Spring in Paris

~ My sojourns in France, 2010-2019

Spring in Paris

Tag Archives: Marais

Plants, Food, Etc.

29 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by Robert Mack in Experiences, Photos

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Alpine Garden, Desvouges, Experimental Cocktail Club, Fanny Ardant, Gay Pride, Ginkgo Biloba, Hiroshima Mon Amour, jardin des plantes, Jared, Marais, Tom, water lilies, water lily

On Friday we headed over to the nearby Jardin des Plantes. I had strolled through it before Jared arrived but didn’t really do it justice. We both felt that the central gardens seemed rather thin (especially compared with 2010), and were bored by the repetitive patterns that characterize a formal French garden.

Our impression wasn’t improved by a visit to the quirky little botanical museum.

We were mesmerized, however, by the water drops at the center of these huge water lily leaves, which looked like liquid silver.

The greenhouses (serres) were lush with vegetation, in striking contrast to the central lawn.

Ginkgo Biloba

My favorite spot in the Jardin des Plantes, however, was the English-style Alpine Garden, which I’d somehow managed to miss in all my visits to Paris. It’s both lush and lovely! You do have to dodge the sprinklers but it’s worth the effort.

We had lunch at Desvouges, Jared’s favorite among the restaurants we’ve eaten at this year, and one of my favorites as well.

Jared with Magret de Canard at Desvouges

After lunch Jared did some shopping, I did some blogging, and we both took naps. We had dinner at home, the highlight of which was a blind taste test comparing a baguette from the nearby supermarket with one from the neighborhood boulangerie. I was surprised to find that I liked the supermarket baguette better! But we agreed that both were perfectly fine.

We then headed across to the right bank to see a one-woman performance of Hiroshima Mon Amour by the renowned actress Fanny Ardant. It was, as I expected, powerful, moving, and somewhat difficult for me to follow. The theater was beautiful but we realized that it wasn’t air conditioned when they handed us fans and water bottles! It was warm but not too bad, and the theater made it seem downright cool when we stepped outside.

We strolled up to the Experimental Cocktail Club to have a couple of drinks for old times sake, then over to the Marais to see the pre-Pride buzz. It was a beautiful evening for a walk. We ended up jumping on the métro at Bastille.

Addendum: A funny thing happened on the way over to the theater. As Jared and I stepped onto the métro I felt a tap on my shoulder. Having been recently pickpocketed I spun around with an unfriendly expression, but instead of an evildoer there was Tom, now with platinum blond hair! He was meeting friends for a pre-Pride party but we had a chance to say hello and goodbye. It was nice to see him one more time before the end of this year’s petit séjour.

Trees and Music

22 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by Robert Mack in Experiences, Photos

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Arboretum, bonsai, cèdre bleu pleureur, Fête de la musique, flâneur, gay, Jared, La Fête de la musique, Macguffin, Marais, music, Navigo, Vallée-aux-Loups, Zoltan

I have previously mentioned Alfred Hitchcock’s concept of a Macguffin — something that the characters in a movie pursue to set the plot in motion, but which isn’t important in itself. A flâneur never pursues a single goal; s/he wanders at random so as to be fully open to whatever the city has to offer. There’s no real harm, however, in allowing a Macguffin to set a flâne in motion, so long as one isn’t so attached to the goal as to miss the pleasures of the journey.

Our Macguffin on Friday was a world-class display of bonsai in the Arboretum of the Domaine de la Vallée-aux-Loups, less than half an hour by train from Paris. My Navigo monthly pass covers the entire suburban rail system (the RER), so I didn’t need to buy a ticket, while the trip cost Jared about 6 euros.

I had some trouble getting us to the bonsai building but we finally broke down and asked someone, who directed us across a lovely park. A few minutes in, however, we encountered a friendly couple returning from the bonsai exhibition who told us that it was closed! They and we had double checked on the website but there was no helping it. We decided to continue on to the exhibition, which was indeed closed. I was able to get a couple of pictures through the window, which confirm that it is worth a visit, some other day:

We were disappointed — despite being dedicated flâneurs — but we made the best of it by exploring the rest of the Arboretum, which was peaceful and charming.

