over the eagle

2) Big lizard

3) Salamander

Give your answers in a comment.
Solution in May...

Small flood in Paris

Saturday, February, 9th - View on the Island of "La Cité" from the right bank, not far from the "Pont des Arts" -
Click on the picture for a larger view and some explanations on the background

After the snow, comes the water. Sometimes, often in February, the river Seine is susceptible to flooding.

See how the west end of the Island of "La Cité" is isolated, the place there called the "Square du Vert Galant" becoming, nearly as in the past, a separated island...

Square du Vert Galant

Square du Vert Galant and far off the "Voie Express rive droite"

Yes, in the past, there were 10 islands in Paris (now, 3 only, including "l'île aux cygnes). See here.

For a long time, the "Zouave" of the "Pont de l'Alma" (statue) helped the Parisians to measure the level of the river Seine. See here.
Look the level on this 9th February 2013, the feet in the water, a small flood, isn't it?

Nothing if we compare to the last very important flood of 1910!

Rue (Street) Bellechasse and an indication of the 1910 flood level ("crue de la Seine" means "River Seine Flood")

It is said that there is one important flood in Paris every century. Not for this year, happily!

Heavy snowfall in Paris last weekend

Orange tree and Eiffel tower under the snow

Last Saturday and Sunday, important snowfalls covered Paris with a beautiful white layer, a good opportunity to do a nice stroll around the Eiffel tower and the Trocadéro.

"La jeunesse" ("The youth") - 1937 - Pierre Poisson - Statues seem to bear the cold...

Eiffel tower in "white" from the Esplanade of the Trocadéro

Garden of the Trocadéro - Benjamin Franklin Street (16th "arrondissement")

Seagulls on a barge along the river Seine. On the other bank (left bank) building of the 7th "arrondissement"

Another bear in Paris!

Another bear in Paris!
Do you remember the Buddy bears who stood recently near the Eiffel tower?

The buddy bears are gone now, but a new one has come to Paris until the 3rd February 2013.
He is part of the Tara's exhibition now in Paris:

Tara Expeditions has been organizing missions aboard the research schooner Tara for the past 9 years. Tara's goal is to learn more about the impact of climate change on ecosystems. Tara Expeditions is a non-profit association based in France that provides samples and data to the scientific community worldwide.  One of the main objectives is to increase environmental awareness among the general public, and particularly young people through the Tara Junior outreach program. Tara also makes movies and books.
The Tara Expeditions project is affiliated to the United Nations Programme for the Environment.
To know more about Tara, click on the following logo:

The boat docked next to the beautiful Alexander III bridge and the splendid "Grand Palais":

Happy new year from Paris!