Drinks at Kong

If you happen to be in Paris and look for a cool place (with a view) to have a drink, I suggest you pay a visit to Le Kong, a restaurant located on top of the Samaritaine (well, one of the old Samaritaine stores). Of course it's a little "trendy" (meaning expensive!), but the view is really worth it and you don't have to have dinner there, you can simply have drinks until 6 pm. And the good thing is that it's really not too crowded (meaning, you can take the table at the very end of the top room which offers the best view;-) FYI: The decor - which includes these big heads on the plastic chairs - is by Starck, bien sûr...).

Starbucks made it to Montmartre

Do you remember this post about the future  installation of Starbucks near the Place du Tertre at Montmartre ? Well, I went back recently and... that's it, they're open. Despite what some people said, the area has not been defaced and obviously accordion players can still perform! I'm not a big Starbucks fan because I think they're expensive and that most of their drinks have far too many calories, but I see no reasons why they should be banned from Montmartre.     

Snake preview: Hotel Banke!

Last evening I attended a little party for the birthday of someone that true PDP followers know well ;-) It took place in the beautiful bar of the Hotel Banke at rue Lafayette. Of course I could have shown you the actual bar or the stunning hall or the silky entrance, but no... I couldn't resist posting a photo of their bathroom! Truly amazing... (And in case you're wondering, no, it's not real snake!). I know, it's weird ;-) 

Once a brothel, now a nightclub!

Thanks to my new portraits blog, I get to meet interesting Parisians like the one in this photo... Her name is Sylvanie de Lutèce, she is a story teller and specializes in  the "dark" side of Paris! She knows everything about famous criminals like Jules Bonnot, the head of the Bonnot gang or Jacques Mesrine, where and how the guillotine was tested in the first place... and she also knows the Pigalle area (an area known for its red lights...) like the back of her hand. Precisely, she had me photograph her in this area, at Le Carmen, a former brothel, now turned into a beautiful bar and nightclub (look at the ceilings!). One last thing... This place is called Le Carmen, because Georges Bizet is said to have written his famous opera there (no proof though!).

2012 American elections

Unless you live under a rock these days, it's impossible not to be aware that during the night a new American President is going to be elected. I won't bother taking side of course as I'm not American and don't live in the US... But I have a lot of American visitors on PDP! So I thought of "celebrating" this evening with a photo of  the Harry's bar, which is undoubtedly the most famous American bar in Paris (read its history here). During election times, they organize a vote among American expats and the result is posted on the window (see the process on my 2008 post!). As you can see here, Obama would win by 214 to 148, but this straw vote has already been wrong twice... See you tomorrow morning (for me) with the real results!