Eventually we came upon the piece de résistance of the Aboretum, an enormous cèdre bleu pleureur de l’Atlas from Morocco that has been named the finest tree in the Île de France.

Jared beneath the cèdre bleu pleureur
Jared and Bob beneath the cèdre bleu pleureur

While our desire to bond with little bonsai trees was frustrated, we ended up bonding with one of the most magnificent trees in France!

My full photo set for the day trip is at: Day Trip to Parc de la Vallée aux Loups. Perhaps another year I/we will return, and see both the bonsai and Chateaubriand’s cottage.

We headed back with enough time to take a nap before heading out for more music. It was June 21, the Summer Solstice, which in France is celebrated as la fête de la musique! This remarkable festival draws enormous crowds into the streets of Paris and (I gather) other parts of France. In the denser areas just about every bar has a band or a singer or a dj. The range of musical genres is wide, although it’s almost all popular rather than, say, classical.

Diversity at la fête de la musique: A Mexican singer at a Tibetan restaurant with an African audience.

I gave Jared a quick look at the scene but then he had to head up to Gare du Nord to meet his friend Zoltán who is staying with us for the weekend. I plunged back into the maelstrom (with my cell phone and cash safely stashed in a money belt under my shirt).

In the gay areas of the Marais la fête de la musique is almost as festive as gay pride.

Even back in my residential neighborhood there were two concerts still in full swing around midnight, when I got home.

Oh, did I mention that it was yet another simply lovely day? Will le beaux temps last forever? (Spoiler alert: No!)

Recovery and Photography

04 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by Robert Mack in Art, Experiences, Photos

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Art, C.N., contemporary art, contemporary photography, Erwin Olaf, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Guy Tillim, Marais, photography, Sherard, walking

On Wednesday, after walking 77 miles over the previous week, I was tired! I wrote a few blog posts, did some reading, and basically just put my feet up! I love walking, and it’s one of my favorite things to do in Paris. Over the decade I’ve been coming here I’ve consistently averaged about 7 miles a day (though only 6 in 2018). I knew from last year that I would be below average during my stay in the 15ème with my cousins, but I counted on Sherard’s insatiable appetite for walking to compensate. What I didn’t count on was that I would be walking almost as much with C.N. on the four days before Sherard arrived. So it turned out to be eleven solid days of intensive walking (including a 15-mile half-marathon day).

On Thursday, after more rest, I ventured out to the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in the 3ème. There were some charming photos by Cartier-Bresson himself but the main event was a small exhibition of enormously enlarged street photos of African cities by a South African photographer, Guy Tillim. I was impressed, but by and large was happier perusing the images in a Paris gallery rather than actually being in one of those cities.

Guy Tillim, Museum of the Revolution exhibition at La Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

On my way home a gallery I hadn’t visited before this year — Galerie Rabouan Moussion — caught my eye. When I went in I was basically blown away by an exhibition of large-format photographs by Erwin Olaf that combined sumptuous surface beauty with witty, barbed and/or affecting points. Here are shots of a few that I particularly liked.

These two images, hung at very different levels, are related…

In the first, a mature black man sits at a (modest) power desk while a white boy waits in a row of chairs.

In the second image the white boy, somehow, is sitting in the power chair and the black man is nowhere to be seen.

The next two images suggest relationships between two women.

A mother and child? Maybe not, since the book open on the table is Lolita!

Another mother and child? Perhaps the child has done something wrong? But in the context of the previous photograph other interpretations also suggest themselves.

This photograph was my favorite, because of the moving affection it shows as well as the scantily-clad model.

The Farewell, 2018, Erwin Olaf at Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris

The Farewell, 2018 (detail), Erwin Olaf at Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris

The Farewell, 2018 (detail), Erwin Olaf at Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris

I naturally interpret this as a farewell between gay lovers who are about to be separated by the military service of one of them. But actually they could just be good friends, or even adopted brothers. Perhaps the ambiguity of the photograph makes the point that their powerful and obvious affection is the real and important thing. The exact nature of their relationship is relatively unimportant.

