December 03, 2007

It is (not yet) Christmas!

No ‘still painting” posts any more! The flat is now (almost) ready to receive the furniture. I have finished my part this weekend, but my son and his wife are still busy refreshing the wooden floors…

Late Friday evening I took a walk around the city to check some of the Christmas decorations – just installed.

The two department stores, Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, situated very close to each other on the same street, Boulevard Haussmann (8th arrdt.), are of course competitors, including e.g. who has the nicest glass dome (see my post June 26), but of course also right now who has the nicest “Christmas dress” and the most nicely decorated shop windows. The top picture is one of these windows. You can find some of these pictures on my photo blog.

34 comments:

Annie said...

When I first started reading your post today I thought you were saying that you had painted those alien angels in your new flat. But then it was made clear to me that wasn't the case after all. I didn't know what I should say about your choice of decor.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Oh Peter your first photo is just magic!

I love the department stores windows in Paris.

Charles said...

Hi Peter,
I just stopped in to say, "Hi," but had to stop and admire your photos.
Some beautiful sights to behold. Thank you for sharing with us, your appreciation of beauty makes us stop to appreciate it too.

Noushy Syah said...

Heyya Peter,

Did you touch-up your pics with PS?

Initially I have the same thought like Annie...

Keshi said...

now that I saw all these magical pics, I so wanna be in Paris one Christmas!

Keshi.

Cuckoo said...

Galeries Lafayette is one place that I wanted to visit & liked most for shopping apart from Champs Elysees. I missed Christmas, went there just after that.

Thanks for sharing and reminding me of it again.

Kate said...

The top photo is whimsical and magical!! I hope that your trip to Sweden is restful and enjoyable. I have to add that I am amazed at the amount of time you spent painting--I'm impressed!!

Ash said...

Truly magical images. I really LOVED the first one :)

di.di said...

i guess Paris is ready for Christmas!!

Azer Mantessa said...

wooooo .... that decor on a window is sumthing i've never seen before ... unique and attractive.

oooo man ... you really know what to capture for a photo dun you. i am lucky to see this.

Cergie said...

Bien sûr un sujet que j'ai traité l'année dernière (ben oui, vétéran du blog je suis), à ma façon
Du moins tu montres surtout des vitrines pour adultes. C'est drôle.
Les gds magasins ne st pas loin de chez mon fils à pied, donc guère loin de chez toi. C'est incontournable lorsque l'on a des enfants (c'était mon cas), des petits enfants (ton cas). Ou gardé un coeur d'enfant (notre cas)

alice said...

Quand mes enfants étaient petits, nous habitions non loin de Paris et c'était la fête d'escalader les petites estrades installées devant les vitrines (je me souviens surtout du Bon Marché)! Un peu frustrant aussi car il fallait vite laisser sa place...C'est toujours le problème à Paris, quand on veut voir quelque chose, il faut compter avec la foule...
Et la chambre de Paloma? De quelle couleur est-elle? ;-)

lyliane six said...

Ouf c'est fini! tu as su enlever toutes tes taches de peinture? Tu as déjà fait tes emplettes pour ta maman?Je vais aller faire un tour la semaine prochaine pour admirer ces lumières.

Delphinium said...

Ah alors les décorations dans les grands magasins, moi ça m'énerve. Ce qui m'agace surtout, ce sont ces flots de gens pressés qui courent partout pour faire des cadeaux... je crois que j'ai en horreur d'aller dans les magasins avant les fêtes de Noël, cela me stresse trop, moi la grande sauvage de la montagne. Et ne parlons pas de ces décorations de Noël, partout, partout, alors qu'il y a quelques semaines en arrière, on nous parlait d'économie d'énergie, et que les Français éteignaient leur lupiottes pendant une minute pour se rappeler que la planète va mal... Allez comprendre, le père Noël est quand même un chanceux non?
Pour la suite des aventures de Monsieur X sur mon blog, cela ne sera pas avant cet après-midi ou demain matin. Voillàààààà. Bises

Olivier said...

alors finit le travail de galérien, retour aux promenades dans Paris. Voila un superbe thème, les vitrines de Paris sont vraiment très belles, chaque année je fais une ballade rien que pour m'en mettre plein les yeux.

hpy said...

