HBB & PP

Happy bithday to Benj (we got him the book you see at left - shhhh, don't tell him as we don't go over to his place until later tonight - LOL). The book includes a fascinating account of the language (and culture) of the tribe of the Pirahã in Brazil. An overview article is here.

Also, one of our favorite local indie musicians, Pauline Paris, is asking folks to rate which one, of three songs, should be released as a single. You can hear the 3 tunes (which are : Corrida, Suzie d. and X.) by clicking here. Then just post your choice here and I'll summarize them and get them over to Ms. Paris. Thanks for interacting!

Uzès Attacks!

Francis & Iva, our dear friends (photographer, artist) from Uzès, are arriving in Paris tonight before flying out tomorrow for the holidays in the Czech Republic (Iva's family). They be bunking with us at Mouton - with their 3 children! That makes 7 under our little roof ...and we're busy cooking for all. We'll be leading with a slew of tortilla española (see recipe here). More news later.

Ma tête, partout

http://www.photofunia.com

Happy birthday, Arlette

We're off to celebrate Arlette's 4x20th birthday on the Péniche Aabysse.

Dare-Dare

Come on over, dear Reader, to hear our buddy, Alain (and his buddy, Eric), play tonight at la Commedia. Hurry over "on the double" ... music starts at 8:30pm.

UPDATE: It is now 4:04am ... and the beat goes on (well, at our apartment as la Commedia turned us out around 1am).

Book-signing

Actually it is more of a "DVD signing" as today marks the official release of this boxed-set of films by director Jacques Rozier. Odile's cousin, Bernard Menez, who has appeared in some of these films (including the cult "Maine-océan") will also be on hand to sign.

We'll be there (chez Potemkine, 30 rue Beaurepaire, 75010) from 7pm onwards. See you there, dear Reader?
More details at: www.bernardmenez.net

Lights ON!

The christmas season is getting into full swing - we went up to Denis' place (near the place du Tertre shown in the photo on the left) and enjoyed seeing all the decorations on the walk up to his apartment - especially near the Métro station Abbesses. We had a great dinner and got home around 7am!

More holiday "lights" here.

« A… comme Alice »

The dance creation by Karine Saporta of "A ... like Alice” (based on Lewis Carrol's eponymous work, Alice in Wonderland) was presented tonight at Le Dansoir (an incredible space - well worth a visit). There are two versions - one for children and another for adults - we went to the adult version, natch.

The adult version is enriched by metaphysical comments on being and nothingness... between which Alice oscillates. Insights on the giddiness induced by the phantasm of her own disappearance.

There are also some daring passages, evoking the turbid depths of incestuous desire, also the relational ambiguity between adults and children. Yes, all that, without diminishing the fairy-like dimension of the show. We left at the intermission (enough said).

Déjeuner chez Wittgenstein

Tonight dinner at the newly opened Columbian restaurant Bochica (formerly La Piragua) then "Lunch at Wittgenstein's" at the Akéton Théâtre.

Happy Birthday, Bill .. and congrats to Luis-Miguel

Land Art in the Gard

Arthur, Jean-Yves' son, has recently been getting into "land art" and also doing some stone scupltures that show a certain promise.

In the photo at left is a piece he has entitled "Now I'm Waiting".

Let us know what you think - it will surely encourage him to have feedback. Also, when he has finished creating his website, I will post a link here.

Marseille²

One of the benefits of traveling is coming across new people, places and events. This includes friends sharing insights into their favorites - such as music. Here is a sample - thanks to Béatrice for introducing me to the Romanian singer Maria Tănase.

She also introduced us to the works of Alfons Alt (photographer/painter). You can visit his site here.

M & M

The highpoints of today are the Market at Uzès and our trip down to Marseille.

First thing this morning, however, we headed over to the château Bérard to help a neighbor move some (heavy) furniture.

Afterwards, noonish, we headed over to the marché (where a wicked and frigid wind was blowing) ... if you've never been to the Saturday market in Uzès you can see the video below.