Sherard’s First Days

29 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by Robert Mack in Experiences, Photos

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Antoine, Batignolles, Bouillon Chartier, Comptoir General, Experimental Cocktail Club, flâneur, Fushigi!, Hoppy, Il Tre, Le Refuge, Le Tout Petit, Les Ambassades, Marais, meals, Metro, Montmartre, Montorgueil, Musee d'Orsay, Palais Royal, Parc Monceau, Rodin Museum, rue Montorgueil, Sacre Coeur, Sherard, Théâtre de Nesle

My friend and book club colleague Sherard arrived on Tuesday, May 21, for his second visit to Paris. We had had a lovely time here three years ago, in 2016, so I was delighted when he accepted my invitation to visit again.

Sherard on rue Montorgueil

He arrived in the morning so our strategy was to keep him up and about until at least 8 pm to help with jet lag. We headed up to Montmartre, starting with Sacré Coeur, which we had also visited during his previous stay.

Sherard with Sacré Coeur

We were both bemused by the crush of tourists at the top, and impressed with how much quieter it was off the tourist track on the back of the hill. We sat for half an hour at Le Refuge, which Antoine had introduced me to in 2010, watching local people (with nary a tourist in sight) come and go at the métro station Lamarck—Caulaincourt. On our way home I proposed dinner at one of my favorite places, Bouillon Chartier. There I made the first of several mistakes, by failing to warn Sherard that the bar entier would be a whole fish, head, skin, fins and all. He bravely tackled it and I think mostly enjoyed it.

Bob and Sherard at Bouillon Chartier

We finished the evening with a couple rounds of cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club, which is exactly the same as we remembered it from 2016.

The following day we got a joint ticket for the Musée d’Orsay and the Rodin Museum, and headed off to the Orsay. I discussed our experiences at the Orsay in the previous post, but this pic of Sherard from a hallway in the Orsay is worth adding:

Sherard getting his model mojo on

When we first arrived at the Seine Sherard remarked on the wide walkways on each side of the river (berges). At first I was puzzled, but then I realized that he hadn’t seen them during his previous stay since they were submerged by the Great Flood of 2016.

After the Orsay we were hungry, and wandered back into the 7ème, which I don’t know well, to forage. We finally came across a friendly place called Les Ambassades whose 19 euro menu included appetizer, main, dessert and beverage, so we were well fed. After lunch I realized that we were just a block or two from the Rodin Museum. Our ticket allowed us to visit the two museums on different days (with a three month period, actually) but since we were already there I suggested that we make it a two-museum day. The indoor museum doesn’t thrill me, but we both quite liked the sculpture garden.

The garden of the Monet Museum, with The Thinker and even Balzac peeping through the vegetation

Balzac by Rodin

The garden of the Rodin Museum

We just had time to regroup at home before heading across the river again to see an interesting production called Fushigi! at the Théâtre de Nesle, an improvisational piece based on the films of Miyazaki. I had imagined colorful costumes but I couldn’t have been more wrong. A young girl embarked on a mission to restore a precious plant to its environment. She and her mother used (very) friendly monkeys to carry messages between them. A wicked witch turned the girl into a vulture, but fortunately her identity was restored and they all lived happily ever after. I don’t have to give you a spoiler alert because the show is different every performance; all this was improvised by four actors clad in white using mime, plus occasional spoken words, to tell a vivid and affecting story. It was also perfect for us, since rapid fire, subtle French is challenging to follow.

After the show we had a a simple but delicious Italian meal at Il Tre, on rue Montorgueil.

Bob with Sherard at Il Tre on rue Montorgueil

We went out later to explore the gay scene in the Marais, but everything was pretty dead so we ended up with a tasty beer at Hoppy, one of our favorite bars from 2016, that fortunately is still thriving.

Sherard at Hoppy, after a long day

The next day Sherard asked me to look over a map of Paris and point out the areas with which I was least familiar. This was an approach that worked well during his last visit, ending up with a charming dinner in the faraway 14ème. This year one of the less familiar arrondissements I mentioned was the 17ème. I had visited a few times but never fully explored. We set out on foot, as is our wont, which took us through the Palais Royal.

Statue at the Palais Royal (with modesty preserved by a strategic bud)

Bob ‘s hat head at the Palais Royal

When we encountered the Galeries Lafayette I suggested we take a look, as a contrast with the more popular 17ème. It’s beautiful and impressive, but I find the rank commercialism rather distasteful.

