Cool Scenes Around Town - Tuesday, 30 Sept.

Just outside the Pompidou museum sits a large “cēment pond” (as Jed Clampett used to call it) with wild and crazy water-powered and water-spouting twirling sculptures. In the summer it’s swarmed with kids, entertaining them for hours. Not too many of them around today, a cloudy schoolday, which gave me a good opportunity to get a shot of it! It’s also called the Stravinsky Fountain, or the “Fontaine des Automates,” but I think “cēment pond” is perfectly fitting!

The "big giant head" outside the church of Saint-Eustache has been one of my favorite outdoor sculptures for many years. It's also a favorite of kids, who can't seem to refrain from climbing up its fingers and ear and nose and eyeball to sit on top of its head! And those are STONES beneath it (onto which the kids might fall). And those are nervous parents, taking pictures of their brave kids! I just learned that the sculpture is by Henri de Miller and is called "Écoute" ("listening"), although "big giant head" works well too, I think.

For almost 10 years the 500-year-old Tour Saint-Jacques, in the very center of town on rue de Rivoli, has been hidden behind scaffolding and tarp during its 8.3 million euro (about $12.5 million) restoration. The scaffolding has now been removed (although elements of the restoration will continue until early next year) and WOW! what a sight! And hopefully it’s safe (the current restoration project began after chunks of stone fell off the façade, endangering passers-by). Not only has it been cleaned and stabilized, but some of the decorative flourishes and sculptures have been re-carved. A tour of this “Tour” is high on my list for my next trip!

And here are just a couple more shots that I took on Sunday: A view of the Seine (with the Eiffel tower in the distance) from my favorite bridge, Pont Neuf; a shot across the bridge to the backside of the buildings encompassing Place Dauphine, one of the most gorgeous squares in Paris (I can't believe there was a break in the traffic so I could take this!); and my former favorite department store, the Samaritaine, which sits at the north end of Pont Neuf (one of the most spectacular locations in town) - it was closed suddenly and without notice in 2005 due to some alleged fire and structural problems. The official word is that the building is being repaired and will re-open in 2011 as a store, but rumors are also circulating that it will be turned into VERY high-priced apartments.