Fête, Parks and Art

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10ème arrondissement, art, Ayoung Kim, Bart van der Leck, Caminito, Canal Saint-Martin, Délices de la Lune, Doanier Rousseau, Fashion Week, Fashion week models, Fête de la musique, France, Henri Rousseau, In This Vessel We Shall be Kept, Jacques Grinberg, Jane Café, La Baraque A, Le Petit paysan en bleu, Les Nymphéas, Marais, meals, Men's Fashion Week, models, Monet's Water Lillies, Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Musee d'Orsay, Palais de Tokyo, Parc Montsouris, Parc Sainte-Périne, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Seurat, water lillies, weather

Tuesday was June 21, the Fête de la musique, a summer solstice street festival that’s a big deal in Paris and some other francophone countries. I have had a good time at the festival since I first stumbled on it in 2011, including barhopping with Jared W, Geoff and Hugues in 2013 and doing it on my own in 2014, with the most amazing time being last year (2015) when I enjoyed it with Sawyer and Seth.

This year I was on my own again. Instead of focusing on the Marais, as in prior years, I decided to stroll over to the 10ème arrondissement, around the Canal Saint-Martin, to see what the festival was like over there. La Baraque A is a mild-mannered coffee shop the rest of the year, but it hosts an electronic dance party for the Fête. The music was just starting up when I arrived so I had a beer on the terrace of a café, then strolled further on.

La Baraque A hosts a dance party at la Fête de la Musique

When I looped back later it had become quite a scene: La Baraque A Dance Party in Full Swing.

There were similar crowds outside restaurants and bars all around the quarter, in each case racially mixed, often multi-age, but with a consistently lefty/hip/hippie vibe. I didn’t notice much of a Muslim presence, and I suspect that this is the Achilles heel in the “melting pot” character of the neighborhood.

Blues at Jane Café in the 10ème on la Fête de la musique

I found the 10ème quite sympa, and I would consider staying there another year. But after a couple of hours on my own I headed home and got a good night’s sleep instead of partying until dawn.

When I got to Paris this year I noticed a new restaurant on rue des Petits Carreaux, Caminito, an Argentine bistro. I passed it by initially since South American cuisine is largely red meat, which I try to avoid.

Caminito on rue des Petits Carreaux in the Village Montorgueil

But on Wednesday I noticed that the plat du jour was fish so I had lunch there, which I quite enjoyed.

Pollock lunch at Caminito

That afternoon I headed out to find a park to do some reading in. I first went to a completely new area, Parc Sainte-Périne in the 16ème, but it just seemed like an enormous playground. Great for bourgeois kids but not inviting to an adult reader. Disappointed in my exploration I hopped the tram over to tried-and-true Parc Montsouris in the 14ème. I had brought an umbrella just in case and found that I needed it at times even though there were also welcome intervals of sunshine. This year’s summer started out looking a lot like its spring!

Rainy moment at Parc Montsouris

Raindrops on a rose at Parc Montsouris

The temperature had gotten up to 80 on Wednesday and on Thursday it was actually hot for the first time this year — high 80’s! Instead of sunbathing my thoughts turned to air-conditioning, so I decided to check some museums off my list. I had expected to visit the Musée d’Orsay a few weeks earlier with Sherard, but the Great Flood of 2016 put paid to that idea. Consequently, I headed over to see the Doanier Rousseau exhibition, and revisit the permanent collection. The title refers to the fact that Henri Rousseau started painting as a weekend hobby while working as a customs agent. I was mostly familiar with a few of his weird jungle scenes, and an iconic image of a family in a carriage.

I hadn’t realized, however, that he was self-taught, and was (initially at least) more of a folk painter than a professional artist. His portraits have that weird quality of looking straight out at you that you see in the works of American folk artists. He did have a good eye for color and could put paint on the canvas, but those skills alone wouldn’t have gotten him anywhere. What made his reputation was the weird and wonderful imagination that populated his jungle pictures. He never left Paris but had a rich vision of a fecund and brutal imaginary world.

The permanent collection of the Musée d’Orsay is always a delight, especially the impressionists on the 5th floor. I always notice something I hadn’t appreciated before, in this case a blurry little portrait by Seurat:

Georges Seurat, Le Petit paysan en bleu, dit aussi Le Jockey, around 1882 at Musée d’Orsay

I was also reminded of the fact that real people can be at least as fabulous as those depicted in the artworks.

Real person at the Musée d’Orsay

The Orsay admission also includes the Orangerie museum in the Tuileries, so I walked over there and revisited Monet’s two immersive waterlily rooms, as well as the impressive impressionist and post-impressionist collection on the lower level.

Monet, Les Nymphéas (water lillies) at l’Orangerie museum

Monet, Les Nymphéas (water lillies) at l’Orangerie museum

One observation I’ve often made about the finest impressionist art is that you can appreciate most any small section of brushwork as an abstraction as well as enjoying the entire work from a distance. I finally got around to posting a photo set putting forward this idea: Impressionism Far and Near

Thursday evening I had a Breton meal at an old favorite, Délices de la Lune on rue Poissonnière. (I was surprised to see that the Fork offers a 40% discount for advance bookings. This seems like gilding the lily since their prices are so modest anyway!)

On Friday I decided to check out the new shows at the edgy contemporary art museum, Palais de Tokyo, which I have sometimes loved and sometimes loathed. Although I liked several of the shows I saw there in mid-May the current crop left me stone cold, except for a few individual pieces and a wonderful sonic work by Ayoung Kim called “In This Vessel We Shall be Kept”. The concept of the work is crazy but remarkable: We are asked to take refuge in an ark against another great flood, but the ark in question is the Palais Garnier!

Ayoung Kim, “In This Vessel We Shall be Kept” (detail)

There are some graphics explaining this conceit and giving the text of an immersive choral performance, which is the heart of the work. These texts are from various sources, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible and the Koran, which all exhort a chosen few to build an ark to survive a flood. You experience the choral work in a comfortable seat in a dark room, surrounded by eight speakers. I posted a clip to give you a taste, but you need to hear it for yourself!

As in prior years, I stumbled on some Fashion Week models at Palais de Tokyo; cute and emaciated as always, but this year with strikingly kookie hairdos.

Models at Palais de Tokyo

Model at Palais de Tokyo

Since it’s right there and free (except for the temporary shows) I also stopped in to the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. I ended up paying for two of the shows, which were both pretty good: Paula Modersohn-Becker and Albert Marquet. Modersohn-Becker’s early portraits had a naive aspect reminiscent of Henri Rousseau, but her skills advanced rapidly, until her untimely death. Photos aren’t permitted in the shows, but I noticed this grisly little picture in the permanent collection, which is quite good even though overshadowed by the Pompidou.