Dome of Galeries Lafayette

Our first stop in the 17ème was the charming Square des Batignolles, a jardin à l’anglaise, i.e. mimicking nature rather than geometry. A striking contrast to Galeries Lafayette!

Square des Batignolles with Sherard

Square des Batignolles

We had lunch in a cute little place next to the park.

Bob at “Le Tout Petit,” Batignolles, 17ème

Sherard at “Le Tout Petit,” Batignolles

Then we plunged into terra incognita (to me). I was surprised to find dozens of big, brand new buildings clustered around a planned station of the fast, fully automated métro line 14. Unfortunately the buildings are finished and occupied but the station has been delayed, so the overcrowded line 13 is a nightmare for the time being.

Just a few of many new buildings in the 17ème

Sherard had noticed a green strip called the Cité des Fleurs on the map and suggested that we check it out. What proper flâneur could say no? I wasn’t sure that it would be open to the public, but in fact it’s open from 7 am to 7 pm, so we enjoyed a stroll. The older buildings on each side couldn’t be more different from the high rises just a few blocks away.

Lovely houses in the Cité des Fleurs, 17ème

It was only as we were about to exit that I remembered my friend Antoine having mentioned that he had moved from St. Germain des Prés to this very Cité des Fleurs! I texted him on the off chance that he might be at home, taking care of his newborn daughter; he was, and he invited us up for coffee!

Antoine with his two-month old daughter

Bob, Antoine with his daughter, and Sherard

It was great to catch up with Antoine and to see what a family man he has become. We walked home via the beautiful Parc Monceau.

Sherard and I we’re both a bit tired after our long day, and my memory of dinner is hazy, but I’m pretty sure that we capped the evening with cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club.

A few days later, on Friday afternoon, I made a remarkable mistake that needs to be recounted. I took Sherard for a drink at Le Comptoir Général, an African-themed bar along the Canal Saint-Martin that Alexis had introduced me to in 2013, when it was known as the Ghetto Museum.  I had been blown away on that first visit by extensive conceptual art installations, as well as by their powerful signature cocktail, the Secousse (Earthquake).

IMG_8746 Med

A glimpse of the Ghetto Museum from 2013, but the art is almost all gone now.

I also had a dim memory that over the years it had become less African art museum and more pretentious yuppie bar, but it was still on my mental list of places to show visitors. What I definitely did not recall was that I had taken Sherard there on his first visit, in 2016, and we had been distinctly underwhelmed:

I showed Sherard Comptoir Général 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.

The current Comptoir Général isn’t a terrible place. We had a moderately pleasant time sipping our drinks and watching the hipsters. The terrible thing is that I had forgotten that we had done the same thing three years earlier. Memory becomes an issue as one gets older. For someone who is “pushing 70” I think I do pretty well, but I have to admit that this oversight gives me pause. It would be an “expected surprise” to sink into outright dementia in the last years of my life, but I’m hoping to stave this off as long as possible!

Near the end of the week Sherard revealed that he had had a slight ulterior motive all along: To keep me so happily busy that I wouldn’t have time to blog. In this he succeeded magnificently! I’m writing a full week later, just after he headed back to Boston.

Art in Paris: Hassan Musa

20 Monday May 2019

Posted by Robert Mack in Art, Photos

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Adnan Kashoggi, Art, contemporary art, Galerie Maïa Muller, Hassan Musa, Marais, Odalisque, Steal Lifes, The Snake Charmer

Hassan Musa, a Sudanese native who lives and works in France, uses a mix of paint and fabric to make trenchant social and political points. These are a few pieces from a small personal exhibition, “Steal Lifes,” at the tiny but lively Galerie Maïa Muller in the Marais.

Self portrait, “Steal Lifes”

This enormous tapestry, “The Snake Charmer,” filled most of a wall

Detail of “The Snake Charmer”

Close detail of “The Snake Charmer”

This breathtaking piece called “The Fiancées of Istanbul” shows the late Adnan Khashoggi with the Odalisque of Ingres. (He entered the Saudi consulate, where he was brutally assassinated, seeking paperwork to allow him to marry.)

