Four in a Row

It's been the full three nights in a row of bar/pub hopping, of my favorite drink, blanche, that seems to have become a dead-end choice and of a few chances to activate my *flirtability*...It was a request (force) from my friend and it was my duty to bring out a radar to scan the places and people (men in particular) to meet her needs and standards.

The first two nights we checked out the scene at Bastille (known to have crazy people come out after midnight and proved true).

Day 1: We ended up at a bar that had a good looking bartender (both had an agreement on) and a happy hour at the time of arrival (to prolong our night...and life in general) We came straight from shopping with a few bags, not an ideal situation but were too tired to climb up the French spiral stairs to my apartment on the 4th floor. The night went on pleasantly and it ended even more pleasant when the next drinks were offered (without asking of course) by a French bloke with a degree of PhD.("bloke" because he lived in Ireland for 4 years)

Day 2: It was rather similar as we were trying to live up to the standards of the first night - cute looking bartenders with a nice atmosphere. Only thing that went wrong was the first frog who came to chat us up was rather out of our league (speaking of a self confidence). After trying to be polite and struggle with the language barrier (my broken French, my friend's next-to-zero French and his almost-none English) for awhile, my friend finally got to the point of madness and squeezed out the little French she knew "Vous allez, s'il vous plait" (while I fled to the toilet). He, as she told, was understanding and left the bar by asking me to give him a call. Poor guy...*picked up the paper that he had written on his number and put it in a finished glass of cocktails*

And when we thought that we were safe, the two guys at the bar (learned later that one was the cousin of the bar manager) sent a waitress to offer us drinks and later followed. We politely chatted with them and politely laughed at their jokes. As we learned that they would be going to Thailand next month and how much they liked Thai food, we politely gave them a few tips. The night went on...slowly and politely ended...

Day 3 - From the lesson of the night before, I decided to change the area and went to a more sophisticated scene. We started by walking around St Michel...It was Friday night so there were quite a few things going on, one of them was a street magic show. Only a few people were watching at the time so we were at the front row. I was annoyed by the show as the magician was rather slow. "Stop lingering and just show us something(!)," I thought to myself with a non-smiling face and crossed arms. I suppose the gesture was too obvious, the magician then dragged me and made me his assistant. The task was to smile, to pull a rope, to hold a scissor, and to cut a rope in two. It was kind of awkward for me in front of the strangers (apparently, there were all this whole crowd gathering around...must have been my short skirt err...) Anyway, it was a good fun and a good laugh.

After finishing the new part-time job at the show, we went on to Odeon and finally found ourselves a cafe. Actually, because of our indecisiveness, we were (politely) attacked by a waiter at the cafe we were standing at the front, so we felt obliged to say yes to his invitation. It was raining lightly but after a drink, my friend wanted to go to another place so we checked...But as indecisive as we were, plus the rain, we were lingering, again, in front of the cafe, a few minutes later, another waiter brought us an umbrella.

Me: "But we're going somewhere else.."
Waiter: "It's okay."
Me: "We don't need to give it back to you?"
Waiter: "It's fine or you can return it later."
Me: "OK, we will give you back later. Thank you!!"

He is also an Asian so maybe he would like to spread the kindness to other Asian fellows...Because according to his action, it was purely a good intention. He just walked to us, handed me the umbrella and left...nothing flirty going on. It was a surprise that I couldn't stop praising him for the whole 15 minutes.

We left Odeon and went to a local/non tourist bar I went a few times before up in Abbesses. When we walked in, I felt like all eyes were on us screaming "Aliens... Asians... Tourists...Asian girls... Short skirt..." It was really strange. I came here before but with a group of French, was checked out but not as obvious. We ended up having a seat at the bar and got a business contact from a drunk and flirty but ambitious business young man. Let's see if what he said was true. Maybe not, considering that he was still holding his glass while we were walking out of the bar together.

My friend: "So what's his name?"
Me: "err...I don't remember...but his friend's is Stephane."

Oops!

Day 4 - to be continued.

Desires....