Jacques Grinberg, l’Enfant (the child), around 1963, at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

And this eerie group scene:

Bart van der Leck, Au Marché, 1913, at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

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High, But Not Dry

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art, Bastille, Belleville, Canal Saint-Martin, Comptoir General, flâneur, France, Ghetto Museum, La Bocca, Marais, meals, parc de Belleville, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Paris, Place des Vosges, Point Ephémère, Rosa Bonheur, rue de Mouzaïa, Sherard, villas

Thwarted by the closings of the the Louvre and the Musée D’Orsay, I promised to take Sherard on Sunday to one of the highest points in Paris, which I guaranteed wouldn’t be affected by the floods. I was right, but … read on.

We walked across the Marais — where Sherard saw a small painting he liked — via the Place des Vosges (mentioned in my French Linen post) to the trendy area east of the Place de la Bastille, then over to the Canal Saint-Martin, which was interesting as ever.

Street art along the Canal Saint-Martin

I showed Sherard Comptoir General but realized, seeing it through his eyes, that it was no longer the astonishing art-intensive Ghetto Museum that Alexis had introduced me to several years back, but had become just a big hipster bar with a few bits of African decor.

We walked the length of the canal up to Point Ephémère, a hipster bar in part of an old fire station that I had been reading about. We stopped in but it looked too sketchy for our bourgeois tastes. Sad for me since I like to think that a flâneur can appreciate all aspects of the city. There was a leftist political rally of some sort on the plaza between the canal and the Basin de la Villette. We stuck our heads in but it wasn’t our scene either.

Not having had much luck thus far I directed our steps to my ace-in-the-hole, the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which never fails to charm. Imagine my chagrin when it too was closed! Not of course due to flooding — it’s one of the highest places in Paris! But it seems that the rains that preceded and caused the flood had soaked the soil and rendered certain trees unstable. There was a sign at the main entrance, however, saying that one of the ginguettes in the park was still open, accessible presumably by a safe route. There was no mention of my primary destination, Rosa Bonheur (which usually has a terrific gay scene on Sunday afternoons) but since it was close to an entrance at the top of the park I hoped it might be open as well. I checked its website and phone message and there was no mention of it being closed so we walked up along the outside of the park to the highest point, where a sign informed us that Rosa was closed. We got a quick bite at a restaurant across the street, where our only cold comfort was schadenfreude as we watched families and gay guys come up to the locked gate to discover — as we had — that both the park and Rosa were closed.

Not-terribly-good lunch on rue Botzaris

Our luck turned at this point, however, as Sherard enjoyed the little pedestrian “Villas” off rue de Mouzaïa, which led us up to the completely non-touristy Parc de la Butte du Chapeau Rouge, with a commanding view of the northern suburbs.

Flowers on Villa d’Alsace, off rue de Mouzaïa in the 19th

We walked back via the Parc de Belleville, and Sherard really enjoyed that area, especially appreciating a rug in a Muslim shop we passed by at some point in our meanderings.

Crowd at an impromptu concert at the Parc de Belleville

That evening we had a late dinner at an old favorite, La Bocca on rue Montmartre.

Seafood pasta dinner at La Bocca. The long thin shells are clams, although I’m not sure they are the same species as we get in the U.S. since I’ve never seen a shell like that at home

 

First Days, and Nights

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apartment, apéro, art, Canal Saint-Martin, chaud, chômeur, cho, Comptoir General, Double Je, foot, France, health, heel, Jared, Jean-Michel Alberola, Joël Robuchon, Korea, l’officiel des spectacles, Le Comptoir General, Marais, Marilou, meals, Metro, Montorgueil, Open Café, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Place de la République, rue Montorgueil, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Simon Evans, The Light of the Light, Vélib

On Friday evening, after my place was organized, I invited Jared W over for an apéro. He’s a brilliant math professor at Boston University, and has been invited here for a month by one of the Paris universities as a scholar in residence. Jared stayed with me in Paris for a week in 2013 and speaks French at least as well as I do.

Jared W and me, still sober, having an apéro at my place.

After we sipped through an excellent Saint-Emilion Grand Cru from my Bordeaux stay Jared suggested that we visit the Canal Saint-Martin. There’s a Velib’ stand outside my front door so we snagged bikes and set out on a wild ride. Bikes are usually allowed to disregard one-way signs, ride in bus lanes, etc. so it was pretty quick!

We took a detour around the Place de la Republique, however, when we encountered six police vans, sirens wailing, racing in that direction. There have been protests there for weeks against a proposed labor law that would make it easier for companies to fire employees with indefinite contracts. The Socialist government of François Hollande is pushing this change in the hope that making firing easier will make companies less reluctant to hire more permanent employees, so there will be a net benefit to unemployment. The demonstrators consider this an erosion of employee rights, without sufficient (if any) benefits.

The Canal Saint-Martin was lovely as usual, and much cleaner after having been drained and thoroughly scrubbed earlier this year.

Jared W and me at the Canal Saint-Martin

Jared recalled our visit three years ago to Le Comptoir General, a bar featuring remarkable African installations. Here I am pretending to be a sahib.

Sahib Bob at Le Comptoir General.

We had a couple of their unique cocktails, then began thinking about dinner. We strolled around the hip area east of the canal, and settled — with the approval of The Fork — on Marilou. We had a wonderful meal of large tapas plates, for quite a reasonable cost. After dinner Jared proposed a gay bar. My heel has been hurting since Bordeaux so I proposed the métro instead of my usual preference for walking, and his for biking. We started comme d’habitude at the Open Café in the Marais and enjoyed the usual street scene, including this young man on his hoverboard.

Hoverboarder outside the Open Café in the Marais

Then we headed over to another Marais gay bar, Les Souffleurs, to which Lisa’s Geoff had introduced us in 2013. The crowd was quirky, cheerful and young, as usual. Around 10 pm the tiny basement dance floor opened up so we went down to have a look. At first we were alone with the handsome dj and bartender but soon the space began to fill up. At the end of the evening we said farewell and snagged Velib’s to return to our respective homes.

I spent most of Saturday catching up on my blog and babying my hurt heel (which I will take to the doctor if it isn’t better by Tuesday morning). Jared W stopped by again for apéro but then had to leave for a pressing engagement. I had a Joël Robuchon meal for dinner, though not at one of his restaurants: it was a frozen chicken spaghetti dish proudly bearing his brand. Actually quite good, as is much of the frozen food here.

On Sunday morning I checked l’Officiel des Spectacles to see what art exhibitions around the city were about to close. It was the last weekend for the current crop of shows at the Palais de Tokyo so I headed over after lunch. Nothing could top acquaalta from last year, but I found several of the exhibitions thoroughly enjoyable.