The Odalisque makes another appearance with elements of the contemporary Food Pyramid

I really like the combination of arrestingly beautiful objects with trenchant and chilling points. I usually subscribe to the Sam Goldwyn aphorism, “if you have a message, call Western Union,” but in this case I was disarmed by the passion of the message and the exotic charm of the medium.

Note to younger readers: Sam Goldwyn was the head for decades of a big movie studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Western Union was the company that delivered “telegrams,” which were paper versions of email messages, back in the dark ages before the Internet. He’s saying that he makes movies to entertain, not to send messages.

Art in Paris: Japonisme(s)

19 Sunday May 2019

Posted by Robert Mack in Art, Photos

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Art, Galerie Pierre-Alain Challier, Marais

The most impressive multi-artist show I encountered was Japonisme(s) at Galerie Pierre-Alain Challier in the Marais, which has been extended through June, 2019. I liked nearly all of the many pieces — which almost never happens with me! — as well as the calm and contemplative atmosphere of the gallery. I’m posting just a handful of shots, but I really recommend a visit if you will have the chance.

By Jean-Loup Champion

By Kimiko Yoshida

Bowl by Claire de Lavallée, Painting by Marie Hugo

By Sophie de Laporte

At first glance this last piece looks like rather good modern art…

By Patrick Hourcade

When you look closer, however, you see that it’s conceptual:

By Patrick Hourcade (detail)

More Paris Art

08 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by Robert Mack in Art, Photos

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Afro, Afro Libio Basaldella, Art, Canal d’Ourcq, Concert for a Fly, contemporary art, David Hockney, Ecoute, Galerie Béatrice Soulié, Galerie Lelong & Co., Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Gérard Cambon, Henry de Miller, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, L'Opéra, L'Opéra Garnier, Marais, Nambia, parc de la Villette, Parc Monceau, Paris, Saint Eustache, street art, Tornabuoni

This statue, in front of Saint-Eustache, survived the five-year redevelopment of Les Halles. Click here for a pic of the work site from 2012 showing the head tenuously protected by barriers.

“Ecoute,” 1986, by Henry de Miller (1953-99), visible again in 2018

The gallery show that most strongly impressed me this year was of Afro Libio Basaldella (1912-1976), better known as “Afro,” at the Tornabuoni Art gallery in the Marais. The artist — who I hadn’t heard of — was born in Italy and worked there and in the U.S. One example is below, but if you like it please look at: [“Afro” Photo Set]

One of many excellent paintings by “Afro” at Tornabuoni Art Paris

Naturally I was interested in owning one of these excellent paintings! The price list was held behind the counter, but a gallerist offered to tell me the price of any specific work I was interested in. This one, for example, was priced at 4,900,000 euros. Negotiable, I’m sure, but still a bit rich for my blood.

These odd sculptures are from the imaginary country of “Nambia,” inspired by a bourde of Donald Trump.

« Nambias » by Gérard Cambon at Galerie Béatrice Soulié in the Latin Quarter

I was quite impressed by Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in the Marais– not the art, which I didn’t find memorable until the top floor — but the gallery itself, which is a large and beautiful space.

Stunning circular stairway at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

I did respect, on the top floor, the reprise of a Palais de Tokyo show by Patrick Neu I had liked in 2015, and enjoyed a quirky little installation, which you’ll have to enlarge to fully appreciate:

Concert for a Fly, by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

A few weeks back I stumbled on the vernissage (opening party) for a David Hockney show at a newly opened branch of Galerie Lelong & Co. Some functionary tried to shoo me away because it hadn’t officially started but the gallery owner waved me in. #seniorprivilege

New branch of Galerie Lelong & Co. at 38 avenue Matignon

David Hockney show at Galerie Lelong & Co. with vernissage snacks. These are numbered reproductions of digital images Hockney creates on an iPad

I’ve many times appreciated the mostly-buried bicycle wheel at the back of this photo as I’ve strolled through the Parc de la Villette but this year is the first time I noticed the rest of the bicycle!

Buried bicycle parts in the Parc de la Villette

Street art in Batignolles

Apollo atop L’Opéra Garnier

19th Century Street Art in the Marais

21st Century Street Art along the Canal d’Ourcq

An artist and his model in Parc Monceau.

