Paris, New Year's Day - Montmartre 1

We took the Metro to Pigalle and ascended the hill towards the famous Place du Tertre and the Sacre Coeur.  There was more casual graffiti here, but the steep hills made the street views very dramatic.  The streets off the Place were jammed with tourists, the taxis and coaches unable to get through.

Paris, New Year's Day - Arc de Triomphe

The Metro for the Arc is called Etoile, but was renamed Charles de Gaulle, though Parisians still refer to it as Etoile, so the station bears both names.  The first thing we saw was this shiny Dutch-registered MGA waiting for the New Year's Day parade down the Champs-Elysees.  The tomb of the unknown soldier, the battle names and lists of generals remind one that this is a military monument, though the reliefs on both faces suggest the two faces of the Republic, war and the arts.  We were amused, like other onlookers, by the two identically-dressed Asian girls taking lots of selfies, but note the soldiers in the background.  Ann did the honours for a couple of families who could not do their own selfies.          

Paris, New Year's Day 3

Up on the Trocadero were many people selling Eiffel Towers, and yet another railway station/art gallery with casual statues.  Along Avenue Kleber, restaurant tables were neatly set for lunch, but the fast food delivery mopeds were all laid up until later.  

Paris, New Year's Day 2

Leaving the Champ de Mars, I crossed the bridge and looked back into the light, like quite few other photographers.  The golden tones of the Right Bank (metro on the Bir-Hakeim bridge) still attracted me, and I went to meet Ann at the Trocadero, where a 17-year-old man had been murdered during the night by an SDF (sans domicile fixe) with a history of alcohol abuse.  

Paris, New Year's Day

Another bright start to the day, so we set out for the Champ de Mars.  Bottles, cans and rubbish everywhere, but the clean up was well underway even at 9 a.m.  

  

Paris, New Year's Eve

Hot chestnuts and view along the Champs-Elysees from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe.  We decided not to brave the crowds and see in the New Year.  

Paris, Day 4 - Pompidou Centre/Beaubourg

Two sides of the square - the old and the Pompidou.  It's difficult to make anything of the building (more of a railway station than an art gallery) but I love the big trumpets all over the place.  And I love the backlit lady in the final pic.