Midnight In Paris - Part 4

The famous English language bookstore, Shakespeare & Company, was originally owned by Silvia Beach. Its current location was opened by George Whitman who recently died at the age of 97. This is the bookstore Hemingway frequented and where he ate dinner with Beach in her apartment above the store. Hemingway and James Joyce met there in 1928. If my memory serves me, in the movie this is where Gil runs into his love interest after calling it quits with his fiance.

Midnight In Paris - Part 3

This is the park behind the Notre Dame Cathedral where Gil meets up with a tour guide played by France's former first lady, Carla Bruni. She helps Gil translate a diary he found from the 1920's written by Marion Cotillard's character.

Midnight In Paris - Part 2

This is the Polidor Bistro where Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald take Gil to meet Ernest Hemingway. It turns into a laundromat when Gil is yanked back into the 21st Century. The Polidor was originally opened in 1845 and moved to its current Latin Quarter location 100 years ago. It was also a favorite hangout of James Joyce.

On Location: Midnight In Paris - Part 1

If you are familiar with the Woody Allen movie, you will recognize these photos as the church steps where Gill Pender (Owen Wilson) began his time travel. The blue car is roughly where the 1920s Peugeot pulled up occupied by Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Double Entendre

As I said, it was very warm in Paris on Thursday. That afternoon I was looking for a place to eat lunch when I came upon a Frenchman grilling chicken on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant where he worked. He spoke perfect English and said he had once lived in America for eight years. After placing my lunch order, the conversation naturally turned to the weather. I said to him, "Gee, you must hate working over a hot grill in the summer." Just as I said that, a woman walked by wearing a minuscule halter top exposing some major cleavage. The Frenchman gazed at her while simultaneously turning over pieces of white meat on the grill. Without skipping a beat he said, "To the contrary, Monsieur . I quite enjoy sizzling breasts in the summer."

How Hot Was It?

It was so hot today in Paris that while I ate on the patio of a restaurant, my waiter remained inside for the air conditioning and was rude to me via text messaging (rim shot!).

Anyway, today I observed a movie shoot at a cafe. Someone told me the actor is an American TV star. He's on a show called Desperate Housewives. I never heard of him. Can anyone identify him? If you can, you're watching way too much television. :-)

Soccer Hooligans

In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, expatriates from Spain and Portugal gathered to watch their national teams play in the European Championship semi-final match which took place in Poland. Many fans wore their team colors. The riot police were hanging out, undoubtedly collecting double time and a half overtime pay. What a bunch of Hooligans. The fans, I mean.

Paris, Isle-de-France, France

Here are some street musicians who play old funk tunes. What's with the glove on the left hand? He must have blisters. From playing the guitar, I mean.

Cahors, Midi-Pyrenees, France

I made an overnight stop in Cahors on my way to Paris. It is a quaint town located in a bend of the Lot River. The ancient art caves of Perche Merle are nearby (sorry, no photos).

Matador - 14 Bulls - 0

I met this couple in a cafe in Arles. The guy was born here in France; his father is Sicilian and his mother Moroccan. He is employed as a bullfighter and earns € 30,000 per match. He has been in 14 bullfights thus far. Check him out on YouTube. Search under his name, "Mehdi Savalli."

One More Van Gogh For The Road

This place was a mental hospital in Arles where Van Gogh was briefly a patient. The name of the painting is "Garden Of The Arles Hospital." He subsequently entered an asylum in the nearby town of Saint-Remy-de-Provence where he painted "Starry Night."

Pont Du Gard

Well, I can scratch this place off my bucket list. I've wanted to visit here since seeing photos in an art history textbook. It is a Roman aqueduct built in the 1st Century and is located near the city of Nimes. What makes this place so special is the bucolic setting.

Nimes, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

The ancient Roman Arena in Nimes is the 20th largest of the 400 still in existence. It is famous because it is (allegedly) "the best preserved." It was built in the 1st Century A.D. and in its heyday held 24,000 spectators to watch gladiator matches and other blood sports. It's still used for concerts and bullfighting. Apparently, Napoleon's wife was heavily into bullfighting and brought it to France from Spain.

Petanque

We call it "lawn bowling." In Italy it's called "bocce ball." Here in France they call it "petanque." In any language, it's really just an excuse for older guys to get out of the house for a few hours to argue and have a few laughs.

Not So Cool

This couple reminded me of "The Culps" sketch on Saturday Night Live in which Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer played Marty and Bobbie Mohan-Culp, a duo of out of touch middle school music teachers who sang modern pop songs in a stiff manner. Of course, I say this with all due respect.

Very Cool

Each year on the first day of summer, France celebrates a free night of music in all of its towns and villages. I'm told this tradition is spreading around the world. Pictured is a very cool band of horn players in Arles.

Arles, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France

Arles is a small city with ancient Roman and medieval buildings. However, it is probably best known as the place where Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh produced over 500 paintings during the 19 months he lived here in 1888 - 1889. The city has erected sign posts all over town depicting the view points where Van Gogh set down his easel.

Yeah, But Can They Fly?

Two nuns giving guidance to a man on the street in Montpellier.

Montpellier Pics

The bottom photo is a mini version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Adbusters

The days of the red trolley car in San Diego are dwindling as many are being painted over with advertisements. Not so here in Montpellier. Check out these designs.