Friday 15 April 2011

Paris Eye 16/30 - Flaneur of the downpipe



This little beauty is a down-pipe. Have a look in the next two images. See beside the door there? A pipe. A pipe that drains water from the roof. Isn't it just the most decadent thing you have ever seen?


The Hotel de Lauzan is on the Ile St Louis, on the Rive Droit side, Quai d'Anjou. There is an absolutely rolicking historical (duh!!) account of this wonderful building in my parisien bible, Edmund White's 'The Flaneur" on pp 123 - 135. As he details, 'The history of the house involves a series of fascinating disasters.' It also involves Baudelaire, high priest to us lower-flaneurs.

12 comments:

Thérèse said...

I think Baudelaire lived there...
Beautiful indeed!

Rosemary said...

Have you ever read Cara Black's mystery novels featuring Aimée LeDuc as a P.I.? She lives on Ile St Louis in an apartment where the central heating is as old as the building.

Ann said...

Oh wow. I want one.

Jim said...

Now that's an impressive architectural feature.

RedPat said...

I think I must redo my drainpipes to look like that! They're gorgeous.

Julie said...

Glad you alll liked them! I was totally bowled over, as you can tell.

Rosemary, thank you for the heads up about 'Aimee le Duc'. I am starting the trace for her right now. Fascinating island - but not on the weekend when all the glace crowd is thronging!!

Linda Carswell said...

I also found this little beauty when I was in Paris....there is also one very similar on the Louvre, but it is all brown and rusty, but I love them both!

These are the little treasures that I love finding while walking about Paris.

diane b said...

That is different and ornate. You are good at noticing odd little things. Keep on showing us. I hope it works better than our boring gutters.

Virginia said...

Oh this is soooo decadent and of course so Paris. Attention to detail. Something we have never had all that much of here. GORGEOUS! Wouldn't it make a great choker!
V

Kay L. Davies said...

This one's a beauty, Julie! We saw some fish and frog-shaped downspouts in various places but nothing quite this, as you said, decadent! You've got a great eye, there's no doubt about that.
-- K

Joan Elizabeth said...

Wonderful colours and details. There is an old church in Sydney that lost its downpipes ... someone stole them for the copper. They had better be careful of these .. the are worth stealing for their beauty.

Julie said...

*grin* I sure if these were made of copper the wiley parisians would have been off with them!!