As the quest continued, I brought my friend to the infamous Galeries Lafayette and Printemps on the right bank. Amazing how many people were there during the mid afternoon. Besides tourists as the majority, there were a lot of French speakers which popped up some questions in my head..."They don't have to work?? or these women are the housewives? They called in sick? These young people don't have school?..." The scene was so chaotic, like people were lining up for some freebies, the queues at the fitting room were almost impossible to wait. OK it was a bit exaggerating but though not that long, it did require a high patience to be able to try anything on.

I'm not a brand addict though I couldn't help drooling over a few things...like bags from Chloé and Balenciaga or shoes from Tod's, Dries Van Noten and Marni. Weird though that once I have my mind fixed on these things, I've lost my appetite for anything else, when the most favorite things I like to consumer are clothes.

This reminds me of one quote I came across...

"Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not." - Oscar Wilde

Salute to Oscar Wilde ;p

A Quest of Good Bargains

That's right. The quest of good bargains AKA Summer Sale has already started yesterday! It is a sin just to be a woman sometimes as our knees usually get weak and that we can't control ourselves when seeing the signs "Sale" or "Soldes" on the windows.

I've started a search for happiness (in a concrete form) by paying a visit to an outlet in the centre commercial at Val d'Europe. Within the shopping mall itself, there are normal brands like Zara, H&M, etc. that we can actually find anywhere in town. Outside though is a little village of brand boutiques like Paul Smith, Salvatore Ferragamo, Givenchy, Celine, Camper, Diesel, VANS, Agnès b.,etc. It was amazing to see almost everyone carrying the bags of all these top brands and such a LONG queue at Polo Ralph Lauren with Asians covering up half of the space. I myself was first excited and expected to be broke home...but God saved me as *I* find the items available were rather a disappointment, be it that these items were of a few seasons ago or the good ones were already gone. One thing is true though that this place provides a better bargain than the boutiques in town...

With such a disappointment, my pursuit of happiness shall be continued.

Rock en Seine 2007 (Intro)

As I will be around in August, I gleefully got myself a ticket to one of the biggest and most international concerts in France, Rock en Seine. This year is its 5th year, still considered a baby but do not underestimate its power as this three-days concert feature quite a few big names like Bjork, the Shins, 2 Many DJ's, Faithless, Mark Ronson, Arcade Fire, CSS, Amy Winehouse and so on. The dates are Fri 24 - Sun 26. Though I wish to attend the whole three days but we're destined to go for only the Sunday one...To have a chance to finally see Bjork live is already like a dream comes true, but also with Mark Ronson and Faithless makes it even more superb! (Although a little part of me would bleed not being able to see CSS and a few others.)

Here's a clip of the Foo Fighters, Rock en Seine 2005



To be continued...

Le Queen (and the white-shirt-and-jeans gang)

Finally I made it to one of the most popular (gay) scenes in Paris...Le Queen! It sure is one of the biggest clubs in town located right in the middle of Avenue des Champs-Elysees. We were ones of the first groups who arrived...how amateurs you may say but the good thing is we had one of the best spots to see all the "pretty" stuff that was going on, ha! Not so long, people started to fill up the place and soon later the dance floor and the two podiums. Right, besides tourists, all of the attention seekers and single gay guys seemed to gather here after having themselves prepared at le Marais (or simply at home). It was, most of the time, fun to watch...A big shaved head lady (Britney lookalike, according to my gay friend) was dancing like crazy among her girlfriends. One middle-age+++ woman who seemed to be drunk way before entering the club dancing non stop on the sofa...while another pregnant-lookalike girl moved like she just got dumped (according to my gay friend...again). A white shirt and jeans seemed like a chic thing to wear among men who come here...I wonder if it's a gay identification. But whatever it's meant to say I just think it makes everyone look the same.

A: "Hey, that one in a white shirt and jeans looks so cute!"
B: "Hmm? Where? Which one?"
A: "10 o'clock!!!"
B: "er...there are like 5 of them. Which one?!?"

I did have a crush on this under-age-looking boy who couldn't manage to dance somewhere else but on the podiums (he did switch sides between the two podiums every once in awhile). As most guys who come here are (supposed to be) gay, I was thinking positive and hoping he was not, considering the way he danced and the friend he came with (Yes, we were really checking and collecting details.) But by the end of the night, I gave up and left him be whatever he is...(not like I can do anything anyway)and went home.

