November 07, 2007

Rue Fortuny

I don’t know how well Nespresso is spread over the world. At least it’s a great success in France and I must admit that I’m a fervent Nespresso drinker since a few years, I believe even before George Clooney.

It’s doubtful if, ecologically speaking, this is the best coffee preparation method, but anyhow… So I went to the closest Nespresso shop to get my monthly dose. This shop is in an old former one-family private house (“hôtel particulier”) some ten minutes walk from where I live.

Leaving the place, I could turn to the left and find the Swedish Church of Paris or to the right and find the Parc Monceau…, but I went straight on via a small street called rue Fortuny (17th arrdt), which you can see on the top picture.

This part of Paris was scarcely inhabited until the middle of the 19th century, but Paris grew and it then became fashionable for fortuned people to own a “hôtel particulier” in this area. Only in this small street, maybe 200 meters (220 yards) long, there are a number of them, some really nice. Today they are mostly used as offices, but some quite well-known people used to live here.

Edmond Rostand lived and wrote Cyrano de Bergerac at no. 2. At no. 13 (a street number mostly avoided) lived Marcel Pagnol - very popular French author and film director; "Topaze" is perhaps the internationally most well-known of his works, starring John Barrymore and later Peter Sellers in different Anglo-American film versions. Some actors and actresses also lived here, the most famous being Sarah Bernhardt at no. 35, and also e.g. the dancer, actress and courtesan Caroline Otero (“La Belle Otero”), at no. 27. Less “official” is perhaps that Nicolas Sarkozy was born and spent his first 18 years at no. 46, together with grandparents, a later divorced mother and two brothers.
Some autumn leaves from the way home to taste my coffee.

I put a few of these photos on my photo blog.

29 comments:

Keshi said...

u know so much Histroy...Im amazed!

Keshi.

Keshi said...

**History

isa said...

Your posts are as intricate and detailed as those wrought iron balconies on rue Fortuny!

You also reminded me that I visited the Swedish Church in the 17th one Christmas - partly for their holiday craft fair, but mostly for the Glögg ;-)

Anonymous said...

Nespresso is a marketing tour de force. Here in Switzerland the Nespresso outlets contest with the jewellers on Bahnhofstrasse as the most rarified emporiums - you have to remind yourself that it's just coffee!

This is a really nicely crafted post, as always - and I like the trouble you take to post the street numbers (in the original format!) This really deserves more than a blog entry that may get lost in the sands of the internet. I'm in Paris later this week and I for one will be using your blog entries as signposts for some wandering on my short visit.

Olivier said...

j'aime bien que tu finisses par cette photo de l'automne à Paris. Ton blog va devenir l'encyclopédie officielle de Paris, vraiment je suis en admiration de devant tout ton travail, bravo.
Georges Clooney ne demandait pas trop cher pour apparaître dans ton post ;o))

TORUŃ DAILY PHOTO said...

Some stunning observations as per usual! Great stuff!

Thanks so much Peter for helping to translate the German door sign. No easy task!

hpy said...

Nespresso and the more recent marks have done a good job, but I'm not sure (as you said) that it's good for everyone. It's much more expensive, and at the same time creating a lot of rubbish.

Peter said...

keshi:
I don't know that much; I learn at the same time as I "teach" you!

isabella:
Maybe you have been a more frequent visitor to the Swedish Church than I (shame on me)!

richard:
Nespresso is now preparing what may be the biggest shop on the Champs Elysées!
The "numbers" are "home-made".
Would hope to hear from you during your Paris visit!

Peter said...

olivier:
George est un bon ami; pas de problème pour les sous!

glenn:
Hope that the translation is correct!

hpy:
Yes, a lot of aluminium cans in the garbage and expensive... but I like the taste(s)!

Anonymous said...

Nespresso? Never heard of it. I wonder, if you have ever heard of the WWII drink, Postum? A god-awful taste people never learned to love in America.

oldmanlincoln

Peter said...

oldmanlincoln:
Nespresso not yet marketed in the US? WWII drink, never heard of it!

Anonymous said...

And again a wonderful walk through Paris. You have done a lot of good work for us (as always). Walking those street as a tourist you would never know that there is so much 'history' behind. Astonishing that so many famous people lived there. And now I'll go to your other blog to see more and larger.

Cergie said...

