Place du Tertre
August 21, 2019Place 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, poets and chanteuses. It’s here, on this wild, squally hilltop, overlooking the city of Paris that Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh, Suzanne Valadon, Picasso, Toulouse Lautrec and Dali made their home. Once physically distinct from the capital, Montmartre was an insignificant village of vineyards, small holdings and windmills. Lacking the price tag of more salubrious neighbourhoods, Montmartre offered disrepute and accordingly cheap rent along…
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 may evoke opulent…
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 everything it falls…
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 out from underneath…
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, casting a shadow.…
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 sheet hangs over…
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 streets after the…
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 most rapidly expanding…
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 you. At all.…
Paris & A Heatwave that is “Too Much.”
Paris is hot. Très hot. The beginning of this week brought with it yet another heatwave and a red weather warning for, erm, heat. Living as I do, in the UK Lake District, a red weather alert means something entirely…
Breaking The Ice With Picard
This week I visited Picard, France’s favourite frozen food emporium. In all the years I’ve been visiting France, I’ve never set foot in one, single Picard store. There’s even one smack bang, opposite my apartment. So, I decided it was…
Bastille Day
Bastille Day. I hadn’t planned to celebrate it but a sudden fly by over the rooftops of Montmartre by Patrouille de France (PAF) on it’s training run for the big day, changed my mind. Maybe it was the colossal roar…
ZEN AND THE ART OF PARIS
PARIS, MINDFULNESS & LIFE IN MONMARTRE