In a nutshell, it's a decent club (if you like techno, house, electro or of sort) with many gays and girls... Drinks? I wouldn't rely on it.


Métro: George V

KONG, Where the East Meets West

My friend called me this afternoon whether I wanted to join her and her friends at KONG. I quickly answered without a second thought..."YES, we're at Sephora but we're leaving now. See you guys in a bit." I went there once before and enjoyed the place very much. KONG is a very chic bar and restaurant. Why is it so chic and popular? Well, having Philippe Starck designed the place might have something to do with it. The interior design is a mix between east and west...more specifically, the Japanese Geisha and the Kawaii concept with the French touch of classic chic. KONG is located at the two top floors of KENZO. The place has one of the best view in Paris (if you're lucky enough to get those few tables to see it, that is.) Having a drink while soaking up the atmosphere and the view there is very pleasant. What disappointed me though is the food. They look good but the taste is comme si, comme ça for its price, if you ask me...


1, rue du Pont Neuf, 75001
Metro: Pont Neuf

Following Amélie Poulain's Footsteps

As my friend is visiting, I decided to give her a little "Amélie Poulain" tour...one of my very favorite movies. I don't know how many times I've been to the Montmarte but this time the theme of our little walk brought me a new excitement. We started at Metro Anvers and walked uphill towards Sacré Coeur, the majestic church located on the top of Montmartre. The area is lined up with souvenir shops and packed with tourists (at all time). We began to walk up the stairs thinking "Ah, right the scam masters are awaiting to bait the innocent victims again." There are several Black guys (not being a racist here, only stating the truth) blocking the way trying to wrap your wrist with some sort of a bracelet and will ask you for money later. If you don't want this to happen to you, put the hands in your pockets or have them busy doing something i.e. dialling a cellphone. Regardless of the scam, you can get a picturesque view of Paris from the top of the hill here. Though the scene outside is always busy and packed with people, once you step inside the church, it's another experience. I can always feel the peacefulness filled up the atmosphere.

We took a little walk inside then came out to the village behind. As mentioned earlier in one of the entries, Montmartre was and still is an artist village, though, more commercial...many individual drawers and painters at your service as well as the shops along the street.









Later we followed rue Lepic to find the cafe Amélie Poulain was working at "Les Deux Moulins" and had a cup of coffee and chocolat chaude there. Looking around..."Hmmm...it doesn't look like it in the film." It's not as classic as the film portrays. (Of course, you may say.) Thom Yorke's songs were being played as the background music which is pretty cool though doesn't seem fit the place.

After appreciating the fact that this place was once the sets of the infamous film, we decided to move on...

18th arrondissement
Métro: Abbesses or Anvers

Salon de Thé at La Mosquée

Paris is rich with hip cafés and restaurants. And when you think you've been to quite a few of them, there are still some that you might have missed. One place that you should not miss though is La Mosquée de Paris. The place serves as a restaurant during the midday and evening and turns to a Salon de Thé in the morning and late afternoon. There are many regulars for example my two friends who live a few metros away come here to soak up the atmosphere sometimes. Same for me, it wasn't the tea or the North African pastries that I would love to recommend (because some are rather too sweet for my taste)...but because of the whole ambiance of this place that will make you forget you're in Paris (regardless of how much you love the city.) The Moorish style of decoration richly reflects its name which makes it all different from a typical café in Paris. The mosiacs, the gold plate-shaped tables combined with all the North African details...whether you pick a table inside or in the outdoor patio, the place gives you a nice and relaxing feel that you will want to re-visit every once in awhile.

Besides this, La Mosquée also offers an authentic hammam, with steam rooms, wading pool and a massage area...It's rather expensive considering I used to pay only less than 20€ for a one-hour massage back home. But...one day, one day...

39, rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 75005
Metro: Censier Daubenton or Place Monge

La Fête de la Musique - June 21

So many events going on in Paris during the summer and this is another music festival in Paris, la Fête de la Musique which is held every year on June 21 since 1982! This is an event in which local amateur bands of all types of music come out on the streets of Paris and just play their hearts out from evening onwards.


