I spent my last couple of days in Paris cramming in as much as I could... I met another musician near Nation and interviewed him for my podcast, I ran around buying last-minute things and snapping photos, and I had to clean the apartment and do the laundry before I left.
I met Pascale for dinner and we ended up around Canal St. Martin, first having coffee at l'Atmosphere, then dinner at a place that we didn't know...it had nouvelle cuisine, but with a surprisingly bland taste.
Here are a few parting snapshots from this séjour:
Here are a few things that I can buy in a supermarket in Paris very cheaply that are done so much better than at home: packaged soup that's actually quite good, milk (which can often sit on the shelf for months before you open it), ham, mustard. I'll miss these when I go home.
Yesterday I met Pearl, Patsy, and Carol at the Pompidou Centre and we saw the Nancy Spero exhibit, then hopped on the metro to see the André Kertész exhibit at Jeu de Paum. Following that, we had tea with some of their friends (artists who live in Paris) at one of their ateliers, which was a very cool, funky, spacious spot-- a former storefront --tucked into the middle of an urban neighborhood. It was the perfect thing to do on a cold and rainy day.
Today I went to the 13eme with Pascale to satisfy my craving for Vietnamese food. We went to Lao Lane Xang on rue Ivry. It really hit the spot. I took some photos of the soup, the green papaya salad, and the rice pancakes.
Then we went on to Tang Freres to look at the food. Of course a lot of what's for sale at Tang Freres, I can probably get in San Francisco, but I like looking at it in this environment, anyway. And of course I snapped a few pictures.
Then we went on to the Institut du Monde Arab, and then back to the Gibert Jeune bookstore. It was raining, and we had wet umbrellas, so maybe a bookstore wasn't the smartest idea, but...
Then on to the Bastille, where we had salads and drinks at Cafe des Anges. Now it's almost 2:30 a.m., and the street is filled with the sound of shouting, drunken young males -- the same thing I seem to hear on Saturday night in any European city, for some reason. This will be my last Saturday night here for awhile...
Today I walked around in the 3eme again...mostly to buy this amazing ras al hanout blend at a spice shop that requires you to ring a bell to get in (Le Goumyande, I think it's called).
Then I walked around, ate some Lebanese food at the Marché des Enfants Rouges, and in general spent another leisurely day as if leisurely days were normal. Ran some errands in the evening, bought some INSANELY GREAT cheese that was....I don't know what it was, but maybe it's good that I can't get it all the time.
Then I decided to go to the Apple Store near l'Opera before it closed tonight. I wonder what it's like during the day? iPads everywhere, and could just walk right up and try them out...and look at all the stuff that people downloaded to them during the day, I guess. Or is that dancing wedding video of the American couple always on the iPad display units?
Then, finally, I looked at the windows of the Galleries Lafayette. The Christmas stuff is already out....but the displays are ... well, they have Barbie dolls and stuffed animals and puppets...I'm not sure what they're selling, but it's amusing.
Today I went to the Basquiat exhibit at the Musée d'Art Moderne. I really loved it and it made me want to go home and dig into my own creative projects again. And that's about the best thing that could happen to me... it was like turning on a light switch.
When I left the museum, I was heading for the metro when I turned my head and caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower between a couple of buildings. It took me by surprise, and I'm not an Eiffel Tower kind of visitor here, but I had to take a snapshot. Like the Golden Gate Bridge in SF, a lot of people pay a lot of money to come here and see this structure, and I almost walked right past it, just like I drive over the GG Bridge without a second thought.
I also took this snapshot of a random building that looks like it was once a firehouse, but possibly isn't anymore. Then I took the number 6 metro past the Eiffel Tower again, did some random shopping, walked through the Bastille, and came home and made dinner. A pretty quiet day, overall, and perhaps I should have done something more intense, since I'm only here for 6 more days, but then again when I'm here it's like being at home. And these dilapidated stairs lead to the flat that's been my home away from home for many months in the past few years.
And here is a little YouTube video about Jean-Michel Basquiat for your viewing pleasure:
