day-to-day stuff

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.

Historic Paris metro video (1950s)

Don't blame me for the cheesy music!



And here is a video I took this week at the Bastille metro station.

A day of art

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.

13eme

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...

art, lest I forget

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:

metro movie

I tried to capture some of the busy vibe in the metro today...and was only able to capture some of the moments when people were hurtling at me from every direction. But this short amount of video illustrates the general feeling. Sorry about the audio on these rudimentary videos. I only have an old copy of iMovie with me for video editing...and not much RAM.

back to my project

Today I spent a bit of time taking photos in Pere Lachaise. I started a project awhile ago about the forgotten graves there...I found them fascinating and sad. And as I photographed them, I found them to each be beautiful in their own way.

Many tourists come to Pere Lachaise looking for the famous and they walk around with maps so they can find their graves. I collect images about the ones that no one else looks for and in many cases, stopped remembering them 100 years ago.

Here are a few of the snapshots that I took today. I have hundreds more.

changing times

On Monday I stood on line at the Voltaire metro station to add another week's fare to my Navigo card. The line was long and slow and it took forever. Why? Because there were two gypsy kids standing over the fare machines and hovering over the customers while they inserted their Navigo passes and their credit cards into the machine. Most of these patrons were loading up their Navigo cards with fare for the month (November).

I've never seen Romany kids in my neighborhood before. I've also noticed more homeless people than the last time I was here, too. No one wanted to do their transaction with these kids hovering over them, but no one was able to get rid of them. The woman who worked in the fare window told them to go away and they just laughed at her. Then a male worker yelled at them, and again, they didn't leave.

Nothing short of the police could have gotten rid of them, but the police -- ironically -- were busy standing inside the corridors making sure that everyone's Navigo passes were current and trying to catch fare jumpers. Meanwhile, the passengers were being intimidated by these kids who were trying to grab their money while they updated their Navigo cards. Nice.

10eme - 11eme

Today we turned our clocks back an hour -- no more daylight savings time!

Pascale joined me and we walked from Les Halles over to Canal St. Martin...had lunch at L'Atmosphere and looked in the shops...then walked over to Oberkampf and had drinks at Cafe Charbon. There was a little bit of Halloween energy in Oberkampf as the night began, but nothing like what you see in San Francisco, and maybe more to do with the Day of the Dead tomorrow.

I'm always amazed...

...at how much cheaper it is to buy food in Paris than it is in San Francisco. These groceries cost €27, and it includes a week's supply of coffee, 8 containers of yogurt, a package of smoked ham, veggies and tomatoes for a salad, several rolls of toilet paper, some Dijon mustard, some breakfast grains, a container of "gourmet" olives, milk, mineral water, and a bar of dark chocolate. This would probably cost $40-$45 in the USA, and might not be as good.

last day in Paris...

I spent my last day in Paris cleaning the apartment, running errands (I bought a cheap fleece pullover so I don't freeze to death), and then met my friend Pascale for an evening at Cafe de l'Industrie in the Bastille. I really like this place....and so do a lot of people....it's totally jammed! It normally occupies two buildings on facing corners, and right now only one of them is open, so the remaining one is standing room only. We got a table at 6:45, where Pascale insisted that we get drinks first (dinner before 8 is a no-no!).

I had carpaccio....brave, because my digestive tract is still a mess....but it was delicious...and she had steak tartare. I'll miss Paris, but not the grocer (he's closed on Mondays, thankfully). And I missed a few of the things I like to do when I'm here. But onwards....on Tuesday...to Switzerland.

Below is a photo of the slippery, winding stairs I traversed several times per day to my apartment. You wouldn't want to hang onto the banister too hard, though...it's loose! And there's a huge window between every landing, so if you fall, guess where you'll go?

a few photos

Before my time on Swisscom runs out, here are a few photos I took on walk with my friend Pascale today in Menilmontant and Belleville...

dinner in Oberkampf

It got warm outside today. But only after I left the apartment in black pants, boots, a warm shirt, etc. so that I could spend the day suffering.