We started out from Le Marais around 8 pm. There were bands in almost every corner of the streets with the theme of rock music, something that we agreed we were in the mood for... (while in the Tour Eiffel area had the world music as the theme and other areas with different themes.) We walked around for awhile and then ended up at one bar for a happy hour, drinking a few of blanche and wines. We moved on after over an hour when the streets got more lively...we walked towards Bastille where the fun and the craziness should be. There was such a crowd where this band who was playing songs from the Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, the White Stripes etc. I couldn't help but singing and jumping along...till I was forced to move on. Bastille was wild with two big stages of techno set with crazy spotlights which almost blinded my eyes. The crowd of both stages was HUGE dancing and squeezing themselves in to find their spots. Empty beer bottles and broken ones all around. Smells of marijuana and all that...It was fun, it was crazy...but too bad there were too many drunk and high people who decided to reveal ungodly manners near us/to us which put us all off the mood and decided to say bonne nuit to the night.

Jardin du Luxembourg

It always gives a pleasant feel whenever I visit a park in Paris. Jardin du Luxembourg is another of my favorite places that I enjoy parking myself there. To quote the fact, it is the biggest park in Paris with Luco as its nickname. It's very popular among all generations of both locals and foreigners since it provides such space for different recreational activities. The tennis courts are always occupied. Young school boys come to play football after school. Several people have a good sweat jogging with an ipod on. A couple sitting on a bench talking and smiling near the fountain. The scene is pretty and calm...

My friends and me went there the other day and found ourselves a bench near the tennis court...After over 30 mins of pretending we were watching a Wimbledon, we finally decided to get our too-relaxed selves off the bench and moved on to another place.

Charles de Gaulle Airport

Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Paris Roissy is the second busiest airport in Europe next to London Heathrow. Regardless of the following fact, I, among many people, find the plan of the airport quite confusing. I remember the first time I landed, the scene was rather chaotic... so I decided to pick one couple that looked like they knew what they were doing and followed them to the luggage carrousel...After that I took a little while to find a gate to the taxi spot. I'd been there other two times to pick up my friends. I think it was such a hassle taking such a long ride of RER, then had to hop on a shuttle bus and walked around to find my friends. I was praying not to do such a duty again but my prayers seemed to be stuck somewhere as another friend will be arriving at the airport this evening at Aerogare 2. With this in mind, I know I just get myself into some sort of "adventure" once again as it's going to be first time to pay a visit to Aerogare 2. Fingers crossed for my friend, hope I won't have to use a local "fashionably late" excuse.

Continued...

So...it went well. I arrived on time. No problem of finding. It was much less confusing in Aerogare 2 but it took quite a long walk from RER to Terminal 2A because it is such a big building. The RER goes straight to CDG2 that means no hassle hopping in and out of the shuttle bus. However, I've now realized what I will have to face in the real summer this year - it was incredibly hot in the RER even it was already 7ish pm. A few people had to stand up to get some air and a little breeze from the windows. It was good that on the way to CDG, there were not many people...however, the luck faded on the trip back to Paris. Lots of people...what I'm actually trying to say here is that...lots of people = lots of sweats = high risk being exposed to some (strongly) unpleasant odors...

Paris Jazz Festival 2007

Summer in Paris is full of events. If you are one of many that enjoy listening to the jazz music, Paris Jazz Festival would be an event that you can't miss. This year it is held at Parc Floral de Paris, every weekend from June 9 to July 29. The themes include "Big Band Mania", "Esprit Django", "Sons d'ailleurs", "Jeunes Pousses", "Pianissimo", "All that jazz", "Jazz Vocal", and "Etoiles du Jazz". I hope to check it out one of these weekends...this coming Saturday, Faya Dub and their jazz soul music sound very down tempo. The themes of "All that jazz" and "Pianissimo" sound interesting as well. Will see which ones I get to go to and put up some pictures here.

Disneyland Paris

If the schedule says you're only free to go to the Disneyland on the weekends, do expect the place to be very crowded, a mix of both locals and tourists and a long queues in all attractions.