Simon Evans uses lots of words (in English) but also has a good eye for their visual impact.

Detail of “Wallpaper” (2015) by Simon Evans from his exhibition “Not Not Knocking on Heaven’s Door” at the Palais de Tokyo.

I really liked the look of the many diverse works in the Jean-Michel Alberola exhibition. The concepts were sometimes intelligible to me and sometimes not, but they were intriguing even when incomprehensible.

A few works by Jean-Michel Alberola from the exhibition “L’aventure des détails” at Palais de Tokyo.

My favorite show was the complex “Double Je, artisans d’art et artistes.” First came a short story which they give you to peruse as you wait in line to enter. The story takes place in a large complex of rooms occupied by an artist and her wife. There is a crime of some sort, it seems, perhaps by a spectral intruder. The rooms and their contents were then created by a series of artists in different media and styles. It’s impossible to capture the breathtaking scope of this exhibition but here are two glimpses.

View of one room of the exhibition, “Double Je, artisans d’art et artistes” at the Palais de Tokyo

View of the Labyrinth room of the exhibition, “Double Je, artisans d’art et artistes” at the Palais de Tokyo

There was also an exhibition that I hated, “The Light of the Light,” which you can see in this clip. It may be a witty send-up of extravagant and glitzy art but I think it should be possible to criticize bad art without yourself making more of it.

At the end of the afternoon I caught up with two Korean guys I had met on the Bordeaux wine tour of Saint-Emilion last week. They had met each other during their freshman year at Washington University in Saint Louis, then they had both done their two-year military commitment. The were almost through a whirlwind tour of European capitals; their first visit to Europe. Next fall they will return to Saint Louis to finish college.

When I headed down to métro Etienne-Marcel to meet them I outsmarted myself. I grabbed a bike from the Velib’ stand at my front door and rode down, planning to drop it off near the station. That stand was full, however, and when I looked at the Velib’ app I realized that all the stands were full in the entire area, up to a couple of blocks from my apartment, where there were four empty spots.

I rode back up there, dropped off the bike, and walked back to Etienne-Marcel just in time. The bike share system is great but you have to be careful when you’re going to a trendy area at a peak time.

We started with coffee and people-watching at LB Café at the corner of rue Montorgueil and rue Tiquetonne, then came up to my place for an apéro. One of them had bought a 30-euro bottle of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru on our winery visit, so when he said he was bringing a bottle of wine I joked that this was my favorite variety, assuming that he was saving it as a gift or for a special occasion. He called my bluff, however, by bringing it and letting me share it with them! (It was just as good as we remembered from the winery tasting.)

My new Korean friends with their bottle of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru.

After polishing off that excellent bottle we headed out for dinner. We first took a spin around the quarter, then they settled on Au Rocher de Cancale, partly because of its historic association with Balzac. We had a perfectly decent French meal, starting with their first ever escargots (which were actually quite good).

My Korean friends contemplate their first escargots with a mix of anticipation and apprehension.

Being Asian they had to photograph their main dishes.

But then so did I…

Cod with leeks. A classic French dish.

After dinner we came back up to my place and settled down for some serious drinking, per Korean custom. We had no soju so we had to make do with less prestigious vintages, in particular a Bordeaux Superior that I had bought at Marché U for 5.50 euros. We agreed that it wasn’t quite as delicious as the Grand Cru but was perfectly drinkable.

The most remarkable thing they had to say was that I was the first older man they had ever spoken with on an equal basis! Confucian rules concerning respect for elders apparently cast a deadly pall over communication between young and old in Korea. Young people have to be so deferential that they can’t say what they think or ask what they want to know. I had noticed that Asian guys seemed to be more interested in knowing me than were guys from other cultures but I didn’t understand the context as well before. Another issue they mentioned was more specific to Korea: Change has been so rapid there that older people typically are completely out of touch with contemporary culture. Because of this older people in Korea seemed more alien to them than I did!

They left to get home before the métro closed, and they’re off to Amsterdam today. We’re Facebook friends now, however, and we agreed to keep in touch.

Mot du jour: « cho ». One often sees this in “social networking” profiles. Initially I assumed that it was short for « chômeur » (unemployed), but this didn’t seem like a particularly enticing thing to mention. Later I was told that it’s phonetic for « chaud » (hot), so this was what I said to Jared W when he asked. He subsequently clarified, however, that in this context « chaud » means “horny.” Duh.

Sawyer, Seth and the Fête de la musique

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Canal Saint-Martin, Fête de la musique, Joshua, Kohei, Metro, Montorgueil, music, Open Café, Paris, pas mal, Place de la République, Place des Vosges, rue Montorgueil, rue Quincampoix, Saint Eustache, Sawyer, Seth, vraiment pas mal

Every year on June 21 Paris celebrates la Fête de la musique (The Festival of Musique), an astonishing city-wide street party. As I’ve explained in prior posts, this is sort of a secular Mardi Gras, with intellectual roots in pagan solstice festivals. It’s also celebrated elsewhere in France and in other countries; there are even a few events in the U.S., but nothing like in Paris.

I had invited my Japanese house guest, Kohei, to wander through it with me, but then I noticed a pic on my Facebook feed of a handsome young man posing with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Sawyer is an American living in Sydney who I had encountered through his blog four or five years ago but had never met in person. He was here with his best friend Joshua and his ex-boyfriend Seth, so we got together to stroll across Paris in the afternoon and again to experience the Fête de la musique in the evening. It was wonderful to finally meet Sawyer in person! And an additional pleasure to meet his friends — especially Seth, who shares many of my literary and philosophical interests.

Bob, Joshua, Sawyer and Seth at la Fête de la Musique, Paris, June 21, 2015.

Our precise trajectory was complex: Joshua didn’t arrive until late afternoon, and Kohei had slept in, so the afternoon walkers were Sawyer, Seth and me. We met at métro Étienne Marcel, then walked up rue Montorgueil to see my place (where we woke up Kohei), then strolled along the Grands Boulevards to the Place de la République, over to Canal Saint-Martin, down to Place des Vosges, then over to the inevitable Open Café. They then headed back to their hotel in Clichy to meet up with Josh, and I went home to catch up with Kohei. We reconvened in my quarter, bought cheap beers from a supermarket, and strolled over to the Marais. Each member of our group reacted differently to the rising tide of music and the rapidly growing crowd. After we all had a light dinner Kohei went off to meet a new friend while Sawyer and Joshua headed back to their hotel to sleep off their jet lag. Seth and I, however, found the impending chaos thrilling and dove right in.

