Paris Plage

Position: [ 48°49N, 2°19E ]

Can we really talk about a tradition if it’s less than 10 years old?
Okay, it may not be an ancestral one, and it may also be endangered (given we only had about 3 days of sun this summer) but Paris Plage is something parisians look for in summer.

Sand beaches at Paris Plage

Okay, we still can swim in the Seine river, as one previous president notoriously claimed we could eventually do, but Paris plage still “feels” like going to the beach. (Who goes to the beach to swimm anyway?!)

So we have sand beaches, pétanque games, ice cream booths, beach bars, and a long stroll to walk through and soak in the beach atmosphere.

C'est Paris! (plage)

Of course, it’s not totally the real thing. But as I didn’t have the opportunity, this year, to go to a beach place, Paris plage makes a pretty good compromise. And more than that, Paris plage contributes to the holiday atmosphere that surrounds Paris in August, when most parisians are away and those who stay keep wondering how beautiful and quiet their city can be.

And then September comes back, and all the parisians are back from their holidays and (not so) ready to take on a new year.

Another Shibuya

Position: [ 35°40N, 139°45E ]

Shibuya is the place of the most famous crossing of Tokyo. When coming out of the train station, it’s hard not to get overwhelmed by the (litterally) hundreds of people crossing the streets at the same time under neons and giant LCD screens. There is the face of modern Japan, full of shopping malls, karaoke bars, foreign cuisine restaurants and other love hotels.

And then, for my last night in Tokyo, my friend took me to another Shibuya.

Street of small restaurants

In the middle of the bust and activity of Shibuya, just a few streets away from the main crossing, lays a bubble of quietness made of small bars and tiny restaurants.

To be honest, stepping in this area feels a bit like going into another dimension. One thing that amazed me was the silence of this area. Especially given its location!

Restaurant front

Beside the quietness another shock comes from the laid back visual attitude of the places here. Here the only neons seem to be imports from the 1970s. There are restaurants where one would have no idea there is one.

From time to time, glimpsing through the windows, one would see a tenant at a bar, servicing 5 customers and having a chat with them.

Restaurant tenant

And we did the same. So here we were, in the intimate atmosphere on this tiny restaurant, enjoying the conversation with our host, awaiting for her to offer us whatever food she wanted to cook.

(Yes, we came in and asked her to cook whatever she had in mind, and that surely was delicious).

And I was tremendously grateful to my friend for taking me to such a place for my last day in Tokyo.

Hana-bi in Tokyo

Position: [ 35°40N, 139°45E ]

When I came to Tokyo last week end, I vowed never to come back here in summer again. The weather is so freaking hot and humid it feels like being in a sauna 24/7.

Hana-bi in Tokyo

However, if there is one thing that makes it worth coming to Tokyo in summer, that will have to be the summer fireworks (or hana-bi) that light the skies of many japanese cities.

In summer, every city in Japan, be it big or small, has its fireworks night.

Hana-bi in Tokyo

Yesterday, when one of my Tokyo friends invited me to watch the fireworks at a private party (ie. with air con, drinks and food) to watch the fireworks, I thought that was my luck!

The air con was great, the food was nice, the view was spectacular. In full front of the action. Sugoi da ne!

Girls in yukata for hana-bi

Hana-bi in Japan feels different from fireworks elsewhere. Here it seems like it digs deep into the traditionnal consciousness.
Many people dress in traditionnal clothes to come and watch the show which makes it an odd mix with the nearby skycrappers and the dozens of policemen posted there.

In some kind of time warp, here you are, surrounded by concrete in the middle of Tokyo, and there are japanese people sitting on the floor, dressed in yukata, eating street food and gazing at flowers of fire.

Picnic by the Iron Lady

Position: [ 48°49N, 2°19E ]

It took some time this year but, in the final days of July, summer has finally arrived in Paris! Yes! Time for picnics at the park!

Eiffel Tower in sparkling blue

(You may already know that parisians love their terrasses, but they also love their parks. Especially in summer.)

And what better way of picnicking in Paris than by the Eiffel Tower!

So yesterday evening, we gathered with some friends in the middle of the Champ de Mars. And so went our picnic as we enjoyed the good food, the nice weather and the hourly sparkle from the Iron Lady.

These days, the Eiffel Tower is lit in blue to celebrate the French leadership of the European Union.

Toulouse, la ville rose

Position: [ 43°37N, 1°27E ]

Toulouse is a city that I thouroughly enjoy.

Place du Capitole

It is nicknamed la Ville Rose (the pink city) because it was built out of regional bricks, which had pink shades.

Even today, there is a city law that requests any new house to have a roof built using the traditional pink coloured tiles. This way the pink city remains pink from the sky.

Rue du Taur and the Saint-Sernin basilica

This time, when a friend of mine invited me to a party at her home it was hard to resist. So there I went. I took a flight in on a Saturday afternoon to fly back to Paris the next day.

Of course I could not go to the regional capital of the Sud-Ouest without getting a set of the local specialty : the Foie Gras. Here goes my stock.

3 Foies Gras

Talking about food, one of Toulouse’s culinar stapple of fame : the Saucisse de Toulouse (Toulouse Saussage) is often unfairly forgotten.

I, for one, always forget to mention it when talking about Toulouse and France’s South-East specialties.
But as usual, whenever I go back there (and there is a barbecue nearby), here I go: Saussage!!!

And in case you wonder: yes, it’s possible to eat cold saussage for breakfast after a party…