We'll head down to Marseille, about 2 hour's drive, later this afternoon and I'll write an update from down there.

UPDATE: Happy birthday, Béatrice. The party for her XXth (well, you didn't expect I'd actually say!) was a great success! We all had a ball (and me a tad too much champagne perhaps). Béa had made enough to feed over a hundred people (we were only 80+) - a fantastic Cake au foie gras et figues, Vol-au-vent blanquette de veau avec sauce suprême, and more. Everything absolutely delicious!

Tapas-a-thon

Back to the train station tonight, but up one floor at Barbara's apartment, for tapas by Bébert.

UPDATE (02:06am): And the beat goes on! We've come down to ground level, the better to rise higher ... deep into sharing favorite music from all our diverse (and disparate) backgrounds - below listen to a wonderful song (thanks to Martin).

Nîmes, Uzès

In less than 3 hours the TGV whisked us from Paris to Nîmes this morning. From the slate-grey skies of Lutetia to the sun-filled azure of (almost) Provence.

We waited for Jean-Yves to meet us at our "regular" cafe near the train station then walked over to pick up Sylvia near the Nîmes amphitheatre - then we drove up to Uzès. Tonight out for some music by friends of Francis (that's him, here, playing guitar last summer).

UPDATE (6:18pm): Over to the old train station of Uzès - click on the postcard to the right to see it bigger (as you may remember it is now a private home - and pretty much has kept its original allure - and was bought years ago by our friend Nicolas). We're doing some prep for dinner here tonight with a dozen friends - after the concert at Café Muscade.

UPDATE (11:58pm): After an EXCELLENT dinner here at the "gare" (merci Anne-Marie for the filet mignon) we've ended up dancing to Paul Simon's "Born in Puerto Rico" (see video below and lyrics here). Dancing with Odile and surrounded by dear friends. Life can't get much better!
And thanks to Iva for a wonderful introduction to the music of her country (Slovakia), you can start, as we did, with this video and then this other video. Enjoy ... we have!



The song above from the play "The Capeman" - a review here.

Just needed a place to "park" these photos for other uses (plus you, dear Readers, get to enjoy on here, too).

Schlaf dich

Tonight Myriam and I (to be joined by Odile & Flo) are off to the Centre Culturel Suisse (CCSP), over in the colorful Marais district, to hear Janet Haufler, Myriam's friend, and other actors read from the play "Dors toi" - see more info here.

« Où allez-vous jeunes gens »

"Whither goest thou, young people ...."

As part of the "News of the Resistance" program organized by the Florimont association , high school students from the lycée Buffon will give a theatrical representation of the youth revolt of 11 November 1940 against the occupation and the Vichy regime .

Today at 6pm, on the steps of the town hall of the 14th arrondissement.
I (JP) even get to play a small role as a torch-bearer!

Art & Planète

Thanks to Cynthia B. for inviting us to one of the most fun and convivial vernissages we've been to in a while ... and all in a new art space right in our neighborhood. Plus it's for good causes (click the link in the title above to see the cultural and ecology organizations they support).

Gracias to Sergio, of course, for his art ... and his music (he played some accordion) - and also merci to the young, dynamic people that kept everyone "well oiled" (and fed)!

Bienvenues Javi & Mori !

New friends (from our visit to Rincón last March) Javier & Moraima, owners of the beautiful and fun beachside Tamboo in Puerto Rico, are visiting us for some days. Tonight, after an excellent Odileque dinner, we headed over to Jimmy La Watt's place, Le Godet d'Or (see info here and here) for drinks, laughs and some music.

TDV Hooping

A fun evening starting at Le Théâtre de Verre where we hooked with Jaimie (see her website here) and her mom, Brianne, in Paris from Bellingham, Washington state for some days. We were also joined by Denis, Hélios and his Argentine musician friend, Mintcho (see his site here and playing a "choronga" here). Jaimie got to do some excellent hooping (accompanied by Mintcho on his tiny guitar) for the assembled people at the TDV mixer.

Afterward we all went up to Denis' place for dinner and more music/hooping (Odile practiced and got pretty good!) until around 4am.