Seth outside Cox bar in the Marais at la Fête de la Musique, Paris, June 21, 2015.

Selfie by friends we haven’t made yet, la Fête de la Musique, Paris, June 21, 2015.

Brass Jazz music on rue Quincampoix, la Fête de la Musique, Paris, June 21, 2015.

The brass band was winding down by the time I snagged this little video, but you can still appreciate the flavor of the occasion:
Video Clip of Brass Jazz band on rue Quincampoix, la Fête de la Musique, Paris, June 21, 2015

At the end of the evening I walked Seth to his station (the métro runs all night on la Fête de la Musique), then strolled back home.

I first encountered a trance dance party in the shadow of massive Saint-Eustache. I grabbed a panoramic video clip of the scene, starting with a cheerful older woman, then soaring to breathtaking heights.

On rue Montorgueil, as I neared home, I stopped to appreciate an attractive group of young people who were playing music and dancing.

Selfie by more friends we haven’t made yet, on rue Montorgueil, la Fête de la Musique, Paris, June 21, 2015.

This is the best of several video clips of that group: Video clip “I Still Want You So,” rue Montorgueil, la Fête de la Musique, Paris, June 21, 2015

I had commented to a Boston friend a few days before that my Paris visit this year had been nice but had lacked an over-the-top awesome experience. I take it back.

Mot du jour: « vraiment pas mal », “Quite good.” To a jaded Parisian nothing is ever good (bon) or very good (très bon). If something is quite ok you might say that it’s not bad (pas mal) and if it’s really excellent you can say it’s truly not bad (vraiment pas mal).

Paris – After the Top Ten Sights

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Alcohol, An Hour from Paris, Arc de Triomphe, Bastille, Bercy Village, Bois de Vincennes, Canal Saint-Martin, Catacombs of Paris, Château de Vincennes, crime, day trips, drinking, Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, Institut du monde arabe, Jardin de Luxembourg, Jardin de Reuilly, l'Oasis d'Aboukir, Latin Quarter, L’Étoile Manquante, l’officiel des spectacles, LB Café, le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, le musée du quai Branly, le Musée Jaquemart-André, Marais, Metro, Montmartre, Montorgueil, mugging, Musée Carnavalet, Musée d’art moderne, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Musée Rodin, Musee d'Orsay, museums, Opéra Garnier, Open Café, Palais de Tokyo, Palais Royal, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Parc Floral, Parc Monceau, Parc Montsouris, Paris, Pariscope, Passy-Auteuil, Petit Palais, pickpockets, Place des Vosges, Pompidou, Pompidou Center, Promenade plantée, Public Drinking, Rosa Bonheur, rue de Charonne, rue Montorgueil, safety, Seine

The Top Ten Sights

[If you just want to see what my life in Paris has been like you can skip this post.]

On your first visit to Paris, like everyone else, you will go up the Eiffel Tower.

Iconic!

You will go to the Louvre and take a snapshot of the Mona Lisa.  You will gaze in awe at the facade of Notre-Dame. You will have an ice cream made by Berthillon on l’Île Saint-Louis. You will take a Bateau Mouche tour of the Seine. You will stroll along the Champs-Elysée up to the Arc de Triomphe.

Arc de Triomphe

You will eat a soggy crêpe at a stand in the Latin Quarter. You will climb the south slope of Montmartre up to Sacré Coeur and be dazzled by the view.

In all of those places you will be surrounded by other tourists doing exactly the same things, clutching their maps and mobile phones to ensure that they never stray from the well-worn Tourist Track.

Not only will you do these things, you must do them, and you should do them. Why? Because these places are iconic, and your friends would never forgive you if you didn’t. Because that’s what it means to go to Paris for the first time. And, last but not least, because they’re fabulous. It is not tragic that everywhere you go those first few days will be excruciatingly touristy. It’s normal.

Every travel book will tell you how to see the top ten tourist spots over your first few days, and I leave this task to them. But when you have gotten this out of your system — after your first few days, or on your second visit — read on. This post is about what to do after you’ve seen the top sights.

Getting Ready for More

First off you will need some technology. Get the RATP app, the Métro app and the TripAdvisor City Guide app that I describe in my Getting Into Paris post. These will help you get around and enable you to stray as far as you like from the beaten path without anxiety. And if your battery runs out just stroll for a bit until you run across a métro station. They all have detailed maps with a red dot labelled « Vous Etes Ici » (You Are Here). While you may have to change lines once or twice there will always be a station within a few blocks of your hotel.

Next, find out what’s happening in Paris. One excellent resource is the City of Paris English web site at this link (and there’s lots more on the French language site). For under a euro you can pick up a copy of Pariscope or l’officiel des spectacles at any newsstand (they come out on Wednesday). The text is in French but you should be able to puzzle out most of the listings even if you don’t read the language. Look in particular for exhibitions at the Grand Palais and Petit Palais.

Last but not least, shift gears. You are no longer checking off “must-see” sights. It is not important that you see the eleventh through twentieth best things in Paris. What you want now is to have some personally rewarding experiences, connecting in one way or other with this big, complex and fascinating city. Slow down, let your blood pressure drop a few points, and look up from your maps! What aspects of the city do you want to explore over these next few days?

Indoor or Outdoor?

The first big question is whether you’ll be exploring outdoors or looking for something under a roof. This obviously depends on weather as well as your own preferences. My one additional observation is that Paris can be lovely in the rain if you have the right gear to keep warm and dry, and you’ll want that gear anyway to get to an indoor destination if it’s raining.

Indoor Options

These are just a few suggestions out of a myriad of wonderful indoor options. Do two things in each case on line before you set out: Check the opening days and hours, and see what special exhibitions are on offer.

• Musée d’Orsay
  This wonderful museum is on many top-ten lists, but if not it certainly deserves top consideration as your next indoor destination. Buy your tickets on line or at a travel agent to avoid the ticket line, which can be more than an hour long. When you enter go left and take the elevator or escalators up to the fifth floor, to start with the Impressionist masterpieces. There’s plenty more on lower floors but you don’t want to risk getting tired before you reach the top.
• Pompidou Center
  The Pompidou is fun to look at since its structural elements and mechanical systems are on the outside, color coded. But it also has a great collection of modern art, an ok collection of contemporary art, and interesting rotating exhibitions. Your ticket also lets you see whatever is going on an the French first floor, opposite the escalators to the main floors. And whatever you do, check out the view from the top floor.
• Musée des Arts et Métiers
  If you like machines and technology allow a half-day for this enormous grab-bag of mechanical stuff, ranging from tiny scientific instruments to giant steam engines.

