After six months of living in Paris, I have finally found a map that helps me understand the geography of the place…

Paris from a Parisian’s point of view

In the past few days, Matt Harding has released a new video of himself dancing around the world. Definitely worth checking out, if you have never seen it before — start with the oldest videos and work forward in time.

It also means a lot of people looking for his website are finding mine instead. Even so, it’s always nice to have guests.

Click here to visit Where The Hell Is Matt…

The Fete de la Musique is an annual event that started in Paris and has been adopted in cities around the world. Held on the 21st of June, the first day of summer, it is basically a celebration of music. Everyone, from amateur to professional, is welcomed to play their music in the streets – but on the condition that the concerts are free.

Paris is a city full of buskers, and the standard of street music here is pretty high. The stereotypical images of a wino playing an accordion in the Metro are not a million miles from the truth. On our street corner, a five-piece jazz band plays every weekend – and 30 meters from that, a man plays piano concertos. So my expectations were high.

Too high, it turns out. Fete de la Musique was amateur night. The professional buskers packed up their instruments and enjoyed a quiet night at home, while across town one bad rock band after another took to the streets.

There were a few enjoyable acts, several nice choirs singing in a variety of languages and styles; a flutist playing under the arches at the Louvre; and the odd rock band singing covers and actually holding a tune. But on the whole, the vast majority of performers were pretty dire.

Paris was heaving, though. Good music or bad, this is a city that loves a good party.

This band grabbed a good spot at 2pm — and were still playing ten hours later when we passed them at midnight. Sadly, they only knew three songs, so those standing nearby might have found it a bit repetitive.

Two girls singing covers of French songs

We think this guy was either Canadian or American. And a Pearl Jam fan.

Another performer outside our house

The bassist

A choir around the corner from our house, singing something foreign. Given that we live just around the corner from the Czech cultural centre, my vote is for Czech.

It’s not every day you see a man walking down the street with a Sousaphone.

An old woman peers out her window at the noise below.

This man was responsible for the noise below the woman’s window. He wasn’t too bad, actually.

Everyone’s a photographer. Not everyone’s a naked photographer, however.

Two Sousaphones in one day. What are the odds?

A trumpeter playing Latin music

Two drummers, caught from above

Crowds on the bridge. It was standing room only — crossing the bridge took us nearly 20 minutes and a lot of pushing and shoving.

More crowds on the bridge. For those of you who are of a technical nature, check out the depth-of-field. Available light photography, low ISO, and F2.4 means a pretty shallow DOF.

Two guys on the bridge singing covers. Not too bad.

A few young fans enjoy a concert outside the Louvre

A nice way to end the evening, with a little classical flute music.

 

More about the Fete de la Musique in my next post, but for now here are a few shots of Aude and me as we wandered around Paris yesterday. The weather was beautiful, high 20s and sunny skies (that’s around 80F for those reading this in the States). A perfect day for a stroll around Paris.

Colourful trees in the Jardin du Luxembourg

Matt enjoys the summer sunshine as he sits in the Jardin du Luxembourg

Aude smiles as she pauses in the street

Matt relaxes over dinner at the local Lebanese restaurant

Aude peers out onto the Seine at dusk

Matt, outside the Louvre at nearly 11pm. Amazingly, it was still light outside. Longest day of the year, right?

Finding an apartment to rent in Paris is tricky. The best ones go on and off the market by word of mouth, never getting advertised.

You can tip the odds in your favour, however. Nearly all the phone numbers have been taken by those with rooms to rent for this lucky renter…

“Young woman seeks a room to rent”

Even in this day and age, sex sells.

Another week, another set of stamps in my passport. This week was actually reasonably calm. I spent Monday and Tuesday in Paris, then headed off to Zurich for the remainder of the week. It was nice to spend a few nights in my own bed for a change.

Zurich is still in the full swing of Euro 2008, although it isn’t quite so much of a party atmosphere now that Switzerland has been eliminated from the competition. There is still a big party along the Limmatquai, but the seas of red shirts that were apparent last week are no longer present.

They have been replaced by seas of orange shirts, the colour of the Dutch supporters. Only it turns out there is a small problem. SBB, the national Swiss railway, also dresses its track workers in bright orange suits so they don’t get hit by a train as they work on the tracks.

They have had to change them into yellow uniforms in the past week or two. Apparently, the Dutch have a habit of getting drunk, and in a moment of drunken confusion, following the SBB staffers onto the rail lines, thinking that they are going to some sort of party.

Here are a few more pictures of the Euro 2008 celebrations this week…

Statues in the Zurich Bahnhof to celebrate the Euro 2008 competition in Switzerland.

 

Statues in the Zurich Bahnhof to celebrate the Euro 2008 competition in Switzerland.

 

A brass band plays outside my window on Rosengasse

 

Trumpet solo

 

Crowds on the Limmatquai, getting ready to watch the Euro 2008 football matches on the big screens around the town

 

Florent, my colleague, poses for a picture in front of the river

 

The Swedish fans seem to be attracting plenty of attention

 

Views across the Limmat

 

A full moon over Zurich

 

A full moon over Zurich