30 March 2024

Pegasus

 

Statue of a poet astride Pegasus on a hidden square in the Opera district.

 ***

 Pegasus, winged master of air and earth, represents beauty, strength, speed, and artistic inspiration. 


29 March 2024

Fondation Friday

 
 
The Louis Vuitton Foundation through trees.

Architect: Frank Gehry

***

Current exhibition:

Mark Rothko (1903-1970)
Ends April 2, 2024
 
 
 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi 75016

 

Fish Friday

 

It's Le Vendredi saint, Holy Friday, a day for fish.

Above: smoked salmon tartine with a glass of white
 
Delikatessen Kaviari
60 rue François Miron 75004

28 March 2024

27 March 2024

25 March 2024

Medici Monday


Unknown to lovers Acis and Galatea the hideous Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, hovers just above.

Medici Fountain
 Jardin du Luxembourg
 

My First Easter Egg

 photo: Cordon Bleu 

 

Still time:

- My First Easter Egg -

Create chocolate Easter eggs w/your child / grandchild

in Paris

 Saturday March 30, 2024 - 2 1/2 hrs

Le Cordon Bleu

 

21 March 2024

17 March 2024

L'Hôtel

 

Irish author Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) rented a furnished apartment at this now elegant hotel when it was the Hôtel d'Alsace, until his death, famously saying, "I am dying beyond my means.”
 
 L'Hôtel
 13 rue des Beaux Arts 75006
 
*** 
 
Happy Saint Patrick's Day 
 

15 March 2024

Fish Friday

 

A stop for lunch on the French Atlantic coast.

 Brittany: 3 hours (or less) from Paris

 


14 March 2024

Rothko, in retrospect

 Exhibition:
Mark Rothko (1903-1970)
 
First retrospective in France since 1999.

 

  Fondation Louis Vuitton

- Last days -

Ends April 2, 2024
 
 
***


I belong to a generation that was preoccupied with the human figure, it did not meet my needs. Whoever used it mutilated it. - Mark Rothko in 1958







Below: an early work, untitled. Surprisingly, Rothko was a figurative painter for more than 10 years.




 
 

13 March 2024

Wine Wednesday

 
 
That magical moment between lifting glasses for a first toast and waiting for the food to arrive.



12 March 2024

9 March 2024

Sandwich Saturday

 

Ready-made sandwiches appear in many Paris boulangeries around lunchtime.

 

 

8 March 2024

7 March 2024

Throwback Thursday


 

A Christmas Eve feast, in Montmartre

Above: pit fire on the patio; granny's pink crystal (3 glasses per place setting - champagne, wine, digestif); foie gras; a fine old Sauternes - for starters

 

6 March 2024

Wine Wednesday

 

Champagne, wine, beer and other drinks are set out for the evening's first screening at one of the many small art house cinémas that dot the Latin Quarter.

***

While living on the coast in the north of Spain years ago it was easy to get to Paris by train, and sometimes, with friends, we'd treat ourselves to a weekend of "movie marathons" at those easy-to-miss theaters on Left Bank side streets known for showcasing off-the-radar quality international indie films and filmmakers.

 Upon arriving in Paris the first order of the day was to head for a kiosk to buy the latest copy of Pariscope or L'Officiel des Spectacles, weekly magazines that list all the movies in the city, then, over breakfast, make a game plan of what to see and in what order. The films we were looking for - whether from the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Japan, Italy… - would be left intact in their original languages (labeled V.O. for "version originale"), something that was not an option at most theaters in Barcelona, which was closer but did not have the variety of films that Paris did. Whatever the original language, it was vital to hear the actors' true voices and not have to endure badly synchronized translations of dubbed versions. And, as most of the titles we chose were already in English, distracting subtitles would not be an issue. - BPJ

Below: some of the cinémas that have survived

Quartier Latin:
 Cinéma Le Champo
Cinéma Saint-André-des-Arts
Christine Cinéma Club
Le Reflet Médicis
La Filmothèque du Quartier Latin
Studio Galande - besides a roster of independent films, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in V.O. w/performances every Friday and Saturday night. Bring a bottle of water and rice

Montmartre:
Studio 28 - cinéma interior by Jean Cocteau - bar w/charming tea salon / courtyard 
 

5 March 2024

Bastard bakers


 
 
 
French Bastards are baking Paris by storm.
 
The French Bastards 
Boulangerie-Pâtisserie artisan
65 rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle 75009
 
 

4 March 2024

Monument Monday

 

Inside the Pantheon atop Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the Latin Quarter, an enormous mausoleum with tombs of Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Alexandre Dumas, Pierre and Marie Curie, Rousseau, Louis Braille, to name a few.
 

1 March 2024

Fountain Friday

 

Niki de Saint Phalle sculptures at the Stravinsky Fountain, Centre Georges Pompidou / Beaubourg