Musée Carnavalet

1. This is the museum of the history of Paris. It’s also a marvelous grab-bag — of art, furnishings and memorabilia. Like all the City of Paris museums, it’s free, and closed on Mondays. But note that until the end of 2019 collections from the French Revolution, 19th century and the Belle Époque are closed for renovation.

• Opéra Garnier
  Strangely, I’ve never taken the tour of this utterly gorgeous building, but friends tell me it’s excellent. (I have been to several performances in the new opera building at Bastille. It’s a great space but you must reserve in the first few days tickets go on sale to get affordable tickets.)
• Catacombs of Paris
  These vast underground tunnels are where the bones are stashed when construction work wipes out a cemetery, most notably by Haussmann’s renovation of Paris in the mid 19th century. It’s ghoulish but fascinating. I’ve described the experience thusly: Ten minutes of “When do we get to the bones?” Ten minutes of silence. Then half an hour of “When do we get to the end of the bones?”
• Other Museums
  There are a hundred museums in Paris!  Among those I’ve enjoyed are le Musée Rodin (which needs good weather because at least half the masterpieces are in the extensive gardens), the odd and wonderful le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, the informative Institut du monde arabe (which offers a great view from the roof even if you don’t want to buy a ticket to the museum), the primitive-art-museum-that-dare-not-speak-its-name le musée du quai Branly, one of several house-museums, le Musée Jaquemart-André, the city’s answer to the Pompidou, the Musée d’art moderne, and the adjacent — wild and wooly — contemporary art museum, the  Palais de Tokyo (but confirm first that the exhibitions are open). Some are quite obscure, but nearly all will reward your time. How about trying a museum that isn’t in the guidebook, or even in this post??  A full list is at this link.

Outdoor Options

• People-Watching from a Café
  This is one of the most delightful things you can do in Paris. You can do it almost anywhere, but here are some of my favorite spots.
  • My favorite street for people watching is rue Montorgueil in the 2e, and my very favorite table is at the LB Café with a view down rue Tiquetonne as well as up and down Montorgueil. You will see all sorts of people, from stylish youths to women pushing baby carriages, to still-elegant retirees. Some foreign tourists — increasing every year — but still mostly French. Order an expensive coffee or kir and nurse it for an hour or two as you take in the passing parade!  Then become part of the parade yourself as you stroll up to the top of the street, beyond the arch, to check out the L’Oasis d’Aboukir.
  • A close second, though much more touristy, is L’Étoile Manquante on rue Vielle du Temple in the Marais, at the intersection with rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie. Or if you want a stronger gay flavor, the classic Open Café on rue des Archives.
  • Another busy and stylish place is Bercy Village, a posh shopping area at the Cour Saint-Émilion métro stop.
•  Stroll Along the Promenade Plantée
  This is a linear park along the top of a disused railway viaduct – the (earlier) Parisian version of New York’s High Line. Depending on the season it has beautiful flowers, and always offers commanding city views. The elevated portion ends with a pedestrian bridge over the green center of the Jardin de Reuilly, a favorite sunbathing spot. You can plan lunch at le Janissaire, then continue another mile or so along a portion of the tracks that ran through a depressed cut. Or you can window shop your way back to Bastille by dozens of artist studios and art-related stores that have been created in the arches of the viaduct.
• Have a Picnic
  There are so many great parks to choose from!  A few of my favorites are:
  • the lovely little Place des Vosges and the similar garden of the Palais Royal
  • the big and beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg
  • posh little Parc Monceau
  • large and hilly and un-touristy Parc Montsouris
  • spectacular though somewhat remote Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which has the wonderful ginguette Rosa Bonheur in the top corner (near métro Botzaris), and the delightful little Temple de la Sibylle overlooking its man-made lake.
  • The Bois de Vincennes on the east side of Paris (like the Bois de Boulougne on the west) is dauntingly enormous, but there are great things to do there: rent a boat on the lake, visit the gorgeous Parc Floral, go to the brand-new zoo, tour the Château de Vincennes, etc. Just make sure the métro stop you go to is within walking distance of the part of the park you’re aiming for!

  But don’t limit yourself to parks. There are other lovely spots to picnic.

  • The banks of the Seine are classic spots for a picnic, especially around or in the vicinity of the two islands at the city’s center. Just go down one of the flights of steps and find your perfect spot.
  • Another favorite place to picnic is along the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10e. Most charming is the section from rue du Faubourg du Temple (where it emerges from its long tunnel) up to the bend when it turns towards the east.

  Everyone seems to have wine or beer with their picnics, except in parks where a sign specifically prohibits alcohol, but the legal picture in theory appears to be quite complex. My thought is that if others are drinking in the same area and you aren’t rowdy you are unlikely to get more than a warning. In particular there doesn’t seem to be an “open container” law like in the U.S., just prohibitions on actually drinking in public.

• Take a Walking Tour
  Strangely, I’ve never taken an organized tour, but it should be worthwhile. There are good self-guided walking tours in the TripAdvisor City Guide app mentioned above, and if you speak French and have data on your mobile there are fascinating (albeit uneven) self-guided tours at ParisInconnu.com that I enjoyed in 2014.
• Get Lost on Your Own!
  This is my favorite thing to do in Paris. You always find something interesting, especially if you’re willing to divert from your original plan to do down a curious alley or investigate an attractive patch of greenery. Here are some possible areas to try, but don’t let this list limit you. In each case zig-zag through the area, exploring side streets, arcades (passages) and alleys as well as the main street.
  • Le Marais, 4e
    The lower Marais, the 4e arrondissement, is a classic area for strolling — and getting lost. There are plenty of restaurants and shops, open even on Sunday. The busiest and most touristy area is north of rue de Rivoli but I recommend a quieter stroll also on the other side of rue de Rivoli, including the little pedestrian area called Village Saint-Paul.
  • Montorgueil, 2e
    This is a nest of narrow pedestrianized streets chock full of shops, restaurants and bars.
  • Latin Quarter, 5e and 6e
    There are curious walking areas in every direction from the fountain of Saint Michel. Notice the throngs of tourists to the east. Check out the many bookstores downhill from Odéon. Stroll up past the Sorbonne to the Panthéon, then continue down to the charming old market street rue Mouffetard.
  • rue de Charonne, 11e
    This is a hip and slightly edgy area. Be sure to go up and down the side streets!
  • Montmartre, 18e
    Lots of tourists, but also lots of fun windy streets. Be sure to explore the north side of the hill as well as the busier south side.
  • Passy-Auteuil, 16e
    Yes, this is where the rich people live. And indeed there are sterile canyons of wealthy apartments. But some of those buildings are gorgeous, and there are some nice restaurants and bars there if you can put up with locals dripping with money and privilege (and English). Start at with a coffee at posh La Gare, at métro La Muette.

