St. Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Saint Valentine's Day is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius in 500AD.

Here are a few shots of the storefronts in our neighborhood (Passy 16th). Happy St. Valentine's Day to all.

Paris' Chinatown (Quartier Chinois)

Paris has a chinatown (actually two of them). In the 13th arrondissement, its axis is from Avenue de Choisy and Avenue d'Ivry all the way down to Porte d'Ivry. The second photo is taken in a Buddhist ceremonial hall where traditional music is played often during the week. This area in the 13th is inhabited by at least 50,000 Chinese, Vietnamese and Laotian nationals. Another Chinatown area has settled in the Bellevue area in the 19th arrondissement.

On our short walking tour yesterday, we were shown several areas of the Chinatown in the 13th including a Buddhist temple as well as a Mandarin social center. The first photo is one of the God of good luck found in the Mandarin center. Their view of reincarnation and reaching "nirvana" was very eye opening.