Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Au Bonheur Des Dames


In 1988 a fire destroyed seven blocks of the historic Lisbon neighbourhood known as Chiado and most of the iconic architecture was lost for good. In this case, the stone work of a former perfume shop entranceway was rescued and placed in the new building. However, all you can find there now is Nespresso and George Clooney at the window.

32 comments:

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

A good BW street shot !

Olivier said...

une très belle entrée , et le b&w lui va si bien.

joo said...

Very stylish photo!

Leif Hagen said...

C'est formidable! Beautiful decorations on that building!

Doesn't look like "winter" there.... we're getting a snow blizzard here in EAGAN today!

Sharon said...

What a beautiful entrance. I'm glad it was preserved. A little peek at George Clooney isn't bad either.

Cezar and Léia said...

This facade is stunning and George Clooney not bad at all! LOL
I like the street scenery with the girls walking by this shop.
Hugs
Léia

brattcat said...

there is so much 'to find' in this fine street photo.

Kate said...

Black and white with the pedestrians passing by is just the right choice! Clooney can peek at my window anytime!!

crocrodyl said...

Beautiful stone work and great capture of city life.

San said...

Great picture, the black & white adds a movie-like feeling. Love it.

Sylvia K said...

Terrific shot! I'm glad the stone work was rescued! It does give the feeling of a very old building. And most of us gals wouldn't have any objections to George Clooney peeking in or out of most any window! Enjoy your evening, JM!

Sylvia

Rob Siemann said...

Well, Clooney, au bonheur des dames... Fits. I remember the big fire, was lucky enough to have been in the Chiado before. And yes, I still like it very much, but it lost a lot of it's soul

Rob Siemann said...

Forgot to say: I rather have some real good coffee instead of Nespresso, as I'm not very receptive to Mr Clooney's charm.
My wife is gonna kill me if she reads this!!!

Babzy.B said...

Nice place , Clooney matches perfectly with "le Bonheur des dames ";)

Lowell said...

Nothing lasts forever, of course, but it is especially nice when an iconic piece of architecture is restored and saved.

Re Clooney: I read an article the other day which included a picture of him at his home with his dog and he said something to the effect that he's often lonely...

Now, considering the eye candy he brought to the Oscars, do you think he was telling the truth?

Lowell said...

Oops, I forgot to mention that maybe Clooney is lonely...if you consider this photo carefully, no one is looking at him! So sad.

Unknown said...

When I mentioned Clooney I knew I would have funny comments here and some of you would play with the shop name! :-)))

@Lowell: Actually, he didn't seem to be very lonely on the red carpet! :-)

cieldequimper said...

Well I won't comment on George then ;-) and anyway Dujardin is today's hero! :-)

I think I remember that fire. How many fires?

Carolina Louback said...

Será que a felicidade das mulheres se resume a isto, Nespresso e George Clooney?

Bela arquitetura e excelente captura em preto e branco. Tem fotos que exigem en noir et blanc.

Karl said...

Great street shot and the B/W is a good choise.

VP said...

Please, let me skip expensive bad coffee and inexpressive actors. The original source of this name was the great Émile Zola: Au Bonheur des Dames was an imaginary department store in 1880s Paris featured in the namesake novel. Love the picture, the sign and the implicit homage to the author.

Unknown said...

@VP: That's exactly why I wrote on Ciel's blog: "Not sure Émile Zola would like it" (now)! :-)

Unknown said...
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RedPat said...

Love the sign and of course any small glance at George is nice too!

theconstantwalker said...

At least they saved some of the building... have you any of the original in the archives..
The digital age may in the future re-produce so much of our history we just take for granted now..
Take care my friend.

Halcyon said...

It's a beautiful building. I love the details above the doors.

Lucy Corrander : Photos said...

It's a strange photo. One's eye is drawn around between disconnected elements. And the woman walks through the middle of it as if she doesn't quite belong.

Virginia said...

I thought for a moment that you had slipped off to Paris without me JM!! :) And George, yes George......Sigh!
V

Great shot BTW.

Jack said...

That stonework is simply dazzling. It looks great in black and white.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

You have to admit it does look good though JM, that was definitely a good 'save'. As for George Clooney, what Sylvia said!!

Louis la Vache said...

Given what little was salvaged, we get a hint at the elegance of the buildings that were lost. It's too bad the fire destroyed so much!

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

What a pity the building was lost. At least this magnificent entrance was saved...
Lovely B&W crowd shot.