  I never worry much about safety in the daytime – you can basically go anywhere within the Peripherique highway (which you can’t cross without noticing!) At night you might want to ask your hotel if you plan to stray far from the touristy zones, but even in the dark much of the city feels quite safe. The type of crime you’re more likely to encounter is a pickpocket or mobile-snatcher on the métro, at a railroad station or in a crowded museum or other tourist area, though kids from the rougher suburbs are reputed to go in for street robberies now and then. There are also scams such as petitions, shell games, gold rings, etc. that you should just ignore. Paris is beefing up its police presence to reduce crime against tourists.

Day Trips Outside of Paris

In the unlikely event that you run out of things to do in Paris proper I am a big fan of the guidebook, An Hour From Paris. I’ve done a dozen day trips from it over my years in Paris, each accessible by train:

• Chantilly
• Château d’Écouen – Musée national de la Renaissance
• La Ferté-Milon and a 4-1/2 mile walk along the Canal de l’Ourcq (wonderful)
• The Jean-Jacques Rousseau museum in Montmorency
• Parc de Sceaux (only 15 minutes from Paris)
• Crécy-la-Chapelle (wonderful tho requires a train change)
• Conflans-Sainte-Honorine and Andrésy (wonderful)
• Champs-sur-Marne (where the château has now reopened)

Eating!

Last but not least, Paris is a paradise for food. My own forays have only scratched the surface but you can check out Dining Off (and On) the Beaten Path if you like. The TripAdvisor City Guide has suggestions and reviews. You might also like the The Fork site or app, which allows online reservations and also offers discounts.

Farewells and Jaime’s First Day

Tags

Belle Niçoise, Café du Centre, Canal Saint-Martin, Comptoir General, food porn, meals, Nanshi, Niçoise Salad, rue Montorgueil, Salade Belle Niçoise, Salade Niçoise

As this year’s Paris visit winds down I’ve been saying goodbye to one friend after another. Tuesday evening I had my farewell dinner with Alexis. We realized that when we first met, in 2010, Alexis had just arrived in Paris after eight years in the U.S. So my petits séjours, and our friendship, have been almost exactly coterminous with his own time in Paris. It was most interesting to look back on our experiences here, as well as looking forward at where his diplomatic career is likely to take him next.

Alexis and Bob with dinner at La Rotonde, at the southern end of the Bassin de la Villette.

We ate at La Rotonde de la Villette, at métro Stalingrad. The restaurant is in a lovely building, one of the gates in the customs wall built in 1784 by the Farmers General, at the foot of the Bassin de la Villette. We got a nice table on the terrace; the food was good and reasonably priced; the servers were young, attractive and well-intentioned. What could go wrong? Alas, the servers were also completely disorganized. I would go there again, just being prepared for some confusion in the course of an otherwise lovely meal.

On Wednesday I did another walk from ParisInconnu.com, this time around the Place de la Nation, which I had never properly explored. It had been another of the gates in the Farmers General wall, which was otherwise demolished in 1850. The main feature is two pillars, one in the 11th arrondissement and the other in the 12th. But the very fact that there is no particular reason to visit Place de la Nation insulates it from tourists.

Columns built in 1787 at the site of the Farmers General customs wall, now Place de la Nation. The statues on top were added in 1845.

The view of the nearby Ledoux tower from my table on the terrace of Chez Prosper, Place de la Nation, Paris.

I was especially delighted to discover another delightful neighborhood restaurant, Chez Prosper, right next to one of the pillars. I had a huge tandoori chicken salad for 12,5 euros, which still came to under 20 euros including a generous glass of merlot and a noisette (espresso with a dollop of steamed milk).

Tandoori chicken salad at Chez Prosper, Nation, Paris. Delicious and huge.

Chez Prosper, Nation, Paris.

That evening Zhizhong came over for a quick farewell. He has been such a big part of this year’s trip! It was indeed a heartfelt au revoir.

Jaime had been scheduled to arrive on Wednesday evening, but his flight from Madrid was cancelled due to a French air traffic controller’s strike and he had to take an overnight train, which brought him in on Thursday morning. We walked around the Seine, through Palais Royale, then had lunch at Café du Centre on rue Montorgueil, my neighborhood from prior years.

Jaime at Notre Dame cathedral.

Bob’s Belle Niçoise at Café du Centre on rue Montorgueil.

Jaime with our lunches at Café du Centre on rue Montorgueil.

Jaime admiring the patisseries at Stohrer’s on rue Montorgueil.

Last evening my new French friend Sylvain joined us at my place for an apéro, then we went up to Nanashi in the Haut Marais for dinner. Sylvain had not previously been to the restaurant but he enjoyed his meal and I think he’ll be introducing it to his friends.

Sylvain and Jaime at the window of my 2014 apartment in Saint-Paul.

Bob’s delicious shirashi at Nanashi in the haut Marais.

After dinner Sylvain headed home and Jaime and I went to a very cool bar that Alexis had introduced me to last year, Comptoir General. There was a fairly long line to get in, and it wasn’t moving, but after ten minutes someone from the bar pulled me and Jaime out of line and let us in ahead of everyone else! White beard privilege? At an African-themed bar?? We had a couple of delicious and moderately-priced cocktails while soaking in the scene and watching Algeria crush Russia with a 1-1 tie (?!?) in their World Cup match.

Jaime and Bob at half-time in the Algeria-Russia World Cup soccer match, at Comptoir General.

One of the handsome young bartenders at Comptoir General.

It was after midnight when we tottered out of the bar, which is along the bank of the Canal Saint-Martin. As usual on a summer evening itwas full of happy little groups of young people. I was shocked to learn that a new ordinance banned public drinking along the Canal after 9 pm, but pleased to note that it was being universally ignored.

Canal Saint-Martin at midnight. Summer in Paris!

We caught the last métro home and called it a night.

Jason and Friends

Tags

Aya, Canal Saint-Martin, jardin du Luxembourg, Jason, L'Open Café, Le Chant des Voyelles, Le Duplex, Les Souffleurs, Lisa, Marcus, meals, Parc de Bercy, Pramil, Rosa Bonheur

Jason’s first two days here were lovely — the best weather we have had this year. Sunday was mostly cloudy but still a comfortable temperature. We took advantage of the fine conditions to walk at least nine miles each day (though to my annoyance I left my fitbit at home yesterday).

On Friday we wandered across the Seine to the Latin Quarter, and took a couple of snapshots in the jardin du Luxembourg.

Jason and Bob, in front of the French Senate, in the jardin du Luxembourg.

Bob with his Parisian scarf at the jardin du Luxembourg.