Mot du Jour: bourde. Blunder, boner, mishap.

A Day Trip to Amiens

16 Wednesday May 2018

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Amiens, Amiens Cathedral, canals, Cathedral, half-timbered, Judgment Day, Marais, Metro, Paris, rose garden, Saint Sebastian, secret garden, tympanum, Zhizhong

On Sunday Zhizhong and I met up at Gare du Nord for a day trip to Amiens. I was almost late because the line 4 platform was closed for repairs, but the efficient Parisian métro system nevertheless got me to the station with time to spare.

The signature attraction of Amiens is the cathedral, which is quite impressive; here are a few pics.

Zhizhong was surprised when I explained that the tympanum showed Judgment Day, when the blessed are led off by angels to heaven while the damned are led by devils to hell through the mouth of a monster.

The highest interior space of any cathedral in France. Meant to impress!

The ornate interior seems to have been recently re-gilded.

Zhizhong wondered aloud why Saint Sebastian has become something of a gay icon. I have no idea…

The stained glass is colorful but modern since the medieval windows were destroyed in the Revolution. Chartres is one of the few cathedrals in France with mostly intact windows.

There are many other heritage buildings in Amiens, but the regional museum was closed and the rest of the town seemed a bit depressed.

An attractive half-timbered building opposite the Amiens cathedral

One notable feature is that the city is built around many canals.

Ironically, one of the biggest thrills of the day for me occurred after we got back to Paris. Zhizhong mentioned that we were near a hidden garden at the Eastern edge of the Marais. I was skeptical that there could be anything interesting in the area that I didn’t already know about, but I followed his lead.

The entrance from the Marais is down this alley…

… then through this literally forbidding barred gate.

But inside was a gorgeous rose garden, in full bloom!

It’s a public park, sitting in a courtyard of posh private residences.

Many thanks to Zhizhong for his company on the trip, and especially for unveiling yet another Parisian secret.

Update: Here’s a Google photo set with full-sized versions of all my photos from our Amiens day trip: Amiens Day Trip

Family and Friends

05 Saturday May 2018

Posted by Robert Mack in Experiences, Photos

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Aya, Bains-Douches, Jackie, l'Oasis d'Aboukir, Lisa, Marais, meals, Oasis d'Aboukir, Paris, rue Montorgueil, weather

The weather has been sunny and less chilly these past few days. We’ve taken lovely walks, enjoyed the nearby park, and eaten most of our restaurant meals a la terrasse.

Lisa and me enjoying an afternoon glass of rosé on our way to the nearest shopping mall.

We had chosen a perfectly random café — L’Argument — but it proved to be quite satisfactory.

Poké salad at L’Argument

Where, you ask, is my Jungle Jim sun hat? Someone else tried it on for size…

Aya trying out Uncle Bob’s silly hat

Our big adventure the day before had been the local park, which was jammed with kids since it was their school holiday. A highlight for Aya was scaling this really challenging climbing rock. At four years old I was nowhere near as brave!

Aya atop an impressive climbing rock

Friday afternoon Lisa and Aya visited friends so I had lunch with my Harvard friend Elliot, at his neighborhood Moroccan restaurant Le Berbere.

Lunch with Elliot Marks at Le Berbere.

He’ll be in the U.S. for most of my stay — part of the time in Boston — but we plan to catch up once again just before I leave Paris. Unfortunately, I’ll miss the Harvard LGBT alumni event by just a few days, along with many other events in the latter part of June. I looked into extending my stay but at this point changing my flights would be punishingly expensive. And yes, Boston isn’t a bad place to be either in the summertime.

After lunch I strolled over to the Marais with Elliot, then wandered up to my favorite quarter, rue Montorgueil, where I will be living for most of this year’s stay. The impressive vegetative wall that I have watched grow year by year — L’Oasis d’Aboukir — was getting a trim.

L’Oasis d’Aboukir getting a trim.

I met up with Jackie for dinner at a Lebanese place about a kilometer from our apartment, and noticed this historic building on our walk back home.

Public bath house, for people of an earlier era without bathing facilities at home. Now fortunately an anachronism.

I’ve been walking about five miles a day so far this trip, but on Friday I broke ten miles so hopefully I’ll end up with my usual Paris average of about seven miles a day.

