7.1.11

Christmas is (almost) over!

Christmas is over and Christmas decorations disappear. However yesterday, the spectacular decoration of Place Vendôme was still there. I could not resist, although the intensity of different light sources made it difficult to reproduce the right impression. I did my best. (There is one photo taken in the late afternoon dusk as a comparison.)
I already made a post about Place Vendôme - with a different Christmas decoration - three years ago on my previous blog, so I’m not going to repeat the description and the history of this place.

As, we all know, this is the place where you would buy your jewelry and if you have some money left, you can have suite at Hôtel Ritz (see top picture).

39 comments:

Olivier said...

les flocons de la place vendome sont magiques, superbes illuminations

caterpillar said...

The pictures are so nice...makes me almost sad that Christmas is over...

Simony said...

I love the lights during Winter! They give us that special touch of landscape beauty and make our nights brighter.
Great pictures!
I still have mine outside my house, hard to let it go!

Hanny said...

Thanks for all of the great pictures, Peter. I'm using them for inspiration for the book I'm working on, the first half of which takes place in Paris.
Plus, I'm of Swedish and French descent, so I feel a kinship with you.

Simon said...

A Joyful New Year! to you Peter. Good to see you are back blogging. However infrequent your posting may be for this year, its always good to read them. I'm sure with the Christmas lights, winter in Paris is colorful.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Spectacular indeed! Love these images of light and life actually!

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Just beautiful, Peter! Do I know that photographer with the "silver blond" hair and black coat? Miss you guys and wish that I was there too!

Bises,
Genie

Studio at the Farm said...

Fabulous, Peter. It must be wonderful to see it "for real'.

Leif Hagen said...

Hej Peter! Lange sedan - laget?! Gott Nytt Ar!
Hoppas att du ha det sa roligt med gaster fran USA pa besok - halsa V fran mej!
Halsningar fran Hagen

alice said...

Comme Genie, j'ai cru reconnaitre la silhouette devant la colonne...! J'espère que la pluie ne va pas gâcher les balades mais la météo n'est pas bonne...

Cinthia said...

Bye, bye.....;((((......

Alain said...

Décorations très fractales, Place Vendome. C'est la classe !

Unknown said...

Ne pouvant aller à Paris, avec tes photos, je me reconsole.

Bettina said...

Place Vendôme is so beautiful. The shops though are a little out of my league.

Virginia said...

These were amazing. I like the shiny streets from the rain too. I'm saving my shots for next Christmas when I'll really need something for my blog.YOU can take Christmas shots anytime! HA
V

Ola said...

It is still very pretty decorated, I love Christmas decoartaions and I hope here in Warsaw they will be left until February:)at least as long as we have snow here

Mystica said...

It looks so impressive

Delphinium said...

Tiens la place Vendôme, ça me rappelle quelque chose. :-) Mais il n'y avait pas de décorations quand je suis passée acheter ma Rolex. :-))))

nathalie in avignon said...

LOL Delphinium ! Comment ? Tu n'achètes pas de montre suisse? Ou bien la Rolex est juste la Nième dans ta collection de montres de luxe?

Those decorations are stunning. THey are really different to everything I've seen elsewhere. Just beautiful.

To Peter, Virginia, Mary and whatever other bloggers joining you : I'm very envious of you lot walking around Paris together. Sigh. Back to work. Love to all.

Adam said...

What I've always wondered is how people were ever able to visit the column and get to the top (like they did in Zola's L'Assamoir).

Trotter said...

Hi Peter! Hope you entered 2011 in great shape!!
Place Vendome is beautiful, even more this season... And there was the nearby Interconti (now Marriot, I think) at rue Castiglione...

Blogtrotter Two is visiting the third largest artificial lake in the world (by volume). Enjoy and have a superb weekend!

Cynthia said...

Lovely! I wish I would have gone to see them but place Vendôme makes me feel so poor that after I'm sad ;)

Thérèse said...

Qu'elles sont belles toutes ces décorations! En fait c'est après les fêtes en général que l'on a vraiment le temps de porter attention aux détails des décors. Elles sont peut-être restées à cause de l'économie réalisée dans le changement de toutes les ampoules de déco cette année à Paris.

BLOGitse said...

Those decorations are totally different what Helsinki has. In Helsinki most of the decorations are made for children...
Have a great and relaxing weekend!

Cezar and Léia said...

It seems that Place Vendôme is at its best during dusk or evening, isn't it? Thanks for sharing these beautiful images!
God bless you!
Cezar

Heloisa said...

Vraiment magique!
Lindo...

Anonymous said...

Napoleon Bonaparte's quelling of the Royalist revolt, 13 Vendémiaire, in front of the Église Saint-Roch, Saint-Honoré Street.
Result: Decisive Republican victory
Casualties and losses
600
13 Vendémiaire (5 October 1795 in the French Republican Calendar) is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris. The battle was largely responsible for the rapid advancement of Republican General Napoleon Bonaparte's career.
The defeat of the Royalist insurrection extinguished the threat to the Convention. Bonaparte became a national hero, and was quickly promoted to Général de Division and military commander of Paris.Within five months, he was given command of the Armée d'Italie. The defeated royalists, in an effort to portray the Republican defense as a massacre, nicknamed Bonaparte Général Vendémiaire, a title which he later claimed would be his first title of glory. The new military commander of Paris was also given the choiciest apartment in the Place Vendome! A few years later, for his coronation as Emperor of the French, the best jeweler in the Place Vendome made his crown and that of his wife the Empress Josephine. Peter, this post made me want to be back a Paris so badly. Your photos are incredible! Un millon de gracias. Maria

claude said...

C'est génial, on prend un cours d'histoire.
C'est dommage quand les lumières et la magie de Noël ne sont plus. C'est un moment enchanteur pour petits et grands.

Shammickite said...

The Christmas lights are so special! I am glad they only last a short while, if these lights were shining all year round, we wouldn't even notice them after a while. Great pictures of a beautiful light display, Peter!

Jeanie said...

Of course you couldn't resist! Who could? Oh, how I long for decorations like that over here. Perhaps the big cities have them; here in the medium sized cities, all the stores have moved to the malls. I don't even like to go. These are stunning. Thanks, Peter, and Happy New Year!

Claudia said...

Beautiful post, Peter. I'm missing Paris so much!

Happy New Year to you!

Magda Machnicka said...

Oh, you did it great. Really spectacular.

Thank you!

Starman said...

LOVE the lights during this time of year.

Drew Benn said...

There's a wonderful sophistication to the Xmas lights you've pictured. I think we could learn a little something of that over here in the UK!

Cheryl said...

So, so pretty!! Looks like an inspiring place to paint - so long as I have a big thermos of hot chocolate and an extra warm coat with me!

Marie-Noyale said...

Que ce soit a l'interieur ou a l'exterieur les vitrines de la Place Vendome scintillent!!!
Si c'est encore Noel sur ton blog !!
ce n'est pas trop tard
pour te souhaiter tous mes meilleurs voeux pour 2011.

Olga said...

Beautiful photos! It is very exiting to see all of this. Thank you,Peter.

Vagabonde said...

Des moments féériques qui passent vite. Merci de les faire durer.

Parisbreakfasts said...

WOW!
Very impressive but it is Place Vendome after all..
merci
carolg