After the park our walk took us through Port Royal — an area where I had not been — but eventually to the charming Buttes aux Cailles neighborhood that I had first explored with my nephew Andy in 2000. We had dinner at an old favorite restaurant in the Marais, La Chaise au Plafond. Here’s some food porn:

The tomato tarte Tatin, a signature appetizer at La Chaise au plafond in the Marais.

Salmon main course (plat) at La Chaise au plafond in the Marais.

On Saturday we strolled over to le musée d’Orsay, via a travel agency (billetterie) which sold us a priority ticket that allowed us to skip the painfully-long line. We were thrilled by the impressionists on the top floor, and I also really enjoyed galleries on the second floor of less famous contemporaries. Photography is now prohibited, but I grabbed a shot of the main hall — formerly a railroad station — and a favorite view from the café.

The Musée d’Orsay was formerly a railroad station.

A favorite glimpse of Sacré Coeur through the clock in the café of the Musée d’Orsay.

We met up for dinner with two Swedish friends of Jason’s who happened to be in Paris at the same time. They were sweet guys as well as being easy on the eye. I somewhat randomly selected a restaurant in the Haut Marais from the Michelin Guide called Pramil. The menu was very appealing and the food was delicious and creative without being over the top, or unreasonably expensive. The only odd thing was the fact that all the other diners were rich, older American tourists. I felt under-dressed without a string of pearls! At least Chis wore a tie.

Bob and Jason with desserts at Pramil, in the Haut Marais.

Chris and Marcus with desserts at Pramil, in the Haut Marais.

After dinner we did some serious bar-hopping: L’Open Café, Les Souffleurs and Le Duplex! Marcus and Chris seemed disappointed by the quality of the cocktails but the beer tasted fine to me. I met an old friend and a new friend at Le Duplex, which is becoming my favorite gay bar here.

On Sunday Jason and I met up with Lisa for a walk over to the Parc de Bercy and lunch on the banks of the Seine.

Jason, Lisa and Aya at the Parc de Bercy.

We wished Aya a happy ten-month birthday, and she rewarded us with some lovely smiles.

Miss Aya is ready for her closeup!

After lunch Jason and I visited the convivial terrace of Rosa Bonheur, then walked back via the Canal Saint-Martin. We had a good and moderately-priced meal at Le Chant des Voyelles in the Marais. The adjacent walking street was jammed with guys overflowing from the bear bar next door. Jason observed that almost every guy at both places had a beard, often around a week’s growth. We may indeed have reached “peak beard” but it’s nice while it lasts!

Mot du jour: doudou. Security blanket, or a the favorite soft toy of a small child.

First Weekend

Tags

apartments, art, Bodega 64, Canal Saint-Martin, Geoff, Le Duplex, Marais, meals, moche, Open Café, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Place des Vosges, Rosa Bonheur, Vélib

It’s a gorgeous day and I must get out and enjoy it! But I’ve fallen woefully behind with my blogging, so here goes.

On Saturday I did some errands, then headed over to Place des Vosges, which is just a few blocks away. It was chilly, but lovely nevertheless.

Place des Vosges on a Sunny Saturday.

My ultimate destination was the Grand Marché d’Art Contemporain 2014 à la Bastille. It was much larger than I expected, with more than 500 artists! Most were terrible (imho), but as usual I found a few that I really liked. It was a pleasure to carry on conversations with them, almost always in French! And in most cases the artist agreed to pose with some of his or her works. The full photo set is at Art and Artists, and here are a few of my favorites.

Photographer Robert Rousseau. http://robert-r-rousseau.com

Nicole Jacobs de Choulot and Aude Goalec de Choulot. http://nicoleetaude.com

That evening I indulged in a walk down memory lane, visiting the neighborhood of each of my prior apartments. I had a beer at L’Open Café for old time’s sake. It solitary except for a handsome bar back who let me take his photo (despite falsely claiming to be ugly).

A barback at L’Open Café distributing candles.

Abandoning myself to nostalgia, I had dinner at Le Loup Blanc (which closed in 2014), where I ate on the first evening of my first petit séjour, in 2010. The gay waiter I like was still there — as handsome, slim and diffident as ever. The salmon was even better than I remembered!

Salmon dinner at Le Loup Blanc.

Then I hopped on a Vélib’ and rode over to Le Duplex, one of my favorites among Paris’s many gay bars. It was busy, as expected with a diverse and genial crowd. At first I just looked around, and eavesdropped on the animated conversation of two forty-something neighbors. Eventually someone broke the ice and the three of us had a friendly and interesting conversation. (The weren’t a couple — the suggestion horrified them! — but they had dated for about a week ten years ago.) A bit later on I spotted Lisa’s Geoff across the crowded room; he stopped by to say hello but was busy with a group of friends. I’m sure we’ll catch up again later in my stay.

I’ve fallen in love with my new neighborhood, and the virtues of this year’s apartment are growing on me, despite a few maintenance issues that I hope to persuade the owners to take care of. Do you think I should take a series of photos out my windows along the lines of Monet’s haystacks?

The view out my living room windows – near sunset.

The view out my living room windows – midday.

I got a bit of a late start on Sunday, then took a walk — to the Haut Marais, Place de la République, then Canal Saint-Martin. I had a quite good brunch at Chez Prune. I love the location and ambience but I really must remember how unfriendly the service is. Then I climbed up to the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont to make my first pilgrimage of the year to Rosa Bonheur. It was busy at 2:30 but the only line was to order since the barriers weren’t yet up. I was alone at first — is a pattern emerging? — then I met a group of super-sweet Spanish guys who were visiting a French friend for a few days.

New Friends at Rosa Bonheur.

We had a lovely conversation, “code switching” among Spanish, French, Catalan and English. I joined them for dancing afterwards, but eventually I excused myself, sated — for the moment — with the magic of Rosa Bonheur!

Rosa Bonheur on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

I finished the gentle evening with an unassuming but pleasant meal at Bodega 64, just across the street from my apartment.

Mot du jour: moche. Ugly, horrible, tacky, trashy, terrible, etc. etc. Typically used, in my experience, by people falsely denigrating their own good looks.

