Paris: City of Bees

In this town, bees are practically as omnipresent as baguettes.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the very first honey harvest on the roof of La Poste du Louvre,
Paris' central post office, located next to the Musee du Louvre.
Not only is it France's only 24/7 post office, but it is also the first such establishment in France
to install hives on its roof... others around the country will follow suit next spring! 

The ceiling-high glass beehive inside the apartment of a beekeeping couple
Imagine eating dinner across the table from this display! 

A photo showing the apartment balcony in wintertime, beehives buried under the snow.

A set of bee pencil-sharpeners is on display in the beekeepers' apartment.
Each one represents a different role played by the bees in the hive:
guards, queen, workers, drones, larva, nurses, etc. 

Elaine posing with a jar of pollen inside "Famille Mary," one of the city's many honey boutiques

A honey, beeswax, and bee products boutique in the 13th arrondissement.

Here, I'm talking with the pastor of a church near the Champs Elysees; he keeps beehives on the roof of the church.
(The honey is sold as a fundraiser for the church.)

I spied the word "ruche" on the side of a building on the Rue de Rivoli.
"Ruche" means "beehive," here used to describe the Samaritaine's
employment of thousands of  people after World War II; it was a "hive of activity"

Today's bonus pictures: capoeiristas having a roda on the lawn of the Louvre.
(That kid's macaco is impressive, no?)