Last Weekend

27 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by Robert Mack in Art, Experiences, Musings, Photos

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16mm, 2015 by Nicholas Delprat, 2016 by Béranger Laymond, Ali, Anti-terrorism teams, Army teams, Art, banlieue, Béranger Laymond, bidonville, bouche à oreille, bouchon d'oreille, Canal Saint-Denis, Censier–Daubenton, contemporary art, Foodi, Foyer Vietnam, France, Galerie les Yeux Fertiles, Grand Train, Guillaume, Jacques Carelman, Jacques Prévert, language, Le Grand Train, Lemon, Lina's, Lisa, Louvre, Marais, meals, Montorgueil, neighborhoods, Nicholas Delprat, Palais Royal, Paris, racism, raton, raton-laveur, Reliefs, RER Control, Roma, rue Montorgueil, Rue Mouffetard, Saint-Denis, shantytown, soldiers, Submachine guns, We Can Control Space, Zhizhong, Zongzi

These past two years my cousin Lisa — so big a part of my Paris experience in earlier years! — has been in Uganda working on her Ph.D. She’s still looking after me, however, and she suggested a dinner with our mutual friends Ali and Zhizhong. We met at my place on Friday evening for an apéro, then ate at nearby Foodi, where I had dined my first night in Paris this year.

Ali, Zhizhong and me on our way to dinner.

Ali, Zhizhong and me on our way to dinner.

There was a snafu about our reservation — I’ve found that smaller restaurants often don’t notice last-minute reservations made through the Fork — but we just had to kill half an hour at Hoppy, and then could be seated.

Zhizhong and me at Foodi

Zhizhong and me at Foodi (photo credit, Ali)

Ali and I had bento boxes, but Zhizhong was thrilled to get a traditional Chinese dish, Zongzi. In a beloved legend packets of rice were thrown into a river to distract fish from eating the body of a hero.

Zhizhong's Zongzi Traditionnelle at Foodi

Zhizhong’s Zongzi Traditionnelle at Foodi

Ali headed home after dinner but Zhizhong and I got into a deep conversation, mostly about the opportunities, challenges and temptations of his new job. He’s working like crazy, but also coming into contact with upper levels of French business and society that raise all sorts of interesting questions. We used to have conversations like this back in Cambridge while he was working on his Ph.D., but this is the first really long talk we’ve had in the 3-1/2 years he’s been living in Paris. It was after 3 am by the time he headed home, and I staggered into bed!

I understandably got a late start on Saturday, then strolled over to the Palais Royal to do some reading.

Reading at the Palais Royal

Reading at the Palais Royal

I grabbed a quick and cheap lunch at Lina’s on Etienne Marcel, then strolled over to the left bank via the Louvre. You see teams of four heavily-armed soldiers all over Paris. Usually I’m reluctant to take their picture but I did take this shot to give you the idea. From one perspective they make me feel safer and from another perspective they make me uneasy.

Well protected Eiffel tower seller at the Louvre

Well-protected Eiffel tower seller at the Louvre

My destination was the little district of art galleries in the 6ème arrondissement near the École des beaux-arts. I had slighted this area despite my interest in art because I had the impression that these would be schlock galleries catering to tourists. There were a few of those towards the Latin Quarter but overall I was quite impressed with the quality of the galleries in this area.

Snow bicycle by Jacques Carelman at the Galerie les Yeux Fertiles

Snow bicycle by Jacques Carelman at the Galerie les Yeux Fertiles

After the galleries started closing I strolled across the Latin Quarter to rue Monge, and headed up to a student-run restaurant I had read about, the Foyer Vietnam, in the 5ème. Mysterious from the outside because its windows are frosted, inside it’s a simple and welcoming Vietnamese restaurant. The food was tasty and inexpensive, and I sat at a long table with other diners. Very much the kind of experience I was looking for that evening.

Both before and after dinner I strolled around the area. I had previously noted the neighborhood around métro Censier–Daubenton as one where I could envisage staying one year. The only real drawback I saw was the fact that it’s a bit of a hike to the Marais, which is these days more of an issue for my guests than it is for me. Nearby rue Mouffetard, which had charmed me on earlier trips to Paris, now seems trampled to death by the tourist hoards. Rue Montorgueil itself — while still attracting a lot of French visitors — seems to be going in the same direction. Where can I go to escape from … people like me?

