Holiday Time in Paris

I braved the metro today, riding the #7 literally like a sardine. Luckily my destination, Galeries Lafayette, was only 3 stops away.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the flagship store on Blvd Haussman, it is one of the most elegant department stores ever built. Galeries Lafayette has a beautiful glass and steel dome at its' center, and an Art Nouveau staircase built in 1912.

To my delight and surprise, the windows of the stores have already been transformed into magical winter scenes, some windows with animated and moving objects, others, stationary objects, but elegant.

Seeing the windows brought me back to my youth, when I was a child living in New York. Waiting patiently for the marvelous and mysterious windows of Lord & Taylor's, and Saks Fifth Avenue, to be unveiled.

Whether you like to be a consumer or not, and celebrate this time of year, you have to admit, that the holiday decorations can make it just a dazzling time of the year.

Some More New Things I'm Learning About Paris

There are some things about Paris that are just different from the States, not better- not worse - just different. I am slowly becoming accustomed to my new way of life.

1. Despite the fact that shops may have signage that says they are open Mon-Sat from 11 - 7, I would highly suggest that you not mosey on over until after 12pm - it seems that many of the small shops wear a different watch then we do, and open up at their leisure.

2. I have noticed that when I go to the movies here, there can be 500 open seats, and the next person who comes into the theater chooses the seat right next to you, why, I do not know. It's like standing on the metro, and somehow, within seconds, you notice that you are no longer standing in the same place, but find another french person standing in your original spot. As a friend said, and I paraphrase, "just remember, wherever you are, that's where the french want to be!" Makes me laugh.

3. Be careful as a woman making eye contact with a man. The minute you do, they take that as an invitation, and you will find yourself being asked out all the time, and most of them are not men you have any interest in. When I looked up at the museum guard (who's left eye sort of traveled within its' socket), because he seemed to be circling me, that was it - it was all over. "Would you like to go for a cup of coffee? ", he asks... "No sorry, I say in french, I see someone." And with that, I am quickly out of the museum and back on my path for the day.
4. Water; Avis and I rate our restaurants based on the delivery of water. When we order our coffee, we almost always ask for a bottle of water. Many places will bring them both together, but many, well, you can ask, and ask and ask - you could be dehydrated and fainting, and good luck, if that water ever comes.

But all in jest, as there are so many more things to love about Paris.

Waking up to such a beautiful city, is incroyable! Everyday, I feel blessed by my surroundings - and you can't quite grasp the depth of it until you live it.

Paris is a walking city - everything is at your doorstep. To hop a metro (when the metro isn't striking!), and be just about anywhere you want to go within 15 minutes is a civilized way to live.

The language is like a lullaby, sometimes i just eavesdrop on a conversation just to hear the sounds. Sitting in cafes, the ease of the way of life. All the different specialty shops for cheeses and meats and wines, and even olive oil, makes shopping feel like a luxury. Living amongst so many grand museums, and just popping in to see a new exhibit, as part of your day.

I love Los Angeles - it holds a history and lifelong friendships, and most importantly, it is where my family lives. People I miss, but hold in my heart while I am here.

So for now, as long as my heart is filled with my family and friends, I think I'll settle into Paris for a while.

How I Got Lost in the Louvre

The Louvre is only about a block or 2 away from where I live, and yet not until today (and I've been in Paris now going on 6 weeks) did I finally venture in. Anselm Kiefer was having an exhibition, and I thought it would be interesting to see his new work.

So a bit of history - the Castle of the Louvre used to be where the museum is. It was built by Philip II of France. The castle was used as a fortress to defend Paris against the Vikings. Charles V, King of France turned the castle into a palace. However, Francis I, King of France, knocked it down and built a new palace. Henry IV, King of France added the Grande Galerie to the Louvre. The Grande Galerie is more than a quarter mile long and one hundred feet wide.

The salient point of the history lesson, was to point out just the vast size of the museum.

So, I make a beeline for the Kiefer show, not that I don't like antiquities, but I was definitely on a mission. I ask the entrance guard which direction, and follow the signs, up the first flight of 500 steps, until all of a sudden, the signs disappear. However I happened upon a small but extraordinary exhibit of Biedermeier, to my surprise, and despite there being maybe only a dozen examples of furniture, 2 dozen pieces of silver, and a half dozen works on paper, I couldn't pull myself away. It was a jewel of a show.