T'es un drogué qui va prendre sa dose ?
On peut reprocher ces capsule c'est pas écologique, non ?

Cergie said...

Ah ! C'est pour ça que tu es tout le temps au Parc Monceau ! Tu vas à l'église suédoise !

Cergie said...

Toutes ces magnifiques façades pour moi font comme des feuilles d'automne, elles enluminent la journée grise de mon aujourd'hui (il faisait beau lorsque tu as fait ces photos, non ?)
Sarah Bernard, tout le monde s'en tape. Tout le monde va voir son voisin Oscar Wilde au Père Lachaise et personne elle qu'est sa voisine de tombe...

Cergie said...

JAMAIS je ferai un post pareil ! T'es fou de faire ça ! C'est too much work !
Et ensuite t'es obligé de boire trop de café pour tenir le coup !

Chuckeroon said...

I haven't noticed any Nesspresso emporia here, but it's certainly advertised. I'm taken aback by all the fuss.....and even in Paris?

Peter, am I missing soemthing?

As for the rest.....it seems 2,500 commentators are there already (well done)

SusuPetal said...

Oh, what a pity, for a moment I thought you'd met George Clooney...
(which tells that I believe everything is possible in Paris:))

Anonymous said...

Bonsoir peter... j'arrive un peu tard, mais j'observe que cergie est en forme aujourd'hui vu le nombre de ces commentaires. :-) Je ne savais pas que tu connaissais personnellement George! Vous buvez souvent du café ensemble après avoir flâné dans les rues de Paris?

sonia a. mascaro said...

I am so glad you could capture the beauty of these old buildings! Really Peter, each photo is amazing! And as always, you did a good job with the collage.

Beautiful autumn leaves!

I think that Nespresso not yet marketed in Brazil.

Peter said...

april:
There may also be some now living famous people living here and elsewhere, but normally their addresses remain rather secret until they disappear.

cergie, cergie, cergie and cergie:
C'est vrai que je bois realtivement bp de café!

chuckeroon:
You may be missing some good coffees, but I presume you prefer the tea?

Peter said...

susupetal:
Last time I "met" George was on the Lago di Como some two years ago. He is very busy!

delphinium:
Voir ma réponse à susupetal!

sonia:
Don't worry, the Nespresso will arrive!

lyliane six said...

Je suis à la traîne, je n'ai pas bu ton bon café ce matin, mais celui de la clinique où maman est repartie faire un petit séjour!Je croyais que la boutique des champs était ouverte, ils sont en retard.Tu as bu plus de café que George? sans te vexer, bien sûr... tu es plus vieux (mais aussi bien conservé !). Belles façades bien colorées de gens bien aisés.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Peter,Are you up so late too?

I red about "nespresso" (ABL) WWII isn't that a drink out of the war? You know we (still) have 6 coffemachine 1 Nespresso, In France its all Espresso and you know (or not) I/we LOVE coffe, esspecially espresso!! hmmmmm

BTW RUE FORTUNY, I copy your map,see if w'll go there, thanks!!! Also for the history. You're great!

:)sorry Peter, I did not visit often I'm busy with hospitals and fysio etc, to recover, will be better, after paris, Promisse!:)

Zhang Chunhong said...

Je suppose que tu n'as jamais pris le thé que je t'avais offert! Tu ne veux pas me le rendre, puisque tu as ton Nesspresso?

Mona said...

Thanks for sharing this. The autumn trees look so breathtakingly beautiful. I hope you enjoyed your coffee!

Peter, I am sorry for not visiting as regularly as you do. I get a little busy at times to spend time online.I hope you do not mind!

Peter said...

lyliane:
J'espère que tout va au mieux pour ta mère!

joann:
So, next week, espressos in Paris. Maybe we can have some copffee together?

zhang:
Le the a été bu, par moi et d'autres. J'en bois, mais moins souvent que le café.

mona:
Your "excuses" are completely accepted!

Mélisse said...

Un bien bel endroit que je ne connaissais pas du tout (encore un devrais-je dire, la prochaine fois que je viens à Paris je vais te demander des conseils de balades...). Nespresso je ne suis pas certaine d'avoir goûté, j'ai bu des breuvages similaires chez des amis mais de Nespresso pas que je sache. Chez moi c'est la bonne vieille cafetière avec dosage manuel ;-)

di.di said...

OMG. How do you know all these info?