Zen and the Art of Quarantine
My lockdown is a million miles away from Rue Ordener. Zen and the art of quarantine has been passing by in a small, Cumbrian village. Whatever it is that usually anchors time has loosened it’s grip, fractured…
The Louvre & Nazi Looted Art
In an attempt to reunite Nazi looted works of art with their rightful owners, the Louvre has brought in art expert Emmanuelle Polack. It has taken her just 3 weeks to identify 10 MNR works.
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Paris Scams, Swindles & Cons
Could I really live in Paris?
Le Heat is on for Paris Café Terraces
Winter sun. Fronds of steam rising, wisp-like from your freshly served coffee. A brightly coloured blanket casually draped over your chair as you bask under the orange glow of an outdoor heater. It’s just so trés French.…
A Paris Bookshop Dream
If you thought you’d seen the beginning of the end for bookshops, Lucie Camara and Louise Binns are rewriting the story. Ross Gay said “A good little bookstore…is a laboratory for our coming together.” and that’s exactly…
Paris Opera on Strike
After over a year of Gilet Jaunes protests, the French National strike, now into its fourth week, welcomed direct action from an unlikely source. The Paris opera on strike.
An Early Christmas Gift
My plans for Paris this week have been well and truly scuppered. A December trip, planned with military precision to squeeze in time with clients and friends was upended at the last minute. My Eurostar was cancelled…
Aux Merveilleux!
Discovering Aux Merveileux on Old Brompton Road is like finding a portal into another world. Yes, it’s London. Yes, it’s rush hour, but stepping into Aux Merveilleux is like walking into a sweet, buttery, steamy, caffeinated corner…
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Learning French (again)
The Wallace Fountains of Paris
153 Rue Ordener, Montmartre
Yvette Lundy & The Possum Escape Line
This week, Yvette Lundy, heroine of the french resistance passed away aged 103. Yvette grew up in Oger, a champagne region near Reims. Born into an ordinary farming family, the youngest of seven, Yvette spent her childhood…
Paris Street Art
Montmartre is full of artists, but you’re probably not looking on the side of buildings for them. They may not have the pull of the Louvre or the romanticism of Place du Tertre, but there are magnificent…
Mushroom Farming in Paris
Yes, mushroom farming in Paris is really a thing. High rise housing, abandoned 1970s underground car parks and bio farming may seem unlikely companions, but La Caverne urban mushroom farm is a phenomenon defying all expectations.
A Gare Du Nord Facelift
A Gare du Nord facelift is already underway but this week saw the CNC Commission approve additional plans to extend Europe’s busiest station. Overturning a previous decision rejecting expansion, the ruling has got Parisians hot under the…
The French Cafe: Endangered Species?
Le cafe is in trouble. This week saw French president Emmanuel Macron stepping in with €150 million to rescue French cafe culture. La Parisien estimates that the number of cafes and bars in France has declined rapidly…
France & Femicide
France recorded its 100th case of femicide this year at the beginning of the month. With one of the highest rates of female murders perpetrated by partners, ex partners or male family members in Europe, it’s estimated…
Happy Birthday Les Halles (& me)
This week I’m sharing a birthday with Les Halles. Albeit from a distance. I’m back in the UK for work. My first few eventful days home have been punctuated by plans to suspend parliament for a month.…
The Wallace Fountains of Paris
Iconic emerald green, cast iron Wallace fountains are peppered around Parisian streets and parks. Designed and financed by an Englishman, a Francophile at that, these Neo Renaissance style fountains wear the name of Sir Richard Wallace. Way…
Early Morning Market on Rue Ordener
Stalls are setting up to a symphony of clanking, banging, rustling and the turning of trolley wheels. The twice weekly fermentation of noise and frenzied motion signals one thing, market day on Rue Ordener. Setting up for…
Place du Tertre
Place du Tertre. This small, unassuming square, is the aorta of historic Montmartre village. A tangle of narrow, winding, cobbled arteries, lead towards it’s centre. For decades the Place du Tertre has been synonymous with artists, writers,…
La Belle Epoque & Anarchy
Two doors down from my apartment is the site of the world’s first recorded grand theft auto bank robbery at the Société Générale (and I wonder why people are afraid to go north of the Sacre Coeur). 1911…
Paris Scams, Swindles & Cons
Ah Paris. The wide, leafy boulevards. The street cafes illuminating the pavements late into the night. The couture (not really my thing, but I hear it’s très popular with some). The magic of that rose light, washing…
The Bench
Floor to ceiling, my balcony windows frame the perfect view of a small, shaded corner of Serpollet Square. The Sacre Coeur flanks the park to the left, an assorted pile of higgledy piggledy flats and houses tumble…
Street Homeless in Paris
Bare cracked feet protrude from a pair of frayed, too short trousers. Ankles and calves exposed, a man stretches out, asleep on the hard, warm concrete. An ornate, elegant Guimard art nouveau Metro sign towers above him,…
Justice for Steve
A crimson lake pools around he Fountain de la Plece Royale in Nantes, reflecting the summer sunshine. Pale marble sculptures with black armbands, newly attached, stand knee deep in a sea of vivid red dye. A white…
Montmartre Kitchen Sink
It’s a rainy morning in Paris. Warm, fragile droplets of rain softly tap onto the pavement creating a soothing scent of asphalt, summer and freshly baked baguettes. The drizzle, is feeble, dampening the dust of the city…
The E-Scooter Has Arrived
Paris has recently been invaded. By e-scooters, or “trottinettes” as they are referred to by Parisians and not everyone is happy about it. Le e-scooter Start Up est arrivé Pioneered in San Francisco, micro mobility is the…
Could I really live in Paris?
Ah. The joys of being self employed. You’re the boss. You’re independent. You get to choose when you work. If the office politics stink? Well you only have yourself to blame. The downside? Sometimes people don’t pay…
