Beauty

Was meeting a friend for dinner, so I took the metro over to my exit, and as soon as I got up the stairs to the street, I was confronted by the beautiful Opera building, lit up at night. Never wonder why I love living in Paris.

Finding Something Beautiful in the News

Whether reading an American or French newspaper, the information in both is pretty much all the same, glum commentaries on our world.

Headlines today: Sarkozy welcoming Qaddafi to Paris - did I read that right? Did Sarkozy forget that Quaddafi was a state terrorist? And then the CIA, destroying the tapes of their terrorism interrogations - gee, that comes as a surprise.

But there was joy to be had. In the article about the CIA's destruction of the tapes, the writer referred to The White House, and I had never thought about it before, but in French it is called La Maison Blanche.

Ok, at least something in the news sounds beautiful...

Palais de Tokyo

A windy, wet, overcast, but fantastic day in Paris. Nice to have a cold, wintry day, only thing missing was a fireplace.

So I hopped on the metro, and 15 minutes later I was up in the 16th arrondissement to take in the show at the Palais de Tokyo. Perfect on a rainy day. I had never been to this museum before, which opened in 2002, and caters to the contemporary art scene. "The Third Mind", the name of the exhibition, wasn't for me a great show, as it lacked a certain cohesion, but a few breathtaking pieces, the Andrew Lord sculptures, The Gober sinks, the Bontecou wall pieces made it all worthwhile. Palais de Tokyo also houses a really nice little bookstore, and Tokyo Eat, a sweet little gem of a restaurant.

Days and nights are flying by, decaf cremes and foie gras, mojitos and quiddler, museum exhibitions and movies, and soon my daughter will be here. can't wait. only 5 weeks left in Paris. Where did the time go?

Weekly Update

As we get older, we settle into our lives, with our coterie of friends and family, places we like to shop at, coffees, dinners - and that's what you hope happens in life - getting to a place of comfort. Even, as much as our spouses can drive us crazy, there is something soothing in the knowledge of our longstanding relationships, as well.

For me it was just time. I left my marriage of 20 years. All I can say is until you've been there, you really can't understand the complexity and soul searching and life altering year that follows divorce, particularly after such a long marriage.

But I landed on my feet, and decided to follow through with some things I've always wanted to do. Who knew, not even me, that within 2 years I would land in Paris, and not only land, but feel so gratified.

I've met a cast of characters, made so many new lifelong friends; and strange to think I would have known none of them had I not taken risks. They have changed my life, in extraordinary ways, for which I am grateful. And without them, Paris would not be the same.

This week was pretty crazy - lunch with Julie (we had the best cheeseburgers in town at Ferdi's!), lunch with Avis in Les Halles, shopping with Vincent, dinner at Katrin's, coffee with Deborah, strolling Ile St Louis; a vernissage and then dinner with friends, late night chats at an atelier, ducking into the movies - really nice times.

and yes, for those that know me well, a stop each week at the hair salon.