Sweet Barack Obama

My friend, Alain, has written new lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama" so here, in avant-première and in a celebratory spirit, is the video:



I'm sure "Alien" will appreciate your comments (so leave them here or directly on the YouTube page) and tell us what you think. Merci !

O-bama! Us-bama! You-bama!

We returned from Switzerland on Tuesday a bit before midnight and I ended up watching the election returns all night. I had thought to turn in when I heard that Obama had won Ohio but decided to see if I could hold on until Obama spoke in Chicago. "Yes, we can" and "everything is possible" and I ended up awake until 6am Paris time to hear Obama's simple but clear message - WE have CHANGED ... and there is so much more to do.

So, let us all rededicate ourselves to "perfecting" our world. And, for an hour - for a day, let us all celebrate. Then to work!

Bravo les amis !

CONGRATULATIONS to my friends, Agnès from Paris and Arnaud from Saint Malo, both finishers in this year's New York City marathon.



UPDATE: Late this morning Max, our friend from Basel, drove over to Vieux Ferrette and took us out for a tour of the area, which he knows fairly well. Beautiful fall colors and a visit to the ruins of the Château du Morimont near Oberlarg - click on the photo to the right to see it larger. We had a wonderfully bracing hike back to the car and then returned to Vieux Ferrette to have lunch with Jean-Pierre & Irène ... her excellent sürkrüt (Royal Sauerkraut).

By the way, Max has a B&B should you ever visit Basel and need a nice place to stay - it's called Atelier Holbein 79.

La Ferrettoise 2008

Nice run today from sunny Ferrette (a beautiful region as you can see from the photo above) - I managed 1h8m52s for the 11.7km course - fine course in spite of the almost 1km of hill running towards the end. Odile, her uncle and aunt - Jean-Pierre & Irène - were at the finish line where after my arrival we stayed to see the first runners of the marathon (6th running and I might want to do it next year - so running buddies just let me know if you want to come in Nov. 2009).

Afterwards in the local high school gym we all sat down to heaping plates of Baeckeoffe as race prizes were distributed.

Vieux Ferrette

More early afternoon shopping (and a nice lunch) at the Manor store (Rheinbrücke for those in the know). Then an invogorating coffee at Zum Schmale Wurf overlooking the Rhine and we had the additional pleasure of catching up with the owner "Migueli".

Late this afternoon we went to see Odile's cousin Pascale and her SO Heinz in Allschwil, aftewards we left Basel for Vieux Ferrette in the "Jura Alsacien" (the grey blob on the map here).

The photo on the left is the village seen from a ULM and Jean-Pierre's house is just across from the church and 3 houses down towards the bottom of the picture. Click on the photo to get a bigger version.

Bâle

We're off to Basel, Switzerland early today for 5 days. I'll be running a 12K in Alsace - La Ferretoise - on Sunday.

UPDATE: Arrived fine around 10am then over to Françoise's apartment, right on the Rhine, where we are staying tonight. The afternoon was Migros-shopping and the fall festival nearby. Tonight we're invited to dinner with our friends Peter and Sophie ... and their charming infant, Anastasia.

UPDATE: A late-night stop at Friends Bar - a typical Kleinbasel hangout - with Halloween revelers galore (actually one of the few places that seem to have any idea of HW). Odile was delighted ... seems one can still smoke INSIDE Swiss bars and restaurants.

We're off to Switzerland (early) tomorrow so we will miss a key event in town... but if you are in Paris (or can come) there is no reason you should miss the "Salon du Chocolat" which runs until November 2. So .... go ahead, indulge that guilty pleasure (I'm talking chocolate!)... and I expect comments to be posted here (after your visit)!

Bookbinding

A relaxing day at Vosves ... and dinner tonight, before heading down to Montigny-sur-Loing, with "the ladies" including Eloïse whose website is here (should you need her services).

Sweet Barack Obama (2)...

Read this ... and do the right thing on November 4.

One more thing YOU can do ... become a "follower" of this blog, merci, gracias, and thank you!

Vosves and points south

We're off to stay at Vosves this evening then a few days at Montigny (it's time to go buy wine in Bourgogne and then bottle it ourselves). Back in Paris mid-next week before heading to Switzerland for a fun run.

And MERCI to my first "follower", my brother René, who has won a week-end at Vosves. See, you all should have tried harder! (There are still prizes for the #2 and #3 followers)...

Sweet Barack Obama

Our friend, Alain A., had the great idea of re-writing the rock song "Sweet Home Alabama" with words more in keeping with "Sweet Barack Obama" ... so, here below is a YouTube link that'll let you see the "test" version. You'll surely note that you don't actually hear any words (Alain's working on then and we'll have the proto-version on here next week) but let us know what you think of this idea. Just add your comments!

Follow me quietly...

I've changed the layout with a new template (tell me what you think) and, more importantly, added the "Followers" gadget with will allow you, Dear Reader, to follow my postings more easily. Here's a short article on this function.

So ... go ahead and become a fan ... follow along!

I demonstrate, therefore I am ...

Off to the "Manifestation nationale dans l’éducation" with Denis - going from Place d’Italie to Bastille. See you along the way?

Maratona del centenario

Today is THE day, after months of training, to enjoy my first marathon in Italy ... and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dorando Pietri's Olympic "win".

UPDATE: I finished, in fairly good form, in 4h39m ... just behind a Ms Hayes! A funny twist to a truly fun run ... the Italians wrote it up on the web page linked here. Take a shot at reading it directly in the original language!

Carpi (race day minus 1)

We've driven down to the Modena area from Milan (grazie Gianni) and stopped (after checking out the lodgings at I Cippi) at Carpi, in the Piazza di Martiri (seen here in the photo) to pick up my race bib and Champion Chip (#5124) for tomorrow's Maratona d'Italia - celebrating the centenary of Dorando Pietri's "win" at the 1908 Olympic Games in London.

This is a beautiful town and there are lots of runners wandering about - including some Englishmen dressed up as Dorando!

A nice 2 minute video overview of Carpi at this BBC link.

Happy Birthday, Odile!

Le gaucho Martín Fierro

Juan Carlos Rossi, our dear friend, has had his French translation of the first part of the epic poem "Martín Fierro" published - we highly recommend it and below are some links to articles and more information. Good reading - Bonne lecture !

Read a good article on his work here.

On sale: Librairie Espagnole - 7, rue Littré 75006 PARIS M°Montparnasse Bus 96 Tel : 01 4354 56 26

Closed Monday - Hours: 10h30-13h/14h-19h

And also: here (Not in catalog) and here.

ISBN 978-2-9522812-1-8 • 9,50 € • Régis Brauchli Editeur ... you can write to Juan Carlos here.

Nuit Blanche 2008

First launched in 2002, Paris Nuit Blanche (White Night) has become a hotly-anticipated annual celebration of all things art and culture in Paris. Attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, Nuit Blanche sees countless Paris galleries, museums, city halls, and even swimming pools open their doors all night to visitors-- with free entry.

We're headed out to experience some of what will he happening. Hoping especially to get to see: Patti Smith at the église Saint-Germain.

JPG's Paris

A recent New York Times article "Fashionista Paris" lays out Jean-Paul Gaultier's list of 15 places to go in Paris. Certainly one way to see Paris ... I'll have to work up my own list some day. For now I'd say my top 3 from his list are: 3, 4, 15 (with 11 a real toss-up for 3rd place).

You, Dear Reader, might want to peruse the "tour" below and add your own comments here.

Anyway, for your inspiration and for future reference here is:

WHERE TO GO (THE GAULTIER TOUR)

1. Crazy Horse Paris, 12, avenue George V; Eighth; 33-1-4723-3232; www.lecrazyhorseparis.fr; The show, including a half bottle of Champagne, or two drinks, starts at 70 euros a person.