On Sunday morning I blogged and got a quick lunch at Lemon. Then Guillaume picked me up and we traveled together to the banlieue of Saint-Denis to see a contemporary art show. Guillaume had worked in Saint-Denis on an assignment and his employer, a city planning arm of the Paris region, plans to move its main office there. I had previously been to see the basilica (which is most impressive) but hadn’t dared to venture deeper into the city. It was reassuring to have an experienced guide.

In prior years I’ve usually purchased a monthly Navigo pass, which extends on weekends, etc. to the entire Île de France region, including Saint-Denis. This year, however, I’m just using métro tickets, which only cover the inner zones of Paris. When Guillaume pointed this out at Gare du Nord we joked about the idea of my taking my chances on being “controlled” and required to pay a substantial fine, but decided to buy the correct tickets. Our virtue was rewarded, since there was a massive control operation at Saint-Denis! Dozens of police were writing up fines for people who didn’t have the right credentials, and catching people who were trying to escape the control.

The art show was supposed to be in an apartment building in a lovely location, right between the Seine and the Canal Saint-Denis. At first we went to the wrong floor and had a disorienting experience since nobody at all was there.

Selfie in sketchy banlieue elevator

Selfie of me and Guillaume in sketchy banlieue elevator

But once we found the show it was normal and the organizers were friendly and informative.

Reliefs, 2016 by Béranger Laymond at We Can Control Space show

Reliefs, 2016 by Béranger Laymond at We Can Control Space show

Bob and Guillaume contemplating 16mm, 2015 by Nicholas Delprat

Bob and Guillaume contemplating 16mm, 2015 by Nicholas Delprat

The show organizers had said that there were also some exterior artworks, so after leaving the gallery we went around back. It turned out to be a sandy beach on the banks of the canal, where a cheerful young crowd was watching France beat Ireland in the round of 16 of the European soccer cup!

Afternoon on the beach! Of the Canal Saint-Denis, in Saint-Denis

Afternoon on the beach … of the Canal Saint-Denis

This being France of course there was a bar, and of course we each had a couple of beers… After the match we got into conversation with neighbors at our picnic table and learned a lot about the building. The residents are mostly artists and other creative types (also, contrary to the prevailing demographic of Saint-Denis, mostly white), and they are fighting to keep control of the building. It’s really a gorgeous spot; the only little issue I noticed was the Roma (gypsy) shantytown across the canal.

Roma shantytown across the canal

Roma shantytown across the canal

Guillaume explained that French racism against the Roma is even more intense than that against North Africans. There’s no immediate prospect of a Frexit, but the far right would love to use fear and hatred of immigrants to lever France out of the E.U. as well. Our conversation was in French, as at the dinner party in May. I had to ask him to repeat or explain a few times but on the whole I was able to keep up pretty well.

We said farewell at Gare du Nord, so I strolled over to the Grand Train, which I has first visited with Kristoffer the previous week, to see what it was like in nicer weather. It was a lot busier than last time, but all I had energy for was drinking a small beer and heading home for dinner and sleep.

"Time misleads us. Time hugs us. Time is our station. Time is our train." --Jacques Prévert at Le Grand Train

“Time misleads us. Time hugs us. Time is our station. Time is our train.” –Jacques Prévert at Le Grand Train

Pizza restaurant at Le Grand Train. One of a dozen bars and restaurants.

Pizza restaurant at Le Grand Train. One of a dozen bars and restaurants.

Mot du jour: « bouche à oreille », “word of mouth”, but literally, “mouth to ear”, which I think is more evocative than our idiom. Not to be confused with « bouchon d’oreille », “earplug”.

Bonus Mot du jour: « bidonville », “shantytown”.

Second Bonus Mot du jour: « raton-laveur », “raccoon”, but literally, “little rat washer”. Beware the word « raton », however, since it’s also a racist slur for North Africans.

Machine à raton-laveur by Jacques Carelman at Galerie les Yeux Fertiles

Machine à raton-laveur by Jacques Carelman at Galerie les Yeux Fertiles

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