Paris. Years ago, a couple of guys who were our neighbors in San Francisco went to the City of Light for a week-long visit. When they came back and started telling us about their adventures, they tried to remember the name of a certain café that they had liked a lot. No luck — the name had escaped them. One said to the other: "You remember, it was the place with the red awning."
Walt and I couldn't help but laugh. It seems like about half if not three-quarters of the cafés in Paris have red awnings. Restaurants too, like the pizzeria above, which is near the Cluny museum and the intersection of the Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Boulevard Saint-Michel. The first photo, up above, shows the red awning of the Bistrot du Marché, near the Place Monge in the 5th arrondissement.
In the nearby Cluny-La Sorbonne metro station, the arched ceiling of the subway tunnel is decorated with the colorful tile design you see in this shot. It's too bad that moisture is damaging it, but that's the kind of thing that happens underground.
The Auber RER station is the worst for moisture damage. It started before the station was even completed. I remember when they were digging the tunnel from Les Halles to Opera; the smell of sulfur was overpowering. Today, the station looks like some archeological find of ancient 20th century human occupation-- dripping with stalagtites and water.
ReplyDeleteAre the tiles falling off the ceiling or is it just some kind of mold ?
ReplyDeleteI've never been in that Metro station, so I'm glad for this post. If you are busy, you are needed- I'm glad you were able to make the trip.
ReplyDeleteooh, too bad about all of that moisture damage :(
ReplyDeleteDItto what Evelyn said :)