We arrived there around 10ish am. and I thought we were already quite early...but the place was already packed. We walked from one to another attraction, spending at least 15 to over 30 minutes alone waiting in line at each one. In the late afternoon, the rain kept falling down for hours until we left for Paris around 8ish pm. Yes, we did spend about 10 hours at Disneyland! Though it was quite tiring and annoying with the rain but we kept the spirit up and had a great time. A few of my favorite attractions would be the Space Mountain, the Pirates of the Caribbeans and the Small World.

The place seemed to bring out the kid part in everyone. Lots of adults/parents were spotted wearing all these Disney-characters hats and hair bands, for example, of the Donald Duck, Pirates of the Caribbeans, but the most popular one would be of the Minnie Mouse...walking around licking some big apple-shaped candies. Quite a few girls were dressed in a Snow White dress, a Cinderella one etc. Some even got their face painted. I was thinking when/if I had a kid of my own I would bring her/him here so I can have an excuse to be a kid once again...

La Coupole, a Traditional French Brasserie

To satisfy our crave for the real seafood, we went to La Coupole, a traditional French brasserie with a long history since 1930's(!) La Coupole is located in the heart of Montparnasse; a busy area on the left bank. (You can easily spot where it is from wherever you are in Paris...see the tallest (ugly) building in the middle of nowhere? c'est la Tour Montparnasse.)
Anyway, the place is very grand (one of the biggest restaurants in Paris I would say) with a very French brasserie style of decoration. Lucky that we booked a table in advance, or else, walking in for lunch at 1pm here on the weekends might be a problem. The seafood was amazing - shrimps, sea snails, oysters, clams...We actually had too much which made us not want to have seafood for quite some time...I was planning to end the course with a crème brulée, but my stomach disappointed me... as there was no room for anything anymore...

One cute thing about this place is that the staffs would gather around your table to sing Happy Birthday for you (tell them in advance to surprise your friend or family.) The happy service/staffs like this, we sure don't see too often in Paris.


102, Boulevard Montparnasse, 75014
Metro Vavin

Rendezvous at Mariage Frères

A famous teahouse with a colonial style decoration, Mariage Frères serves a few hundreds flavors of tea from different continents and countries. We usually go to the Rive Gauche branch. Downstairs, neatly organized, reflecting the Vietnamese colonial house is the showcase of different choices of tea and teapots. Upstairs are the tables, always calm with a luxurious feel to it. Always find someone sitting alone reading or drawing some inspiration to write in a quiet afternoon...

Whenever we get a chance to visit Mariage Frères, we would take quite some time to look through the menu. "Should I pick the perfumed Mandalay, or Maharaja...hmm or one of those African?"It's a true said that sometimes too many choices kill the choices. Anyway, for this afternoon I felt like having Mandalay, the place that I've always wanted to go. A big teapot arrived some time later. The Mandalay was poured into my cup, the taste was a little intense but smooth. We were sipping, catching up with the stories we hadn't shared, laughing...and enjoying the atmosphere for over 2 hours, until 7pm (The place is closed for dinner.)

It was a good late afternoon.

Very French: Crème Brulée and Mille Feuille

You know if I had to die for some food or desserts, crème brulée and mille feuille would be it. I first fell in love with mille feuille when I first visited Paris. I loved it so much that before I left for the airport, I asked my boyfriend to get one or two for my family to have a taste. (Why my boyfriend, 'cause he has his favorite place down rue des Myrtyrs). Went home and tried it at Le Nôtre, it wasn't as good (and it was the last time I went there.) Then this time around when I came here to study, I have fallen madly in love with le crème brulée. There is no doubt what I would order as my dessert to end my course. No doubt. There were only a few times that I cheated on her (the crème brulée) for mille feuille and a few other stuffs...but that was it.

One of the best crème brulée I've tried was the Catalan one in Perpignan...not only the taste, but also the smell of it...hmmm *miam miam*

Very French: Oh Ho!

Ho Ho Ho...Santa Claus seems to be visiting France more than any other places...

