The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Fontaine Saint-Michel

The Saint Michael fountain in the 5th arrondissement is a popular meeting point for a lot of people in Paris, due to its location just at the metro/RER Saint Michel and the big, open place in front of the fountain. But the fountain itself is quite striking, with its pink marble columns and the verdigris of the aging bronze. I've always liked the spitting gryffins. The fountain was a part of the huge city redesign done by Haussmann during the Second Empire. It's seen a lot of fighting, though, starting with the Paris Commune in 1871 and also, during the liberation of Paris: a lot of street fighting between the fleeing Nazis and the French Résistance took place in this area due to its proximity to the Préfecture de Paris just across the bridge. Read more →

Invisible man

I have no idea why this perfectly good pair of men's loafers were placed just here next to an empty bench in the Place des Abbesses. Read more →

Big Sky

Good morning, Paris. Read more →

Dinner in the 17th century

The other night, a friend and I were wandering around Ile Saint Louis looking for someplace interesting to have dinner. We almost passed right by this place at first, but something made us stop and check out the menu. When we saw reasonably priced dishes (15-18€) and traditional French fare, we thought, well, why not? And then we got a look inside the place, and that decided us: This is "Aux Anysetiers Du Roy", a restaurant located in a 17th century building in the oldest part of Paris. Those ceiling beams are the real deal. Madame (the woman in white) is the patronne, and she bosses her husband around with a smile. (That's him in the royal blue sweater. He basically served, cleaned tables, and brought coffee.) The walls are painted stone. The tables are old wood and close together. The food was excellent - I had salmon with a champagne sauce and my friend had magret de canard (best part of a duck) with a honey raisin sauce - and the bill only came to 54€ including tax and tip for the two of us (no starter and I didn't have any wine because I had to go to... Read more →

Worst photo ever but it's still golden

Yesterday as I passed the just reopened Plaza Athenée hotel on über-chic Avenue Montaigne, I did a double-take. Because, you do that when there is a freaking GOLD LAMBORGHINI parked in front. So today I looked again, and there it was: shining like chrome only GOLD. Holy credit line, how rich do you have to be for a car like that to seem "normal"? Read more →

Dinner on the terrace

A bit of a fancy dinner out on this 15th of August, date of the liberation of the south of France. Also liberates us from cooking dinner at home. Bon appetit! Read more →

Antiquing in the Sun

In the big square in Saint Raphael, just across from the train station and 2 blocks from the beach and harbor, the town has all sorts of events going on throughout the year. Over the Christmas holidays, they put up a big ice skating rink and booths to sell hot chocolate and churros. In the summer, we can count on two things: first, a circus tent where you can sign your kids up for a bit of circus performer training. They'll learn to juggle, to go on a little trapeze (with safety harnesses of course), balance on a giant ball, walk a balance beam (about 2 inches off the floor for the young ones, so they don't have far to fall) and the kids seem to have a good time. Le Garçon did that program a couple of times when he was younger; now, just weeks from his 13th birthday, he wouldn't be caught in that tent with the little kids. Ah, how times flies. The other thing we have at the square is a daily antiques fair. Dozens of vendors come out in the late afternoon (they're smart enough to avoid the hottest part of the day, siesta time)... Read more →

Wee

My sister-in-law adopted this tiny little cat yesterday. She's about 3 weeks old and was found alone and abandoned... just before my SIL called the vet to ask if they knew of any cats needing a good home. Serendipity. When you can hold a cat in the palm of one female hand, that's the definition of "wee". Read more →

Beer!

No one does beer like they do in an English pub... And London's got loads of 'em. Details to follow but GREAT pub tour! Read more →

Globe

The stage at Shakespeare's Globe theater, where a stage crew is building a set. This is a working theater. Read more →