Nous avions l'intention de passer à Paris pendant le WE mais finalement c'est ma cousine qui est venue sur la côte avec son bonhomme pas de neige. Ils devaient sans doute déjà en avoir marre de Paris (visite de cinq jours)! Avec le monde qu'il doit y avoir partout, je n'en suis pas tellement étonnée.

EMNM said...

Paris is beautiful all the year.
Nice no painting post ;)

Mona said...

O the magic of Christmas!

The post looks so festive!

I am glad your painting is over & you are ready to relax and enjoy festive time!

Chuckeroon said...

Peter, the Pink Fairies certainly get my top rated "Ho, Ho, Ho!" What fun.

My father used to design window displays and large Christmas "montages". He would have loved this photo.

Jessica said...

Great to have you back, Peter! I agree with everyone: That first image is beautiful. I'd love to see it in person...

Peter said...

annie:
Happy that you did not have to give a "diplomatic" comment!

nathalie:
Only window-shopping?

charles:
Nice to see you around and thanks for the compliments!

Peter said...

noushy syah:
After all this painting I can understand your moment of hesitation, like annie!

keshi:
So, if not this Xmas, maybe next?

cuckoo:
After Xmas is perhaps not a bad idea. Time for "sales"!

Peter said...

kate:
I clearly felt that it was getting a bit too much at the end. However my son and his wife did a lot more than I did. They must be completely exhausted by now!

ash:
I guess you would love it, pink and all!

drama div@:
The shops are ready. The customers are looking for funds!

Peter said...

azer:
Yes, the imagination of some of these decorators is fantastic!

cergie:
Si on pouvait garder l’esprit et l’enthousiasme des enfants !

delphinium:
Je pensai un peu comme toi, surtout en voyant toutes ces lampes allumées. Je commençai à les compter (pas vrai)...
Si on ne travaille plus, on peut faire ces course a des jours et des heures ou c'est un peu plus calme. D'ici quelques décennies...!

Peter said...

olivier:
Oui, la peinture, c'est fini, heureusement!

hpy:
Être fatiguée de Paris après cinq jours????

matritensis:
You are so right!

Peter said...

mona:
Yes, a few relaxed days before some travelling, Xmas shopping...

chuckeroon:
There were some fantastic windows, especially for kids and women. This fairy one really struck me!

jessica:
You know the address, Boulevard Haussmann, just behind the Opera. If you need a guide...

SusuPetal said...

Christmas and winter wonderland.
And no snow!!

Hmmm, I'm just wondering about the cost of all decorations and the energy wasted...

isa said...

Initially, I was afraid you were seeing pink fairies, after all that painting ;-)

Those are dreamy window dressings...I used to enjoyed le Bon Marche and le BHV as well.

Neva said...

What lovely decorations. Thanks for visiting....and the kind words.....I will have to be more careful! or take them one at a time!...you seem to be a very busy dad at the moment!

sonia a. mascaro said...

Love the first photo, Peter! It looks like a fairy tale!

When my parents went to Paris, they love so much to shopping at Galeries Lafayette!

Thanks Peter, for your congratulations and compliments on my blog today! I appreciate it so much!

Peter said...

susupetal:
Yes, probably not very ecological!

isabella:
I had not the time to walk further than to Printemps and Lafayette. Maybe next Xmas?

neva:
... or next time, go for smaller dogs?

sonia:
I hope it will be your turn to visit Lafayette soon!

Ming the Merciless said...

I love Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette but my favorite is Bon Marche on the Left Bank.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Fantastic Peter,
That reminds me that I made also HUGH photo's from the La fayette, also from the roof, yes! we went up to the roof, that was very impressive..

Anonymous said...

Paris est maquillé de lumières. superbe! dommage qu'il fasse froid, je serais bien venu faire qqs photos