Cool art #1

Spacious Palais de Tokyo with its eclectic collection of modern art makes a refreshing escape from Paris' current "heat wave" - in quotes because next to Arizona where it gets so hot that skin sticks to the car seat it's almost refreshing

Palais de Tokyo

13 avenue du Président Wilson 75116

The baker's bike

Bicycle parked outside a bakery early a.m.

House with heart

Spotted on a side street in the 11th arrondissement.

Lavender season

From fields to markets, right now Provence is brimming with lavender.

PARIS - AIX-EN-PROVENCE (via TGV fast train) 2 hrs 53 mn 

3 hours (or less) from Paris: Can you guess?

A Greek island village? Somewhere off the coast of Sicily?

Neither. It's Cadaqués Spain, Mediterranean fishing village of surrealist Salvador Dalí that I once called home, an hour drive into France.

 Below: nightfall w/view of bay and church; cat relaxes on friends' veranda

Recommended: fly/drive

PARIS - PERPIGNAN (France)
Direct flight (1-hr 30 min) + car rental (1-hr 20 min drive to Cadaqués)

 

PARIS - GIRONA

Direct flight (1-hr 45 min) + car rental (1-hr drive to Cadaqués)


Where to eat:

Compartir
(means "to share" in Spanish - see video in link)
Riera de Sant Vicenç s/n 17488 Cadaqués

 We couldn't get enough of this gem launched by sous chefs of Ferran Adrià of mythic El Bulli (named "best restaurant on the planet" five times) after its closure.

- inventive cocktails / ultra tapas -

(click photos to enlarge)

Just married

Summer sees newlywed couples posing for photos all around the city.

Lane remnant

Besides buildings untold numbers of tiny lanes went the way of the horse-drawn carriage during the 19th century Haussmann Renovation.