Cars

Okay, Parisians, since you keep putting them right in front of me, I'll ask: what is up with these cars?  First there was this: Burns night, then there was this one: Things you might see on the street - Nov 2010, and who could forget this little classic:  Things you might see on the street - Feb 2011.  Not to mention the Barbiemobile: Things you might see on the street - Mar 2011, which I actually had forgotten  (big thank you to attentive reader Ruth for reminding me to include it).  And finally, the latest one (below).  So, I give up - what in the hell is going on with these cars???

Things you might see on the street

Okay, I was not aware of the fact that Barbie has obviously moved to Paris - did anyone else know this??

Things you might see on the street (another one)

Okay, I don't like to do two of these in a row, and I have no idea if these bikes had anything to do with this car, but seeing them all together like this was just too awesome to resist...

Things you might see on the street

Remember a couple of posts ago when I said Parisians are all about being tasteful, subtle and elegant?  Ummmm, yeah...never mind...

Parking in Paris

All right, this is a new one for me - I really thought that after a year in Paris I had seen every possible variant on weird parking, but nooooo, those wacky Parisians can still surprise me.  I know these cars are teeny tiny, but they still don't fit this way into a parking space.  Maybe if you flipped it upright?  But I'm getting ahead of myself -I'll probably see that next week...

Things you might see on the street

Okay, Miss K cheerfully admits to being low-class swamp trash, but even I would not be caught dead in a vehicle like this.  I can't really criticize carrying your furniture strapped to the top of your car, or covering your seats with crappy blankets (since those are both things that my low-class swamp trash family was known to do back in the day - ahem!) but the paint job?  Which looks like it was done with the brush from a bottle of nail polish?  That just ain't right.  The pink would be vile enough on, say, a scarf or a blouse (or anything in the world ever), but you know, I just have to respect the commitment to detail - not only painting the bumper, but also the matching accents in the centre of the hubcaps.  Niiiice...

Parking in Paris

Believe me when I tell you that this is far from the worst parking I have ever seen in this town, and the only thing worse than how they park here is how they drive here.  Fellow pedestrians, be warned...

Things you might see on the street

I love this - the Voguemobile! This is actually from Fashion's Night Out in Paris last month, but as it's now the beginning of Paris Fashion Week, I thought I'd post it now in honour of the occasion.   I just have this completely awesome fantasy of skinny, disdainful, perfectly-dressed Vogue editors driving around in the Voguemobile, fighting fashion crime wherever they find it... Hee!

Burns Night

Last night I decided to honour the Scottish half of my heritage and celebrate Burns Night.  In Paris?  Mais oui!  Scotland and France have a long history, so it's not too surprising that there are places where this celebration takes place - in fact, I'm sure that there were many more authentic versions of the event around, but because I happened to be walking past the Highlander pub, that's where I went.

It was fairly low-key, but the Scottish dancing was hilarious.  In case you've never done it, Scottish dancing is enormous fun - however, if you have too many people doing it in a very small space after too many drinks?  Total chaos.  Hee!

I was also amazed to see how many Frenchmen were there in full Scots regalia - seriously, from the collar all the way down to the shoes, every detail correct.  Very impressive.  I tell you,  a man generally doubles his hotness quotient by wearing a kilt and if you add a little French savoir-faire to the combo?  Niiiice.  Anyway, I discovered that they absolutely love it - I was chatting to a group of them and not one was wearing a rental, every single one of them actually owned this garb.  It cracks me up to think of their wardrobes - perfectly cut suits, perfectly tailored shirts, aaaaand....a kilt.  Well, pourquoi pas?

I also overheard a Scottish chap talking about how a friend of his owns a kilt shop in Paris and that he's been in business for six years and is doing well - now I can see how such a thing could be possible!

And in the spirit of all things Scottish, here's a vehicle I photographed on my street a few weeks ago; I have been saving it for the appropriate moment...