À Nous Paris...and another little story

There are ways for a local or be it a newcomer in town to search for what is going on in Paris...One is to go by a metro and grab a free weekly issue of "À Nous Paris" magazine. Be an early bird and pick it up on Monday morning's or else, don't blame me if I didn't warn you. "À Nous" is a good source to find different kinds of events - art & culture, music gigs or what dj's are playing at which clubs. Also, it will spare you some ideas about restaurants and what movies are out in the theaters. Of course all the text is en français but for those who don't speak the language, you will still be able to get by.

Flipped through the pages, I couldn't help but got excited to find one of my very favorite bands advertised to be performing..."Nouvelle Vague at Bus Palladium" June 9,2007, before midnight 10€ and 12€ after. To add on my excitement, getting to see Nouvelle Vague by paying only 10€ or 12€ was beyond my expectation.

The night had arrived and my friends and me were ready to take off to Bus Palladium. Having arrived a little bit after midnight, there was one French guy came straight to us trying to sell the tickets that were supposed to be for his friends, but the friends didn't show up. We were a little skeptical but helped him out anyway. At least we did make one bloke relieved and happy. Went in, ordered a drink, waited for a little bit...one band came out with a singer who looked like she could be one of the female Nouvelle Vague's singers...somehow the other two members were not. And what are these songs...that I had never heard of. OK there were a mix of thoughts - maybe they were an opening band? Or Nouvelle Vague had new songs?


They performed over 5 songs, lost my counts...they were all good but...BUT this is not Nouvelle Vague!?! None of the crowd sang along though some including me moved along...Later found out that it was one of the Nouvelle Vague's singers with her own band "Phoebe Killdeer and the short straws straws". Oh well.

Salute to a little scam...confused people up. Then again it's sort of understandable if they were to advertise anything with the truth, the crowd wouldn't be as many.

By the River Seine

Summer has arrived early this year but it's not a bad thing since we all can have a longer period to fully enjoy the city. If you don't know what to do on weekends or a lunch break during the weekdays but want to find something to do while maintaining some savings in the bank account...come by the Seine and try to find a spot under the bridge. Bring a sandwich or a panini along and enjoy the great view there. I've done it a few times with my friends and it was just nice and relaxing every time.

A warning though, that you must be picky with where you choose to park yourself (I repeat you must!), check those cobblestones thoroughly and smell before...because if you don't, you might just get lucky and sit on someone's dried piss. Keep in mind, Paris is beautiful BUT she smells...(and we all know it's not a perfume.

Metro: St Michel or Cité

Montmartre

It's always good to walk around Montmarte. Such a vibrant district in which gives me a different vibe from many other areas in Paris. Though it's quite packed with tourists, the buildings are cute and cozy, with the zigs and zags down the hill (to add on those cobblestones that are killing my heels)... There are street artists, souvenir shops and restaurants centered in the area down the street behind the Sacré Coeur. When I first visited the area early last year, I saw only French artists but today there seemed to be quite a few Chinese ones to serve the Asian tourists. How thoughtful... Anyway, along the way there are a few small restaurants hidden in different corners, very interesting with cozy decors, making me promise to myself I have to try them one of these days.

18th arrondissement
Métro: Anvers or Abbesses

Free Sunday at Musée d'Orsay

Every first Sunday of each month, it is a free-pass day to visit museums in Paris. For this month, we chose to visit Musée d'Orsay, one of the most famous and most beautiful museums in Paris. The building is a train station turned museum, open Tues - Suns: 9.30am - 6pm except on Thurs: 9.30am - 9.45pm. (Paris has a thing with Thursdays, musems, shopping malls and supermarkets seem to open until late and many clubs seem to have a special event/dj's.)