I met my friend Pascale and we went to a photography exhibit in the 7eme arrondissement.....I like the 7eme, after you get away from the tourist horror show in the 5eme and the 6eme...and go window shopping for the beautiful kitchen furnishings, furniture, etc. Here's a photo of yet another beloved Parisien establishment that's closed for August...an ice cream parlor.

But soon, Pascale was complaining about the lack of tabacs (read: cigarettes) and we ventured back to the grittier environs of my neighborhood, where the density of smokers and tabacs are higher.

Then we had mojitos at Cafe Charbon on Oberkampf....always a good place for a cold drink....and later, dinner across the street at Justine. I'm including a photo of me for Jan Hanford, who always complains that I don't look at the camera when my photo is taken. This is for you, Jan.

On the way home, I finally took a snapshot of the ill-fated restaurant on the street around the corner from my flat. If any of you ever saw the TV series "Seinfeld," you might recall the episode about the doomed restaurant in the neighborhood that kept changing themes and owners, but never got customers. This place is the same thing. This year it's a Turkish restaurant. Last year it was Italian. The year before that, it was Lebanese. But most of the time, it's open and waiting for customers who never arrive.

And speaking of open. and waiting for customers...you might be wondering about my grocer. Yes, he's open and ready for business...

still cold

It's 58 degrees here in Paris. I just washed one of my only two pair of long pants and some long-sleeved shirts, because I can't wear any of my summer clothes. They're hanging to dry in the bathroom....and in this climate, it takes two days for things to dry.

I tried to buy a pullover yesterday. However, everything I saw was skin tight, covered with shiny stuff or flowers, or otherwise completely unacceptable. Why are the women's clothes here always so awful? The fabric is always flimsy and scanty...I just want a neutral, loose pullover that I can wear over a shirt to stay warm. Doesn't anyone make them anymore ?

I'm also starting to come down sick. I've been dosing myself with Grapefruit Seed Extract and Yin Chiao for a couple of days now, but the terrible feeling in the back of my throat, and now my stomach, is starting to become more obvious. I hope I can shake this thing before I head for Zurich.

Rain Free in le Marais

The rain finally eased up today and I met my friend Pascale this afternoon. We ate a salad on rue Montorgueil and then walked to the Marais. It's still not that crowded, luckily. We stopped at a cafe for happy hour (mojitos) and then walked some more, eventually heading back to the Bastille and then to my neighborhood. Along the way, I snapped a couple of photos: first, of two Smart cars sharing a single parking space (note: there's no room to navigate out of the space again), and a small synagogue near rue des Rosiers where we heard people chanting inside....neither of us had ever noticed it before.

And finally, there are hundreds of Parisiens out on the new rented bicycles...so many, in fact, that as we passed through the Bastille, people were asking us if we wanted to rent one because they were trying to return theirs to an official drop-off point, and all the stalls in the Bastille were full. People are riding these bicycles everywhere to do their errands....you often see them ride by with a baguette sticking out of the basket on the front of the bike. It's a brilliant idea...it costs just a euro to rent one for an hour, drop it off at a station, and not worry about it again. The bike system has only existed for a month or two, and already Paris is starting to look like Amsterdam!

The Grocer

It's another cold and rainy day in Paris. I just looked at the weather....tomorrow, there's a double-whammy ahead: rain PLUS lightning. Oh boy! Can't wait.

Meanwhile, I haven't yet mentioned the current bane of my existence: the late-night grocery store across the street. This shop has been there every year that I've rented this apartment, and the proprietor always stays open late and is always noisy, but this year seems worse than most.

Nowhere else in Paris is there a little shop like this that stays open till 2 or 3 a.m....but three stories below me, opposite my bedroom window, I have The Grocer. He stands outside with the lights blazing till the wee hours of the morning, talking and laughing loudly with his friends. They all apparently have nothing better to do but to stand outside in front of his shop until 2 or 3 in the morning, as well. NO ONE seems to shop there, and no one in Paris probably needs a nectarine in the middle of the night on a weeknight, anyway. (If you need one, let me know, and I'll give you his address.)

