Rodrigo A. Sepúlveda Schulz

I went walking around la Butte-aux-Cailles, Paris 13e, this morning

It was raining mildly the whole morning. This neighborhood; la Butte-aux-Cailles, was built on a hill (about 60m) under which a lot of excavation for stones happened. Hence, it was never possible to build high storied buildings, giving this very small neighborhood the charm of a small village.

All 112 pictures taken with a Leica M9, using a Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 + an iPhone 4 with the standard Camera app. Some post-processing using Aperture 3.x, with a plugin from Nik Software (Silver Efex Pro2). All pix are fully downloadable, but with my ususal Creative Commons licence : BY NC SA

Lunch in Montmartre today - a few pix from my bike ride up there

A friend of mine offered to have lunch in Montmartre today, on a breezy terrasse in the hidden part of the hill: Chamarré. I didn't know the place, and I highly recommend it, both for the quiet and cosy atmosphere, and for the quality of the food.

I got there after a quick ride on my bike (getting easier every day ;), and we had a great meal. Pix are on my Facebook (for those who still watch what I have for lunch every day;). Ride up and back are on RunKeeper.

I then wondered around the hill, in the classical touristic way : the Sacré Coeur church, the Funiculaire, la place du Tertre, le Lapin Agile, le Clos-Montmartre, Rue Lepic, Moulin de la Galette, la maison de Dalida, le Bateau Lavoir... I love this hill, but I'm not sure I could stand the non-stop flock of tourists... maybe behind in the more hidden part, such as this fantastic hidden place for cocktails.

All 37 pictures taken with a Leica M9, using a Leica Summicron 35mm f/2. Some post-processing today with Aperture 3.x and a plugin from Nik Software (Silver Efex Pro). All pix are fully downloadable, but with my ususal Creative Commons licence : BY NC SA

why you should regularly check your credit card payments #amex

About every month, I take out all my credit card receipts from my wallet and compare them to my bank statements. it's not that I am an accounting maniac, or that I need to control my expenses tightly, but you never know.

Hence, moments ago I noticed my American Express statement stated that I paid $167.68 for a quick bite with a friend in Napa earlier this month (the second number is euros).

huh? for 2 dishes. I checked through my credit card slips, and there it was: I had actually paid $100 less, including tip.

The food at Bouchon (Yountville) was nice, the setting enjoyable, and the people there pleasant. So my guess is that this is just a mistake, but you never know.

I called American Express, and sent them a copy of the receipts above. I should get a refund in 10 days more or less.

So payment also has its issues in the offline world, with reputable merchants. Be cautious.

2 weeks snowboarding at Les Gets, France

48 hours in Singapore, with intense & fun meetings on entrepreneurship

London nov'10: Notting Hill, the City and more

Somehow I'm not too happy with the quality of the pix on this trip: maybe it was too cloudy, maybe I wasn't paying attention too much, maybe the Gods were looking elsewhere... I'll be back in London mi-december, and let's see what happens then :)

a weekend in Piemonte: wine museum in Barolo + white truffles in Alba

Uploading pix all this week from my trip to Berlin

Preparing for a week near the Calanche de Piana

A few days in Corsica