2. Bal du Moulin Rouge, 82, boulevard de Clichy; 18th, 33-1-5309-8282; www.moulin-rouge.com. The show begins at 9 p.m. and costs 99 euros, including a half-bottle of Champagne. An 11 p.m. show costs 89 euros.

3. La Grande Mosquée de Paris, 2 bis, place du Puits de l’Ermite; Fifth; 33-1-4535-9733; tea room: 33-1-4331-1814; www.mosquee-de-paris.org.

4. Grande Galerie de l’Evolution, 36, rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire; Fifth; 33-1-4079-5479 or 33-1-4079-5601

5. Galeries de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie Comparée, 2, rue Bouffon; Fifth; 33-1-4079-5479; www.mnhn.fr. Admission is 8 euros.

6. Le Jules Verne, Eiffel Tower, second platform, Avenue Gustave Eiffel; Seventh; 33-1-4555-6144; www.lejulesverne-paris.com. Prix-fixe dinner 190 euros.

7. Casa Olympe, 48, rue St-Georges; Ninth; 33-1-4285-2601

8. Angélina, 226, rue de Rivoli; First; 33-1-4260-8200.

9. Hermès, 24, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré; Eighth; 33-1-4017-4717; wwwhermes.com.

10. Jean-Paul Gaultier boutique, 6, rue Vivienne; Second; 33-1-4286-0505; www.jeanpaulgaultier.com.

11. La Pagode cinema, 57, bis rue de Babylone; Seventh, 33-1-4555-4848.

12. Théâtre du Châtelet, 1, place du Châtelet; First; 33-1-4028-2840; wwwchatelet-theatrecom.

13. Musée Grévin, 10, boulevard Montmartre; Ninth; 33-1-4770-8505; www.musee-grevin.com. 19.50 euros.

14. Le Grand Rex cinema, 1, boulevard Poissonnière; Second; 33-1-4236-8393; www.legrandrex.com.

15. Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt; Avenue de la Porte de Clignancourt; 18th. Located in the north of Paris, this is most easily reached by cab. Make sure to visit the Paul-Bert and the Serpette markets.

After a late departure (due to last week's fire in the EuroTunnel the trains are at only about 60% of usual since only the south tunnel is open). Arrival in London at the new Eurostar station, Saint Pancras mid-afternoon with the trip taking about an hour longer than usual ... but, no problem, since we had packed sandwiches (and a couple of bottles of wine!) and we had a very comfortable voyage.

A quick cab ride got us over to the Saint David's Hotel in Paddington - a fairly nice place run by Alex and his parents (from Cyprus) in an interesting area of London (equidistant between Hyde Park and Regent Park (one or the other as my planned Sunday long run option).

The afternoon has us exploring the area on foot and stopping at the Sir Alexander Fleming pub (he discovered penicillin at nearby St Mary's Hospital).

Afterwards Odile and her mother returned to the hotel and I went out for a 10k run east along Marylebone Road. The main challenge was to remember to look the "wrong" way before crossing the streets!

To wrap up the day we went to a nearby Scottish pub (Fleming was a Scot) called the Rob Roy - the name (also a recall of our two good friends in San Francisco!) and the Aberdeen FC shirt on the wall tip one off to this being quite a Scottish venue - made me nostalgic to return to Edinburgh. We had a nicer dinner and later Nick (the groom's oldest brother), down from Cambridge with wife and kids, met us for a closing "snoot".

Giant Map of Europe

My run today took me out to the Eiffel Tower and I finally got to walk on the giant map of Europe - the fastest way to vist all the counties of the EU! Try it if you're in town - easy ... and educational.

Canal running

One of the nice things of being at the "country house" at Montigny is that I have a wide choice of running paths - besides the profusion of possibilities in the forest.Today I ran 8km along the "Canal du Loing"

In total the canal du Loing is 53 km long and joins the "canal de Briare" (at Montargis) to the Seine (at Saint Mammès), via theLoing (between Moret and Saint Mammès).

Longest training run

In preparation for next month's marathon I did my longest training run today - 35 km from Montigny to Melun (just a marathon away from Paris - another 41 km). Ouf! I am a bit stiff ... any self-massage tips out there?!