I don't understand why the neighbors here don't stop him, or why the guests in the hotel across the street don't complain about this guy. The only thing I can imagine is that maybe he's part of some militant group and everyone knows that if you complain, there'll be a great big hole in the ground where your building used to stand. Can people call the police around here and complain about noise? What number would I call? What would I say? Anyway, it's noon and his shop is open again....I think the only day he's actually closed is Monday. Yay....something to look forward to.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Despite the dreary weather today, I had something to look forward to: buying a carte orange ticket for the week. There's nothing more liberating than knowing that I can hop onto a metro at any time with my pass.

And I did hop on: first to Republique, where I disembarked and walked along Canal St. Martin. Unfortunately, some of my favorite shops and cafes were closed for the August holidays, but luckily, Artazart....a really cool design bookstore...was open.

After perusing the books in Artazart, I crossed the canal on a quai not far from Hotel du Nord, and saw some very unsavory characters harrassing pedestrians as well as people in cars. It looks like they're some of the few survivors of last winter's tent encampment of "sans domiciles," and particularly unpleasant, aggressive ones at that. I love that area and I felt sorry for the local residents -- the ones who don't live in tents -- when I saw what was happening there.

I had a craving for Vietnamese food, so I walked up to Belleville for lunch....an amazing and mystifiying quartier for me, where Asians, Jews, Arabs, and artists seem to live in apparent harmony.

Then I headed to a shopping area in search of a warm coat, because the weather is in the 50s here and I wasn't prepared for it. I didn't find what I was looking for....there's a new coat style here that's vaguely remiscent of 1962 (think Parker Posey in "The House of Yes"), but got distracted by the incredibly gorgeous bathroom displays.

In Europe, it's completely normal to have beautiful bathroom fixtures (or any kind of home design), whereas the USA still seems to be in the grip of hideous, bulky, neocolonial furniture design. It's no wonder IKEA became so popular in the USA...but IKEA is only one of many European shops. There are many more inexpensive options that look as stylish, or better. I'm including a couple of photos of affordable, good-looking bathroom fixtures that are normal here, but called "European Design" in the USA (which is synonymous for "not ugly").

I don't understand what the deal is with American furniture design....why purposely design something that's ugly and then waste materials and labor on it?

And finally....I'm including a photo of the really cool bike-rental system that just started this year in Paris. Last year they were ripping up the streets and sidewalks to build useful and safe bike lanes...this year, there's a bike-rental system where you can rent a bike for about a euro an hour and return your rented bike to a kiosk in nearly any neighborhood. The bikes look really cool, they're brand new, they have bright headlights, and you see people riding them everywhere....hello, American entrepreneurs...take note...

another pleasant valley sunday

I overslept today. Really overslept: till 11:30. But I still had time to get to Marche d'Aligres before it closed. So I ran down there to mingle with the crowd. I snuck a quick photo with my iPhone, which presumably is safely in Airplane Mode to protect me from outrageous roaming and data charges.

Paris is peaceful right now. A lot of Parisiens are on holiday. The people on the streets appear to be from out of town, but the crowds are smaller. After I went to the market, I cruised down rue de la Roquette...again, the most peaceful I have ever seen it to be...and to the used bookseller whom I know is open on Sundays. Inside his shop, he has stacks and stacks of bandes dessinées, for those who have the patience to wade through them. I have a thing for historical bandes dessinées, or those with social importance. So I look for these graphic stories amongst the stacks of action/adventure, sci-fi, etc. I found one today for 4 euros about a post World War II political figure in Europe.

Later, I walked to the Bastille and then through le Marais. I walked to the street that I hope to live on someday (but I'll settle for one of the streets near it)....and took a couple of photos. Then I came home and made myself a relatively healthy dinner, supplemented with wine.

speaking in other tongues

I'm back in Paris, jetlagged. My French is still awful, but I do pretty well with giving cabbies directions to "my" apartment. Luckily for me, French is usually a second language for them, too.

After a lunch of roquette and fromage de buffala with my friend Geneviève, I headed for Monoprix and other shops to stock up on the stuff I need in the apartment and that I miss when I'm not here, because it's either not available in the USA, or not the same, or so outrageously expensive that I can't justify buying it...like the raw sheep's milk cheese and the pimentes stuffed with goat cheese...and the coconut yogurt.

Then had to pop on the metro and off to the BHV to look at the fall clothes, while I was still ambulatory. I didn't last long...I'm too tired.

It's good to be back.