Friends and the Ghetto Museum

Tags

Canal Saint-Martin, Ghetto Museum, Jared, Le Comptoir General, Le Marie Stuart, Marcel, meals, Montorgueil, rue Montorgueil, weather

After the Harvard dinner on Sunday night Joël and I walked to the métro with Mike, a fellow alum whom we had just met. Mike’s train back to Frankfurt didn’t leave until Monday afternoon so I invited him over for lunch on my beloved rue Montorgueil.  I had plans for the morning: clean house, shop, get a haircut, pick up my hopefully-cleaned dress pants (which had gotten dirty the previous weekend, when I crossed my legs too soon after polishing my shoes). As it happened, however, that morning there was a series of powerful thunderstorms. We have them in Boston, but these were the most intense I had seen in Paris, and Alexis confirmed that evening that they are rare here. Every time I was about to jump in the shower there was a nearby lightning bolt! So by the end of the morning I was only able to pick up my (perfectly-cleaned) pants. [That evening Jared and Alexis scoffed at my concern, but I was gratified to confirm that my parents’ oft-stated warning about using plumbing or electrical devices during a thunderstorm is not an old wives’ tale.]

Mike overslept a bit but arrived by early afternoon. I suggested a beer before lunch, but when I opened the refrigerator I noticed a tempting bottle of rosé, which of course, once opened, had to be finished.

A few pleasant hours later we set out to forage for lunch. The kitchen was closed in my usual haunts so we ended up at Le Marie Stuart, a restaurant on rue Montorgueil that I had walked past literally a hundred times but had never eaten at. It had a youth-oriented menu, and wasn’t cheap, but our salads were quite palatable. Mike will be moving to Nairobi in the fall but I hope to catch up with him and his boyfriend in Cambridge the latter part of September. I wished Mike bon voyage and headed back home to await my next house guest, Jared.

This year’s Jared — Jared W. — should not be confused with last September’s house guest — Jared R — even though they were boyfriends at the time. Jared W. is a math professor at Boston University. While we are friends through various social connections we have particularly bonded on a series of day hikes in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Jared W. was unable to come with Jared R. last year, but one nice feature of renting  in June is that academics — and students — are often free to visit then. Jared W. is now in another relationship, but his new partner was unable to join him here.

Jared arrived on schedule via RER train. After he settled in we headed off to Gare de l’Est to meet my French friend Alexis for dinner. We ate at Marcel, a stylish restaurant on the Canal Saint-Martin serving Indian food. The atmosphere was pleasant and the food was really good. The on-line critiques that you can get comparable Indian food much cheaper elsewhere seem to me wide of the mark.

After making considerable progress over dinner towards solving the world’s problems (including those created by human nature itself) Alexis suggested we visit the nearby African-themed Ghetto Museum. This is quite an extraordinary place, including several contemporary art installations.

I snapped Alexis and Jared at a replica African photography studio.

Something about the environment — possibly the tropical level of heat and humidity — made us thirsty, but fortunately the museum has a well-stocked bar. Several secousses later we staggered back along the Grands Boulevards to our respective homes.

Mot du jour: « bobo », short for « bourgeois-bohème ». Basically, a well-off left liberal. Alexis doesn’t identify with the term, because he considers himself 80% bourgeois, 15% Breton and 5% bohemian. Jared and I felt fortunate that Alexis still has a broad enough bohemian streak to introduce us to  the Ghetto Museum.

Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Tags

Alex, Buttes-Chaumont, Canal Saint-Martin, Chicken pox, flâneur, L'Absinthe Café, La Tour Vagabonde, language, Marais, Montorgueil, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Romeo and Juliet, rue Irénée Blanc, shingles

After a quiet morning, largely spent curating my photos and videos of the Dynamo exhibition, I made my way Thursday evening to a performance, in French, of Romeo and Juliet by La Tour Vagabonde in the Bas Marais. I bought the ticket at the FNAC in the Forum des Halles since I had trouble with their on line site; I now realize that I could have saved about 10 euros by buying it through http://billetreduc.com, which I used successfully last year. There was another SNAFU that morning when I tried to buy my Eurostar tickets for the London trip. I went through the entire on line process twice only to end back at the initial page, with no clear indication whether or not the tickets were issued. I ultimately called on Skype, confirmed that the on line reservations did not go through, and bought tickets through the very efficient support person much more easily (and a bit cheaper!)

This Romeo and Juliet is performed in a wooden theater modeled on the original Globe (though the groundlings have cushioned seats instead of having to stand).

I really enjoyed the performance despite the fact that most of the dialogue (as expected) blew past me. My flâneur friend Alex pointed out that it was similar to watching TV with the sound off — your appreciation of the visual experience is heightened when you miss the words. The actors were excellent and in the second row I was just a few feet from them. At one point I even got splashed when Romeo’s friends were playing around in the fountain, before the roughhousing turned deadly. I’m not sure whether it was this production or my greater *ahem* maturity but I found both Romeo and Juliet to be almost annoyingly addled (albeit lovely, playful and preternaturally articulate). I was more strongly affected than in prior performances by the issues of community and the damage caused by the rift between the Montagues and Capulets.

Walking home after the performance I was struck by how calm and beautiful the Saint Paul neighborhood is, below rue de Rivoli, in contrast with the raucous gay bar district just a few blocks to the north.

On Friday I met up with Alex, the B.C. student whom I had met in the airport, for a walk across some lesser-known parts of the city. We started with a tour of my beloved Montorgueil neighborhood and lunch at a favorite local place, L’Absinthe Café in the nearby Arts et Métiers quarter.

Alex with our lunch at L’Absinthe Café

After lunch we took the métro over to Père Lachaise and started to explore. A walk up to Gambetta was interesting enough, as was a look at the charming two-story neighborhood around rue Irénée Blanc.

Alex on rue Irénée Blanc.

From there, however, we found ourselves in relatively sterile residential areas near the edge of the city. I steered us back towards the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which was, as usual, a winner. Alex commented on how romantic the park was; I heartily agreed even though I knew that he was assessing it as a destination for a future date with a young lady.

Bob (with hat hair) and Alex, with Sacré Coeur in the background, at the Temple de la Sibylle in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont.

From there we walked down to the Canal Saint-Martin, then along the Canal and through some of the cool adjacent areas. Alex jumped on the métro just before six, and I walked home. Not quite a record, but more than 11 miles, so not too shabby either.

The French for cotton candy is barbe à papa, or “papa’s beard.” (I only learned years later that in France the type of floppy hat I was wearing is called a Bob, so there’s also a second jeu de mots.)

Plans for dinner this evening at Lisa and Ali’s were scotched when they discovered that they had recently been exposed to chicken pox. All three of us have already had it, but Joël has not had it, and apparently even someone who has already had it can become infectious for a while after being exposed to someone with active illness. Chicken pox is usually fairly mild in children but can be quite serious in adults so Joël chose not to take this risk. (Possibly TMI: once you have had chicken pox the virus remains in your body, and can re-emerge decades later as shingles, an extremely painful rash. Both of my parents had this, so I got vaccinated, which cuts my risk in half.)

Mot du jour: jeu de mots. Play on words.