A Croissant A Day

(it makes me laugh)

Since being in Paris for 3 months I have come to the conclusion that nothing is cuter (besides puppies) than little French boys in their shorts. Unlike young American boys, French boys wear shorts year round to school, even when it is cold. Now that winter is just around the corner everywhere you go you see little boys hand-in-hand with their parents sporting their shorts, toggle pea-coats, scarfs, and caps. It's almost like they are mini-men and the shorts are there as a reminder of their true age.

In my photography class my professor presented us with these two images as an example of photojournalism in the 1950s. The first is by French photographer Willy Ronis and the second by Henri Cartier-Bresson. Everytime I look at them I laugh a little because they emulate the French culture. Never in a million years would you see a little American boy running through the street with a baguette under his arm, let alone carting around two huge bottles of wine (I am sure child-protective-services or some other organization would be all over the parents for that one!)

Ever since I first saw Le Fabuleux Déstin d'Amèlie Poulain more commonly known as just Amèlie in the States, I fell in love with the area that she visits in the movie because to me it represents a true Paris, one that lacks all things touristy. Having already been to Montmartre and Sacre Cœur during my first visit to Paris I never really had any reason to go back, until I stumbled upon a Amelie Walking Tour of Montmartre written by the director of the film himself.

The first stop on the walk is metro stop Lamarck-Caulaincourt. This is the metro where Amélie leads the blind man to after walking him across the street.

The streets of Montmartre decorated for Christmas

quite hilly compared to the rest of Paris

Christmas lights strung across the streets

A street in Montmartre known for its Normandy-style architecture

Ciné 13 - one of the oldest cinemas in Paris

Le Moulin Radet - one of the only remaining windmills in Paris (when Renoir was painting them there were over 40!)

Picasso lived in this building at some point developing his Cubism. Other residents of the same street include Van Gogh, Degas, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Zola.

Some magnificent views of Paris from atop the hills of Montmartre. You can really see most of the city from up there.

Au Marche de la Butte, the grocery used in the film as Maison Collignon.

The sign from the movie still hangs above the store.

M. Collignon was the evil grocer who made fun of his co-worker who suffered from some mental disabilities. In the movie for revenge Amélie breaks into his apartment and messes with his things causing him to think he is going insane.