Musée d'Orsay combines almost all types of art into one place, from paintings to sculptures, from photography to decorative arts and the architecture presented by the building of the museum itself. There are a few works that have become my very favourites:



[The Four Parts of the World Holding the Celestial Sphere]

Baron Haussmann, the prefect of Paris who gave the city the face we know today, commissioned Carpeaux to design a fountain for the Luxembourg Gardens in 1867. The sculptor chose the theme of the four parts of the world turning around the celestial sphere. Not only are the four allegories dancing in a ring, but they are also revolving on the spot. Europe scarcely touches the ground, Asia, with her long pigtail, is seen almost from the back, Africa is in a three-quarter view and America, wearing a feather headdress, is facing the spectator but her body is turned to the side. This taste for movement is one of the features of Carpeaux's art. His passionate nature was quite the contrary of Neoclassic serenity. It was not until 1874, a year before Carpeaux died, that the bronze fountain was set up on the designated site. The tangle of legs displeased the public of the time. Two of the busts exist as separate works. Carpeaux turned the Chinese woman into a man and reproduced the statue in several different materials. The figure of Africa gave rise to a bust that Carpeaux exhibited with the inscription Why be born a slave? This reference to the abolition of slavery is also visible in the statue: America is standing on the broken chain of slavery wrapped around Africa's ankle.



Les Iles d'Or [The Golden Isles]

An exhibition of the work of Henry-Edmond Cross opened at the Druet Gallery in Paris on 21 March 1905. Emile Verhaeren, in a letter prefacing the catalogue, described the surroundings in which his friend had been living since he had joined him in the South of France: "I see the sea close by, the mountain chain of the Maures and in the distance the islands of Hyères, so beautiful that they are called the Golden Isles. […] the mountains unroll their ornamental line along the horizon and in the curve of the beaches, between the points of a succession of large capes, the fine yellow sand sparkles in the light". The poet could be describing the landscape of The Golden Isles which Cross painted in 1891-1892.

Although the subject of the canvas is indeed the islands, Cross has eliminated all picturesque elements and concentrated on the effects of light on colour. The various elements in the landscape become three large coloured bands: the sand, sea and sky.

In keeping with the Neo-impressionist technique that he had recently begun to apply, he used rounded brushstrokes of various sizes from the dabs in the foreground to the tiny dots on the horizon, adjusting the spacing to create a slight effect of perspective. The very high horizon line running across the composition is a direct reference to the Japanese art of Ukiyo-e prints.

Such a resolutely modern work could not fail to please Felix Fénéon, an ardent defender of Neo-impressionism, who bought it. The canvas was no doubt Cross' most daring work; it joined the national collections in 1947 after the first auction of the critic's collection.

Currently some parts of the museum are under the restoration until July,2007. So it will give anyone a reason to re-visit the place once all the areas are fully opened.

Source: Musée d'Orsay

Very French: Roller Skating

Once in a blue moon, one of the streets in Paris will be temporarily closed or blocked for different occasions/events. I was around Pere LaChaise, a popular cemetery in Paris on one of the weekends in March and all the sudden, there was this big crowd of roller skaters passing by. The traffic had to be blocked for about 15 minutes.

When I traveled here the very first time, I was surprised to see quite a few people roller skating on the cobblestone streets. How smooth and professional! I mean I just couldn't imagine myself doing it. Only a normal walking, I trip a countless number of times so forget roller skating... Anyway, it's become one of the French things that I've come to like. Especially during the summer, you will see more people skating which is nice. It does add some movement, liveliness and energy to the city, indeed.

Kiliwatch, the Vintage hub

Since vintage has become such a trend and I think will stick around for quite awhile, I cannot help but talking about one of the most praised secondhand store in Paris, Kiliwatch. I first came across the name in one of the Paris books I bought when I first arrived here. Later when one of my friends got her apartment not far from the shop in the Etienne Marcel, I tend to drag her there at least once a month. It's become one of my favorite shops in Paris I would say.
Kiliwatch mainly sells secondhand clothes, shoes and bags but they also feature with the local brands in the front area of the shop. Fashion magazines are also available there. I regularly dig myself in the piles of skirts and shirts at one of the corners. My favorite founds would be a few polka-dot pleats (to my friends, I'm rather obsessed with anything polka dots) and the proud horizontal navy blue/ white stripe skirt. One of the best founds would be this leather jacket costing only 155€! (Now that I say "only" because anyone would know that it's almost impossible to find a nice leather jacket with the price lower than...let's say 300€?

Not only me as fan of this store, many locals and Japanese seem to love it here as well. A few cute staffs are also at your service. *wink*

64,rue Tiquetonne 75002 Paris
Metro: Etienne Marcel