Obamania, Paris Plages, Tom Waits and the Tour de France

Obamania came to Paris this week and all the hype that you're hearing about followed.


I arrived early at the Elysee Palace and already 2 hours before Obama's arrival there were crowds lining the streets yelling "Oh-Ba-Ma". There was tangible excitement in the whole area surrounding the presidential palace. This was in stark contrast to the vibe when Bush visited here a few weeks back.

With all the excitement generated by Obama's visit, we were reminded that he was still only just a U.S. Senator and not the head of state. Following protocol, the arrival ceremony was quick and without fanfare. President Sarkozy greeted Obama and seemed immediately quite chummy with him.

The swarm of journalists, photographers and cameramen (and I mean swarm, twice as many as were here for Bush's visit, including rock star journalists like Christiane Amanpour) had just a few seconds with the two leaders before they headed into the palace for a brief meeting. I got to go inside and photograph their subsequent joint press conference, during which Sarkozy's demeanor could best be understood by watching a young teenage boy show off his new hot girlfriend.

To see more images of our future president, CLICK HERE.

Tom Waits, the incredibly creative and energetic singer, played a sold-out concert at the Grand Rex Theatre.


I knew a bit of Waits' music but was not in any way prepared for what I witnessed on stage. The energy, theatrics and talent made for some kind of musical explosion. Have any of you ever seen him live? If you have, please tell me about it. I was completely blown away.

For more images from the show, CLICK HERE.

The 7th annual Paris Plages opened this week. This year there are actually 3 "beaches" in Paris as the event keeps growing annually.


People, many tourists but also a fair mix of locals, really seem to enjoy it. I had a new Paris Plages experience this year. I was walking along the "beach" watching people play petanque and saw a few people standing in front of what was essentially a hole in the wall along the Seine. They noticed I had a camera and asked if I wanted to go inside so of course you know my answer. Turns out that two (or possibly 3) people who live there have been there for 21 years.


The "apartment", dug out literally in the interior wall of the left bank of the Seine, was originally made for men who guided boats along the Seine. Today, the city owns it and for some reason I couldn't understand, lets the people who live there stay. The place has electricity but no running water and looked a bit like a shrine of some cult. The time of the Paris Plages is great for the people living in the wall because normally, the road along the Seine just outside their "door" is a mini-highway filled with cars. So large groups of people passing by must be a relief for them. Just another colorful piece in the Paris puzzle.

And if all this wasn't enough for one week, the final stage of the Tour de France took place along the Champs-Elysees.

Although it turned out to be the second closest race in the Tour's history, it still wasn't so exciting because the last stage of the race is largely ceremonial. Except for the scorching heat and the race organizers clearly using chaos theory as a guide, it's a fun afternoon, especially seeing how into it the race supporters get. For more photos of the Tour, CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE to see my new hero.

Some photos of the week:

Living in the Wall
Living in the Wall
Playing Petanque on the Paris Plage (looks like the Matrix doesn't it?)

Bastille Day, Childhood Friends and a Feedbag

The highlight of the week was the annual Bastille Day military parade. Every year it seems that unpredictable Paris weather cooperates on that day and this year was no exception.


Bastille Day is among the biggest public holidays here and commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison, the event that symbolizes the start of modern day France. Each year the military hardware is on full display and is quite impressive and as always, the president is on hand to lead the ceremony.


To see more Bastille Day images, CLICK HERE.

This week I entertained 2 different childhood friends on their visit to Paris. I hadn't seen either of them in over 10 years. It's always invigorating to re-see the city through the eyes of a visitor.

As your actuary, I'm compelled to recommend that you hear the latest Coldplay album (if you haven't already). They have real talent. And watch THIS ENTERTAINING VIDEO.

This made me laugh out loud:



Photo of the week:

Summer in Paris

Girl in the Metro ... finally

After more than six years living here, I finally had my first "girl in the metro" experience so I'm going to celebrate by blogging about it. I had just finished shooting Alicia Keys in concert

and on my way home, got onto metro line 4 at Chatelet. There was this very attractive young woman sitting across from me on the metro who was rather obviously checking me out. She was doing it in a more open way than I've experienced in a long time. It wasn't threatening or psycho; I rather enjoyed it.

My stop was coming up so I stood up and moved towards the door. She stood up and also moved right towards the door, intentionally aligning herself squarely in front of me. Our eyes met in the reflection of the window, and I was determined not to turn away, just to see what she would do. She didn't turn away and our stare lasted maybe 10 seconds, broken only by the opening of the metro door at St Michel station.

We both exited and headed towards the escalator, my mind racing around trying to figure out what I should do. She walked slowly in front of me, peeking once over her shoulder to make sure I was behind her. We began going up the escalator; she positioned herself 3 steps in front of me so that her finely-formed derriere was precisely at my eye level. As we approached the top of the escalator, without warning, she spun around and lunged in my direction. My heart skipped. Especially when she starting running DOWN the up escalator, right past me.

Turns out the metro police where doing a spot check at the top of the escalator and she must not have had a ticket, so she ran. I turned my head to watch her as she ran past me and before I knew what was going on, I was in the clutches of the police, who politely asked me for my ticket. With a little more warning, or if I had seen the police and realized that's why she was running, who knows, I might have followed her and given her a ticket or something.

But it was not to be. She disappeared and took with her my most exciting metro experience to date. I'm sure I'll see her again, but probably on YouTube or France's Most Wanted or something like that.

Some photos of the week:

Alicia Keys

Wacked exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo

Everland Hotel (click to learn more)

Round flowers - Square des Poetes

Hostage, Eiffel in Blue, Lenny Kravitz and George Clooney

I had a very non-traditional 4th of July his year. I had the privilege of being at the presidential/military airport for the arrival of Franco-Columbian Ingrid Betancourt following her release after being held captive for six years in the jungles of Columbia.


Betancourt, who was campaigning for president in Columbia when she was taken by FARC guerillas, was a well-respected journalist here in France and over the last six years, securing her release became an issue of national pride. While I have my doubts about the official story of the rescue mission that freed her, I have no doubt about the real excitement and emotion when she was greeted by President Sarkozy at the airport when she finally returned to France.


To see more images of the historic event, CLICK HERE.

This week also marked France's turn at having the presidency of the European Union and to celebrate, they decorated the Eiffel Tower in blue with yellow stars, symbolizing the EU flag.


In a system that seems bizarre to many, the EU presidency rotates between member countries every 6 months, not a lot of time to implement any agenda.

Musically, Lenny Kravitz put on the concert of the week. He certainly puts out a lot energy during his show and has a huge following here.


I got a great surprise this week. I met a few friends for dinner and one of them pulled a book out of her purse and asked me to sign it. I thought it was quite odd that someone would ask me to sign the cover of a George Clooney biography so when I asked her why, she told me because my photo was the front cover of the book.


I had no idea that my photo had been used and was quite amused by the surprise. You can see the book on Amazon by clicking HERE.

And finally, some photos of the week ...

Lenny rocks
Eiffel Tower in Blue
The best use of Evian
Hear No French, Speak No French, See No French