Anyway, so far all is going well and Italy should be a fun run (well, more o r less).

Afterwards at Vosves.

Market Day

Noonish market at Nemours then apéro "chez les voisins" before a nice fireside (yes, it is rainy and very cool) dinner.

" Les rues, la place et les maisons de Nemours ont conservé la disposition, la dimension, l'irrégularité et la gaieté du Moyen-Age… Rien n'y est sublime, tout y est charmant. Nemours a tout à la fois le rayonnement des premières années et la paix des derniers jours. C'est un de ceslieux comme on en rêve pour commencer la vie ou la finir." - Victor HUGO

Almost Land's End...

Odile and I are visiting Quimiac for a couple of days ... just beautiful! We're between the two outreachs, right on the edge - more news later.

Paris Plage opens today

For the past few summers, the banks of the Seine in Paris have been transformed into a beach-- Paris Plage. This offers Parisians and tourists a rather surprising plot twist when strolling along the river.

For several weeks, the roads along the Seine are closed, and a "beach" is created. Tons of sand are crated in, potted palm trees are placed, beach chairs and umbrellas are arranged. The typical Paris dress code is reduced substantially. :-0

This year, the plage visits Paris for a month, from 21 July to 21 August 2008. Don't forget your bathing suit!

UPDATE: To kick things off there's a free concert tonight (by the Ensemble orchestral de Paris at 6pm, followed by a giant picnic. We may be going.

Disneyland Paris

I spent a fun day with Gladys, her 3 daughters and her nephew at Disneyland Paris; We had a ball - even though I found the Space Mountain attraction rather jolting!

The weather was just splendid and we did most of the major rides - including some I hadn't done before (waiting on some lines can be noxious however, as attested by the "Buzz Light-Peo" incident!) ...

I left a bit earlier than the others as our friend jean-Yves arrived sooner than expected from Uzès (and I still had to do my training run - which I finished just before midnight).

Thanks to Josean for the photo here which I "borrowed" from his facebook album.

Ingrid Bétancourt ¡libre!

After over 6 years of captivity at the hands of the FARC in Columbia ... Ingrid has been freed.

Celebration starting at 5pm at the Paris City Hall . We'll be going ... see you there?

Ciao bello ... and come back soon!

Rob heads back to San Fran tomorrow so we're having a final drink and then dinner near his place on the rue Montorgueil.

After drinks at the outdoor terrace of L’Esplanade Saint-Eustache we checked out a couple of places very nearby (including a Russian restaurant that looks promising - especially in colder weather) but finally we ended up halfway down on rue Mandar, a few minutes walk north, at Dar Wafa, for a very nice and convivial Moroccan dinner.

Marche des Fiertés + Happy Birthday Regina!

We're off to take a quick look at this year's Gay Pride Parade (which takes off from nearby Denfert-Rocherau) then taking the tram east (a bit beyond Chinatown) to celebrate our dear friend Regina's big 5-0!

UPDATE: On the right a photo of Regina and the collective birthday gift we all gave her - a spiffy, red scooter to run around Paris! Optimo!

Fête de Musique 2008

The 27th annual Fête de la Musique will see us around 8pm near Métro station Avron to hear our Brazilian friends play at the French Kawa bar in the 20th arrondissement (go east one block on Avenue d'Avron to 6 rue Planchat) - hopefully we'll see (some of) you there tonight ... or elsewhere, as it promises to be a loooonnnggg night.

Only good luck...

The "Gros Caillou Quartier d’Arts" association is holding their annual art event called "Jardin d'Arts" and this year there is a good selection of artists, including our friend Eva gathered around the theme of "Art Environnement".

As usual it takes place in the gardens surrounding the church called l’Eglise Saint-Jean, at 147 rue de Grenelle, in the 7th arrondissement.

The vernissage is tonight Friday 13 ( a good way to fend off any bad luck vibes) from 6pm until 9:30pm - the show continues tomorrow from 11am to 8pm. See you there tonight?