Vintage Car Parade on rue St. Antoine

Rue St. Antoine/rue de Rivoli, where I live, is one of the main east/west streets of Paris, much like Broadway in New York. It is also where all the major parades, marches, and  demonstrations come through, so I never know what's in store. It could be anything from the outrageous Techno parade, where over 200,000 precocious teenagers dance to the techno beat that's so loud my floors vibrate, to a military parade with soldiers in uniform and tanks rolling down the asphalt.

Last Sunday morning when the street was calm, I went to get my morning bread from the boulangerie, and when I came out, there was a long string of the most fabulous vintage cars coming down the street. The proud and happy drivers were honking their horns, showing off their immaculately preserved vehicles. Even though I don't own a car and very rarely drive, I have a thing for cars. There were many American cars, and one in particular brought back a happy childhood memory(the photo on top). When I was about 10 years old, my father bought a used 1963 black Cadillac Sedan de Ville. It was the nicest car we ever had and my brother and I were so excited, that we had breakfast, probably a bowl of Cocoa Puffs, while sitting in the plush red leather seats. We moved the electric seats up and down so many times that we broke the mechanism and I remember my parents were furious and they punished us. Now that I think of that part, it wasn't such a pleasant memory. It was great to see so many European and French cars that I had never seen before. The designs are  so sleek and elegant and when I looked at the photos and saw today's cars against the old ones, there was no comparison in terms of the great design.Even the colors were so much more vibrant since most cars made today seem to only come in black, white, and silver.  

I googled vintage auto show to find out more information but all I found out was that there was something to do with the cars at Port de Versailles on August 1.

Rolls or Bentley?

MG

Jaguar

Ferrari or Maserati? 

 

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Comments

[Jean P in MN]

Fabulous, wonderful serendipitous day. Just love surprises, great photos.

[Cheryl]

Oh,Richard!! What FUN! Not only do I love the cars, but it's so nice to get a glimpse of the neighborhood, too! (Makes me hungry!) And that blue pick up just made me laugh out loud! I've never seen anything quite like that in Paris!

[Melisssa]

"What a delightful thing to happen upon, the cars are so cool!

[eleanor]

Bonjour Richard, I was surprised by a similar event in January. You'll remember that it was bitterly cold, but I stayed long enough to get some good photos

[Sherry]

LOve this!