Friday 10 October 2008

Paris - Day 3 - Evening


On day three in Paris we said a sad farewell to our gracious hosts and la péniche magnifique and excitedly 'ripped' across town to the wonderful ninth arrondissement on the Right Bank. Here one finds not only the Boulevard Haussmann, the Galeries Lafayette, Printemps and the business centre of Paris, located around the Opéra; - but far more importantly the home and headquarters of the man who has made all things possible; the man who has brought 700 photo-bloggers together into one big, boisterous and bubbling blog-family.

My brain was burning and Madame was grinning the grin of all pussy-cats, in one big happy face as we stopped the car on the Boulevarde Monmartre and tumbled and dashed along the Passage Jouffroy, to our hotel.
We booked in, and hopped in the lift to the 4th floor.

These 'ascenseurs parisiens' were designed for skinny people with no luggage and after a few round trips we were safely ensconced..... ....but WHAT is that enormous, beautifully gift-wrapped box ?

Madame beat me to the handwritten card and delicately tore it from its envelope.
It was from Eric. We were simply blown away !

We were about to enter the sanctum of the Daily Photo world and the side of Paris we had dreamed of......

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ian you are a superb writer and reading you is a joy....
et quel suspense !!!

(provence is treating us to yet another of those magic sunny autumn days with no wind - a dream!!!)

dive said...

Woohoo! A last we get to meet "The Man"! I can't wait!

MmeBenaut said...

Not long now Dive!
I have to say that the contents of that box were an absolute delight: champagne, chocolates, honey bread, cheese, crackers, olives, rillettes ... wow!
Oh, and a couple of lovely Alstom hats from Michael - tee hee!! Thank you Michael and Eric for our delightful and welcoming Fauchon Box.

dianasfaria.com said...

Michael & Eric are amazing. They are incredibly thoughtful men.
I can't wait to hear more.

guille said...

Mr Benaut I love the way you write!

A Fauchon Box?! Well, they were not kidding!
I enlarged the photo and tried to read the card but couldn't.LOL

Sally said...

Have you had the delight of a Parisian hotel toilet-in-a-broom cupboard yet? Need to be a contortionist to get your knees up under your chin!

Wonderful trip pics - sorry I haven't commented more, but, errrr....life gets in the way!

Eric Tenin said...

Eh eh, I know this package!!

M.Benaut said...

Someone has been spending big-time on the place de la Madeleine in the huitième, n'est-ce pas ?

What a wonderful surprise, Eric; we were just simply flabbergasted.

Aujourd'hui vous verrez certains des "Macarons de Monica ! !

Cheltenhamdailyphoto said...

Oh goodness me, what a gorgeous surprise! How beautifully wrapped, too. How very Parisian. What a lovely man. I knew it. I am quite beside myself in awe. lol. I love your writing, M. Benaut, I simply can't wait for the next piece. Do hurry, but don't finish this report too soon either! I'm terribly impatient! Do you have a pic of the lovely Michael too?

Kate said...

Hmmm! If this is a standard welcome for daily photo bloggers, Michael and Eric will soon be welcoming a flood of visitors!