Friday, July 06, 2007

Rats in the Cafe

Sometimes I'm not sure which photos I should be posting, the most recent or the oldest... Decided to go somewere in between with these unrelated bits and pieces from my walk on 2 July.

I thought these round cafe table posters for Ratatoiulle were clever, although I don't suppose you actually want to be thinking of rats when eating out. I passed by the cafe and they were gone today. I love the idea of Parisian cafes but the reality is that many of them are on very busy, noisy streets which doesn't help the romance of the situation any.

Another bit of clever advertising. A Smart Car seems like a toy to me anyway, but tint it pink and throw a fin on top and it is just adorable.

Dragons door handle.

I haven't seen many of these signs painted on the sidewalk, but I had no idea what they were until I read the book Old Scores by Aaron Elkins. They are meant to tell dog walkers where their charges are meant to do their business. In other words, dogs are supposed to poop in the gutters, many of which are flooded every day. For the longest time I thought Paris was having problems with their sewage system, but no, it's intentional.

Not a very practical system since there are almost always cars parked in the way, and the dogs just go on the sidewalk. And from what I've seen, not many owners bother to scoop it or even shovel it over into the gutter.

And lastly a gloomy pic of St Augustin.

Got another batch of DVD rentals in the mail yesterday. First, another excellent sampling of Freaks and Geeks, which I love and highly recommend (especially to those of you who were also in high school in the early 80's). Second, the first disc of Hex, a witchy teen drama/comedy which isn't even as good as Charmed, let alone the fantastic Buffy. There was many a time I was ready to throw in the towel and not even finish the disc, but I am rather pathetically desparate and it was good to quilt to. Have to say the last bit of episode 4 was intriguing, so I may just cave in and get the next few episodes.

Speaking of quilting, I finished the hand quilting on one of my small patriotic quilts, but haven't attached the binding yet. Now I'm deciding whether to move on to the next small one or go back and put more quilting on Liberty Blooms (it's definitely lacking some oomph).

I finished reading A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire. Loved it all the way through, although the first and last chapters were my favorites. Another quote:

Before the invention of synthetic dyes, there had been periods when the wheel of fashion had not favored bright color. Yet even when color was temporarily eclipsed, it had remained for most people an unquestioned symbol of wealth and power--and sooner or later the elite, tiring of subtlety and simplicity, had always returned to it. But the invention of factory dyes fundamentally altered the equation. They made color cheap, in every sense of the word. To many people in the upper classes, color became hopelessly vulgar. Its very ubiquity made it declasse.

10 comments:

Joyce said...

I love that little car. I want one!
Have you seen the motorcycle vaccuum cleaners that clean up the doggie-do? They do the job but really, I think the dog owners should be doing it.

Candy Schultz said...

I have now ordered A Perfect Red. I await its delivery.

Somehow poop on Paris sidewalks does not fit my romantic idea of the city. Yech.

Will you be watching the Paris leg of the Tour in person? I do envy that ability. Although, as I said, the drug stuff is making me less of a fan than I used to be.

Vicki W said...

I saw those little cars when I was working in London a couple of years ago - I still want one! (Not a pink one though.)

atet said...

Great photos and I love that quote. It's the way of it though -- as soon as something becomes that widely available and affordable, it becomes "out of fashion" because it is no longer rare.

Unknown said...

A smart car with a pink windshield and a fin--pretty darn cute.

Please keep sharing those Paris pictures. Lovely vicarious living for those of us in much more mundane locales.

Rosalyn Manesse said...

I'd like to add your blog to my list of favorites. Roz

Unknown said...

Sadly dog poo smeared liberally on the pavements is a fact of life in France although I do believe they try harder than they used to to get rid of it - mind you we're not a whole lot better in the UK, probably the first real phrase my kids learned to say when they were toddlers was 'Mind the dog poo!'

Mary Johnson said...

Minneapolis has a pedestrian street that has lots of restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating but they don't close the street to buses or cabs. The buses run constantly and Keith and I can't figure out why they don't just route them one block over - it's crazy since it would make a huge difference in the dining atmosphere!

Holly said...

Interesting to see what other countries do - like the dog poo situation. Who'da thunk, eh.

I know a lot of fruit from Asia but I haven't seen that one from Thailand I don't think. I'm not a big fan of fruit here in the U.S. because I grew up with stuff one can't even find here. Do like the cherries and berries, though.

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