Lately

The view from Centre Pompidou... on a clear day it's pretty magical, and this was a particularly bright and hot one...

A school near my apartment that's being renovated... they've torn down an entire wing and these mish-mash boarded-up walls are beautifully exposed in the late afternoon light...

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, a gorgeous mansion outside of Paris and site of the first formal French garden, and not a bad place to live (probably)...

The Promenade Plantée, an elevated walkable garden that inspired NYC's Highline...

The free permanent collection at Le Petit Palais...

Funny how art can make you feel at home. I feel that way whenever I see a Monet, and likewise when I see this Ugolino sculpture, which was my favorite piece at the Met (in marble) and when I saw it here, in bronze, I felt the visceral, grounded feeling of home.

Funny French products, the "Tampon Cookie" ("tampon" here means stamp so I guess it's like a cookie cutter)... note especially the "eat me" sign, ha! Ughhhhh...

The wonderful permanent collection at the Modern Art Museum of Paris, full of beautiful women...

(and flowers)

Me reading aloud at Paris Lit Up open mic night (note the clutched, white knuckles)...

And a weekend with my friend Rebecca, who took many selfies of us around town (and one cappuccino)...

And, finally, some more good advice...

Last Days Of Warmth In Paris

It's all over now! But it was good while it lasted...

Are My New Sunglasses Too Big/Bright?

I don't think so either.

Unavoidable

When I was growing up and out shopping with my mom, she would ask me, "Is there anything you can't live without?" Usually the answer was no, but the clever question taught me to think about what is and what isn't worth buying. Usually I know that if I can't stop thinking about something after I've seen it in a store, it's probably worth my money.

Such was the case with a pair of Les Petites Parisiennes shoes I saw day after day in the pop-up store across the street from my apartment. Every single day I'd pass the store and see this magnificent pair of red Derby shoes with faux wooden pattern, and I'd literally, audibly sigh as I walked past. I even went in a couple of times but could never justify to myself the need to spend 49€ on shoes (even if they were marked down from 150€). I don't need more shoes. I have what I need - 2 pairs of boots, a pair of Converse, a pair of sandals, and a pair of high heels. I don't want more to pack when I leave.

And on and on the justifications against the shoes went. Finally one day (after I'd just gotten FINALLY paid for one of my writing jobs) I realized that it didn't really matter if I needed the shoes... I really, really wanted them. I looooooooooove them. They are so Jenna. They make me so happy just to look at them in the window. Also, rainy season is coming back and all I have besides my boots are, well, my ratty old Converse.

SO. I bought them.

Aren't they gorgeous?? UGH. Bonus: They were the second-to-last pair in the store (not available anywhere online).

Later that week I went to the Centre Pompidou to read up on the Lichtenstein exhibit I'd just been to, for quotes and mental refreshment for my article on the Huffington Post (read it!!). This exhibit was really, really something beautiful. I just loved it. On top of that, since I got here I've wanted a museum exhibit poster, but it would have to be not only beautiful, but an exhibit I went to and really enjoyed. This poster, a duplicate of all the ads for the exhibit in the subways and all around Paris, was just 8€ and even has my birthday on it (the day the exhibit ends).

So I spent a little money last week. But only on things that make me really, really happy.

Une Amy In Paris

I was SO excited for my friend Amy to come visit me from L.A. The story of our friendship is a strange one; I met her about a month before the first time I went to Paris, and when I returned two months later, we worked at PS260 together for a few months, after which she moved to L.A. and became a superstar in the bluegrass world for her blog, The Bluegrass Situation. But though we've only ever been in the same town for a few months at a time, whenever we get together it's like no time has passed. We are so similar (she even worked at her local PBS affiliate in college!) that we just understand each other.

The evening she arrived, we went back to my apartment and I asked her what she'd like for dinner, if she wanted me to make anything for her. "Whatever is fast and easy," she said. "Um, could we just... have cheese?" I knew we'd have a great week.

We spent the whole evening talking on the balcony and catching up and drinking wine and listening to music. The next day, she just wanted to walk around Montmartre, so off we set, wandering the neighborhood. We got some Coca-Colas, because it was that hot out, and found the recent marketing for French Coca-Cola was serendipitous.

 

It was so hot out I felt like I was in a Coke ad. AHHHH, refreshment!

We wandered around the neighborhood and I pointed out locations from "Amelie," and of course we ended up at Les Deux Moulins (the café from the film) and had a beverage. I tried on Amy's shades and felt pretty bad-ass.

We walked up the hill again and had lunch at some little place that I went to with Kerri, and have passed a million times, and I still can't remember the name. Anyway, it had a nice view. We had some cheese, prosciutto and melon and Amy kept saying, "This is all I have ever wanted for my life."

Amy gave me a pretty Chanel lipstick she'd gotten for free, which she said looked better on me than her. I used a window as my mirror.

We stopped by La Maison Collignon, the fruit and vegetable shop from "Amelie," and Amy actually got some fruit.

It was a beautiful, golden day.

We wound around the Sacré Coeur and got caught in the rain, but it was nothing a little shelter at a café with an espresso couldn't handle. Then we made our way back to my apartment, stopping at La Maison Rose to split some spaghetti and wine. I have always wanted to come here, and I've shown the place a million times on this blog, but it was the first time I ever sat down at La Maison Rose. They were very nice, and the food was very good (and not expensive).

 

I took her past the only vineyard in Paris.

And this is how I know Amy and I were meant to be friends. I took her past Au Lapin Agile, the Montmartre cabaret where Picasso used to come, and she freeeeeeaked out. Not because of Picasso, but because it is the location of a Steve Martin play called "Einstein and Picasso at the Lapin Agile." Which is a play I saw with my drama club in high school, which is why I freaked out the first time I saw it too.

That night she insisted we watch the romantic comedy "French Kiss" and just hang out, which was totally fine with me. The next day, I took her to get her first macarons, bringing her to all the spots on my "macaron hunt" tour (six pâtisseries).

We brought our macs to the Jardin du Luxembourg and had a taste test, which is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

Then we walked over to Shakespeare & Co.

We walked along the Seine back toward the Métro and talked about... just about everything.

That night, we met up with Elsa and "the gang," as Elsa always says, and had a picnic, walked all around Paris, and ended up beside the river. As with most nights out, I was too busy living to take more photos than this.

Amy liked the area (Le Marais) so much that we went back the next day to wander. That evening we had a nice dinner out with a friend of hers who happened to be in town from Nashville, then the three of us hung out at my place listening to music and talking about feminism (too bad for her friend, a guy... though he claimed to be enjoying the discussion). There were a lot of moments all week that went unphotographed, but we were just too busy enjoying to worry about it. I had such a great time with Amy - she was a very easy house guest. And during her three entire days here, we didn't catch sight of the Eiffel Tower even once.