I have started a new blog, Secrets of a Paris Tour Guide, and have also started the difficult, for me, process of videos, along with daily photos. I’m finding it fun to video around Paris and hope to help others either enjoy Paris vicariously or plan for future trips.

I often hear Americans talking about the Buddha Bar which is found near Concorde, but I’ve never gone there. I went into the interior recently and I think I’d like to try it for its ambiance if nothing else. The drinks didn’t look to be too outrageously expensive having had a 30 Euro cosmo at the Ritz.

As expected, you find buddhas there.

They are known for the cds which sounded like gentle modern music to me. You can find all of them for sale here as well as Tshirts and cups.

The giant buddha overlooking this giant dining room is what made me want to eat here one day. It looks like it would be a great experience.

The Hôtel des Académies et des Arts

It is what is called a boutique hotel, a small special place and it’s found in the Latin Quarter on Rue de la Grand Chaumiere in the 6th arrondissement. I had seen it featured on a French home show and a friend of mine had read about it so we made a stop one day. It’s got a wonderful ambiance inside and a fabulous fragrance permeates the rooms. Painter Jérôme Mesnager had carte blanche to draw his famous “white bodies” which I have seen around Paris in the form of grafitti and Sophie de Watrigant’s sculptures adorn the hotel staircase. The very nice manager let us wander around and have a look.

This is in the lobby.

I liked this couch and pillows. Maybe someday I can use these colors in our apartment.

As you go up the glass walled elevator you see the white figures painted on the wall.

Climbing figures in the stair well.

Another view. Very modern, usually not my style, but I’d stay here in a heartbeat if given the chance.

It was actually just an afternoon and a friend and I were mostly just looking at luxury, not partaking of it. Still, it was fun.

We had tea in this restaurant which I didn’t get the name of. I loved this ceiling.

I liked the glasses of ice tea in the light. We paid six euros for a glass of “ice” tea and only got one ice cube each but there were some yummy little olives to go with the drinks.

We were near the very posh Hermes store so I had to go look in the windows as they are always fabulous. Most of them are covered and, I assume, under construction, but one revealed this metal horse sculpture. Hermes started out by making hand made leather saddles and I guess this reflects that.

There was some color here and there though, as there always is with their fantastic scarves.

Across the way from Notre Dame is the area called the Latin Quarter, called that because students of the schools there were taught in Latin and spoke it around there. Maurice says they should call it the Greek Quarter because it is now full of Greek restaurants. I’m not too fond of it myself as it is always full of people and I think it’s dirty. You can find pockets of beauty here and there though.

There’s the St Severin Church with lines of gargoyles.

A gargoyle with wavy hair and a bad temper.

During the Revolution anything to do with royalty or the church was usually destroyed. As you can see by this old street sign, St (saint) was removed. Kind of silly in my opinion. They also beheaded all of the statues of the kings of Judah (26 in all) on the front of Notre Dame. The church itself was almost destroyed as well.

Grafitti on the Rue Chat Qui Peche (the fishing cat), a very narrow street. The artist always puts a red umbrella, the guy with the hat, a cat, a blue bird and a red ballon in his paintings. I only took a photo of a part of it as you can see.

Heading away from the Luxembourg Garden towards the Saint Germain des Pres neighborhood you pass many beautiful things.

There was a little eating area set up in front of this theatre. It was a great day to be sitting outdoors.

Not what I would call pretty, but I like seeing someones toes peeking out over a pillow in a window.

St Germain Liquor is the latest, hottest drink. It’s really great when added to champagne like a kir. It’s made of elderberry flowers gathered in the French Alps only during a short period of time. In other words, it isn’t cheap.

A pretty facade.

Some more beautiful sculptured flowers on the side of a building.