Art Friday

Had a lunch-time conversation with Myriam about Baumeister's Mauerbild mit Kreis (which she once owned) now on display at the Centre Pompidou.

Now we're off to the vernissage of our friend Gérard Omez at nearby Villa Adrienne.

Paris-bound

After a last visit to the Uzès market this morning (Wednesday's marché is much calmer than Saturday's) to get some olives and goat cheese, we stopped for a noonish farewell drink at Terroirs café - where we ran into Anne-Marie, Nadège and Victoria and a nice moment in the sunshine of the Midi. We missed seeing Nicolas (of la Gare fame) but he caught up with us at Jean-Yves' for lunch. Off soon to catch the TGV at Nîmes for Paris.

Who gives a ...

Excellent dinner at Le Phuket (the only Thai restaurant in Uzès).

Somewhere over the rainbow...

We're heading to St-André de Valborgne, a small village (375 inhabitants) up in the heart of the Cévennes, where Jean-Yves' friend, Sylvia, has bought a property (actually in the picture it is the rather big house at the (right) end of the rainbow). Just a quick round-trip (3 hours all told) to check things out.

Pizza party!

It's a beautiful, sunny day at Uzès today and we're about 25 friends at Jean-Yves' for a party with home-made pizza (cooked in his outdoor wood-burning oven) to celebrate 7-year-old Anna's birthday.

UPDATE: More than 18 pizzas later I can say we are having a really fun time and that if you want to try what turned out to be a superb recipe for the pizza dough then just go here. The day has been incredibly mild - the sun is still out and strong (at almost 6pm) and the temp is at 18°C (65°F), there is (still) wine, cheese and 3 (!) birthday cakes. Parfait !

UPDATE#2: Dinner at Anne-Marie's in Sanilhac with her two daughters (Julie - down from Paris for a few days, who's heading to Colombia for a month in August - any tips/suggestions from readers? and Jeanne - the young horse-woman).

Market Day .... then Jazz @ Montaren

After today's visit to the famed marché in Uzès we (Odile, Jean-Yves, Victoria, Carole and yours truly) are off to nearby Montaren for a jazz dinner concert.

Less is more (more or less...)

I've shared the following podcast with some of you already, via e-mail, but given the postive replies I thought I'd (slowly) share it with all visitors to this blog. Enjoy!

Less is More

Carl Honore, author of In Praise of Slowness, explains how you can get more out of life by doing less. (Recorded July 2005 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 20:00)
Watch Online Download Audio Download Video

Relatively speaking ...

Albert Einstein, born today, once said:

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradel of true art and true science." (1)

I wish you, each and everyone, much that is mysterious - today and always - in your lives.

Leave a comment to let me know WHAT is mysterious in your life!


(1) Albert Einstein, The World as I See It, 1931

Exposition Geneviève Lemarchand

Odile's godmother has an expo starting today near Montigny. There's some information here should any of you want to come to Melun during its run.

Musings...

Today in the year 161 Marcus Aurelius became emperor of Rome (a tough job even way back then).

Among many quotations attributed to him is: "Your life is what your thoughts make it. "

What can I say, I'm waxing philosophical today - what do YOU say (leave your comments to his quote). Thanks for the interaction, amigos!