Giraffe Through The Roof

Google Street View

An unusual sight in Paris - a gigantic yellow giraffe poking its head from the roof of a building which is aptly named 'Giraffe Childcare Centre'. The torso of the giraffe passes through a cantilevered top level and its legs, long neck, head and part of its belly are visible from the road. The legs are positioned in such a way that the visitors to the building have to pass through the legs.

Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, it was designed by Hondelatte Laporte Architects and was completed in 2012. With an area of 1450 Sq. M (about 15,600 sq. ft.) it has 60 beds and a nursery for 20 kids.

 

Red Umbrellas

Google Street View

When I found this in Google Street View my first impression was that these have been custom laid for the GSV car. A search on the Net however revealed that these were part of the an art installation for Paris Nuit Blanche - an annual all-night arts festival.
(Source: virtualglobetrotting.com)

A digitally modified version of this image to make it look like a work of art, can be seen in my other blog - Google Street View Art.

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White Elephant of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois

Google Street View

This white elephant in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, was brought to the town in 1950 by one M.Masse, proprietor of Cafe de Liers who wanted to install it in his garden. However due to its huge size it could not be placed in the garden and he gifted the elephant to the city. After its installation he changed the name of his cafe to Cafe-Tabac de L'Elephant.

Vandals frequently paint the elephant pink and the city authorities paint it back to white. So in a sense it is proving to be a white elephant for the town!

Source of info and more images including elephant in pink: evry-daily-photo.blogspot.com

Memorial to Abbé Calès, French Painter

Google Street View

This memorial to French painter Abbé Calès (1870-1961) is located on D525, Morêtel-de-Mailles, Rhône-Alpes overlooking the Grésivaudan valley.

An Impressionist or Post-Impressionist painter, he was known for landscapes, especially of the valley of Grésivaudan.

Source of info: French Wikipedia (English Translation).

Nice Trompe L'Oeil in Montpellier, France

Google Street View

Here is a nice trompe l'Oeil mural in Montpellier, France.

Trompe l'oeil (French meaning 'deceive the eye') is an art technique in which the painting produces an optical illusion and the depicted objects appear real and three dimensional.

Notice that expect for the waitress, all other persons and objects in the background are NOT real and are actually part of the large mural. Even the large glass window is not real.

To fully appreciate the art work open it in larger Google Street View.

Flying Saucer in France

Google Street view

Google Street View

Located in the commune of La Haye-Fouassière, France, this flying saucer shaped sculpture was created to beautify a roundabout near a biscuit factory.

Flying saucers have no historical connection with the town, hence the artist decided to let each astronaut display a distinct specialty of the town. One astronaut is therefore carrying, as flag, the famous French LU brand biscuit 'Petit Beurre' (little butter). Another has a bottle of 'Muscadet' wine which is produced in the area from grapes of local wineries, and the third is holding an emblem of the town - 'Focaccia', a type of popular star shaped bread/cake. The towns name 'Fouassière' is derived from  "Fouasse" or "Focaccia".

The five metre wide flying saucer and its 2 metre tall astronauts are one of the main attractions of the town.

Main source of info: French Wikipedia (English Translation)

The Centaur - An Unusual Sculpture In Paris

Google Street View
 

Here is a strange looking sculpture at the corners of the Rue de Sèvres and Rue du Cherche-Midi in Paris.

The 5 metre high bronze sculpture is known as "The Centaur" and is creation (1985) of French artist César.

Centaur is a mythical creature with the body of horse and bust of a man and in this strange sculpture the artist has put his face as the head of the human figure.

Source of info: paristoric.com (In French) (English Translation)

Light at the End of Tree Lined Tunnel

Google Strret View

The tree lined street - Avenue du Pensionnat in Marcq-en-Barœul, France looks like a green tunnel with light at the end.

Col du Tourmalet - Highest Point in Tour de France

Google Street View

Col du Tourmalet is the highest road (2,115 m / 6,939 ft) in the central Pyrenees in France. It is also one of the most famous climbs on the Internationally famous cycle tour - Tour de France. Col du Tourmalet was added in the route of Tour de France in 1910 and Octave Lapize was the first rider to reach this high spot. A large statue of Octave Lapize gasping for air as he struggles to make the climb has been installed at the top to commemorate the event.

More info: Wikipedia

Credits: John Luke via Google Earth Community Forum

House Between The Rocks

Google Street View

Here is an unusual house constructed between two giant rocks.

Located in Plougrescant, a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor in north-western France, the house was built in 1861 and is popularly known as "Castel Meur".

More info and images: Travelogue Of An Armchair Traveller

Jaguar Crashes Through The Wall

Google Street View

In continuation to my previous Street View of The Hague which shows a car parked on the wall of a building, here is another car which crashed through the wall of a multi-storey car park.

Like the car in The Netherlands, this crashed Jaguar is also an intentional piece of public art.

Location: Victor Hugo Car Parking, Bordeaux, France.

Replica of Statue of Liberty in Paris

Google Street View

Google Street View

Statue of Liberty is perhaps the most copied sculpture in the World. Reportedly hundreds of replicas have been erected worldwide. The replica shown above is an exact replica and was created in 1889 by same sculptor, Frederick Auguste Batholdi, who had made the original.

Location: Île des Cygnes (Isle of the Swans), in Paris.

More info: French-at-a-touch