Ok, so now I had to find the Kiefer show. I asked the next guard to point me in the correct direction, and in perfect English he tells me to take a left and just keep walking through the rooms. After about 10 minutes of feeling like a rat in a maze, I ask the next guard, who tells me I shouldn't have made a left, but instead should have gone to the right. So off I go, retracing my steps, headed in the opposite direction.

I'm going and going until I get to a dead end, and more stairs. So I ask the next guard, who says, oh, no, you need to go down these 500 stairs and go straight down to the end of the hall on the floor below. So that's what I do. No Kiefers. So I ask again, and this guard says, oh no, you have to go back up the 500 steps, it's on that floor. So I do. At the top of the stairs I see another guard, so instead of wandering, I ask, "and where might I find the Kiefer exhibit," and she says, oh no, you have to go down the 500 steps, and at the bottom, my colleague will direct you. And I say to her, your colleague at the bottom of the steps just sent me back up here. And all she will say, is go back downstairs, my colleague will direct you. Maybe these are the only words she knew in English.

All I can tell you is 50 minutes and 4000 steps later, I finally found the Kiefers- which turned out to be 4, very uninteresting small installations, and ultimately weren't even worth walking up 5 steps for.

Thank goodness for such a beautiful Biedermeier show, which made my day.

And that's how I got lost in the Louvre.

Things Around Town

Paris Photo has won recognition as the world's premier fair for still photography. From November 15th through November 18th, 2007 it will bring together some hundred galleries and publishers from the world over. During those five days, Paris Photo will be the eye of the world.

The Musée de la Mode et du Textile invited Christian Lacroix to become the curator and historian he wanted to be when he studied art history at the Ecole de Louvre before embarking on his internationally acclaimed career in haute couture. For over a year, he immersed himself in the museum’s collections of costumes and accessories. The result is an atypical exhibition in which Christian Lacroix gives us his own personal vision of the history of fashion. For a few months the garments he selected from a heritage stretching back over several centuries will encounter the haute-couture creations of one of the greatest names of French fashion.

New films in town; David Cronenberg's film, Eastern Promises, Woody Allen's new film, Cassandra's Dream, and Paul Haggis' film, In The Valley of Elah.

New friendships, new dinners, new introductions; new clothes, new restaurants,new inspiration for work...

Yes, there's lots going on around town.

Making my Way

Everyday brings something new with it, no matter where you live, but probably because I have lived in Los Angeles for so long, I can take the days for granted, (which means that sometimes I just let one day run into the next). I still love Los Angeles, and even found myself speaking endearingly about the city with a friend last night, who is an ex-pat from Los Angeles (and doesn't find the city so irresistable).

My lifestyle in Paris is very different, but one I currently savor. My eyes don't see the light of day before 9 or so each day, and then I slowly arise for my morning oj, and head back into bed, to answer e-mails - the flurry that seems to amass from the night before. So by the time I actually get up and out, it's not until at least 11:30. This has become a ritual, and one I like very much.

And then the day begins, out on the street, into the world. Whether it's heading to a new design bookstore I read about, or shopping for inspiration for work, making my way through the metro and figuring out how to get from one point to another, it is all new and fresh, and vibrant, and alive.

Each day brings with it a new discovery - maybe that's what's so enticing about being here (besides the city's alluring beauty). To segue a moment, I was sitting on the Pont Neuf the other morning, overlooking the Seine, seeing the Eiffel tower boasting its' head above the rooftops in one direction, and the Ile de La Cite in the other, and I thought to myself, am I really so fortunate as to be able to just be here?

So, whether it's a new word I learn in the french language, (I can't thank you enough, Avis, for teaching me "doucement" - it has changed my life!) or meeting up with a new person, these are small but very satisfying moments, all meant to be appreciated.

The willingness to put myself out there every day, into the unknown and not only come out unscathed, but actually feel so much richer from the experiences, is the most satisfying of all.

Design at Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais

I was so looking forward to the design exhibition up at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais. All I can say is, if you haven't been yet, save your 10e. The show had so many gaping holes in it, it looked like the Grand Canyon - so very disappointing. It's as if the curators said to themselves, ok, let's make some categories, furniture that has figurative elements, furniture that has animal elements (you get the idea), and now, let's go find some furniture to fit in these categories. A design show without Noguchi, Hoffman, Mackintosh (if there was Eames I can't recall), Jacobsen, Breuer - ugh - the list goes on and on. How can you have a design show, and NOT include some of the most influential designers? How can you include Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry, but overlook Mies van der Rohe or Corbusier? An exhibition at its worst.