Forever Paris

 Heading off to places no one much goes to in Paris can be a trip.

 The Butte aux Cailles in the 13th arrondissement is one of those places. More a hidden village than a touristic haunt, it's a step back in  time like Woody's Midnight In Paris.

 The buildings are small. The architecture idiosyncratic. The cobblestone streets narrow and quirky.

 Paris doesn't get more villagey than this. I'm a fan of the 13th's big chlorine-free pool.

 Otherwise I might have missed this adventure to the hinterlands.

 After a swim nothing is bettter than a light lunch at L'Oisive The 5 minutes away.

 The food is delicious.

 Ex-pat owner Aimee (lurking behind her home-made cakes) started this cafe on her own and it's a delight.

 Walls of yellow tea canisters are the perfect decor.

 A wall full of colorful yarns is for the kniters who frequent L'Oisive The.

 While parents knit and chat, les enfants play quietly on the floor and crayon. The atmosphere could not be more homey and friendly.

 Parisian Ines de la Fressange has chosen the Butte aux Cailles to stroll around this month, offering much insider info on charming shops I missed. Take a look and consider.

 I just down-loaded this little book, Forever Paris:25 Walks in the Footsteps of Chanel, Hemingway, Picasso and More.

 The 'more' includes:

Edith Piaf, Charles de Gaulle, Josephine Baker, Auguste Rodin, Cartier-Bresson, George Sand, Napoleon, Balzac, Simone de Beauvoir, Victor Hugo, Marie Antoinette (with spin out at Versailles), YSL, Henry Miller and Audrey Hepburn(she loved Angelina).

 And our fabulous Julia Child (rue Cler was her shopping street)!

Could you ask for anything more?
It's a mostly black and white book so perfect for your Kindle to have handy as you promenade around Paree.

Get out and walk this weekend.
Pourquoi pas?

Bon Weekend!

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Les Maitres du Desordre

 By chance I popped into the musee Branly and they were playing my song...

 Les Maitres du Desordre is on till 29 July.

 If you're messy DON'T MISS IT!

It will validate you in ways you never imagined.

 I felt instantly at home.

Basquiat I LOVE U!

 Regarde:

There are artists messier than I am.

Who knew?

 Voila!

 The exhibit of course is very orderly.

It's French.

 Amazing to see mess displayed this way.

 Sometimes messiness entraps you and doesn't feel so creative.

Have you ever wasted oodles of time looking for vital papers that were right in front of you?

 I've shown my messy studio many times.

 Somehow it doesn't look so bad..?

 Though nothing like YSL's perfect order.

 I loved the explanations for disorder in the exhibit.

'Order does not exist without ambivalence. All order including the divine order, is fundamentally flawed'.

Hmmm...

 Sometimes there can be happy disorder!

 I was quite orderly for my dinner party last week - a miracle really...

The French are very orderly (like French Girl). Is that why I'm so attracted to them?

I'm having two very disorderly days.

I catch AirFrance 'home' today, but it doesn't feel so much like home anymore.

Paris has become so comfortable. 

Been bawling for 2 days straight without knowing why :(

Off to take an orderly swim. Then come back and make order of my disorder before takeoff.

Wish me luck!

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YSL Studio Visit

 If you get the chance do visit YSL's studio in Paris. It's a 'private' tour(1 hr 13,50 €/pers) so you must reserve ahead with Cultival.fr and it's offered only a few times per month.

 We met outside at 4pm the Pierre Berge Fondation
5 avenue Marceau 75016

 Checking in at reception. There were about 20 of us. The guide mostly spoke French but gave 3 of us a mini synopses of what was what.

 First stop YSL's lush salon where private buyers came to look and try on the latest couture.

 The walls are covered with wash drawings by witty artist Christian Berard, a friend of YSL

 Then up to the designer's working studio. Here YSL sketching on the floor with his French bulldog, Moujik ever by his side.

 It's quite a thrill to stand in this reknown designer's studio believe me. The wall behind us was floor-to-ceiling windows letting in gorgeous light.

 A stolen closeup of a beaded jacket. Of course no photos are allowed during the visit. Do not mention my name if you go. Doodly-doodly-do

 Our guide shows us sample muslins - the first step in the design process. When I attended Parsons School of Design my muslins were OUTSTANDING. (Outstandingly horrid - badly-pressed with breakfast stains on  them).

 Natch I was attracted to Yves Saint-Laurent's immaculate drafting table. Oh my...

 LOOK!

Yves used blue Staedtler Mars drawing pencils like I do!

I asked the guide what number lead pencil YSL used and quick as wink she told me,

'Number 2 pencil'

I use a number 6B, but I still feel almost joined at the hip with cher YSL.

 We then descended to the bibliotheque where 5,000+ of YSL's design sketches are preserved in an orderly fashion, year by year, collection by collection.

 While the rest of the group went off to the see the current Japanese Kimono exhibit, I high tailed it to the little gift shop loaded with fun, pas cher goodies (none of them wearable malheureusment)

 I bought the Warhol print of Mujik and the latest cahier de coloriage/YSL coloring book (see first picture above).

 His sketches so the collection, YSL Style with swatches included on the sketch pages always inspire me.

 You won't find Alice Drake's The Beautiful Fall at the YSL gift shop. And no wonder. It's loaded with all the naughtiness/betises YSL, Karl and the gang in the wild '60's indulged in. No detail is left out, still I love Drake's writing. She makes you feel you're there at the table downing a coup with Yves and the rest of them.

 Here's a snipet about Yves childhood in Algiers- totally enthralling.

 The high point of my visit/trip was when the current 'Moujik' came bouncing out the front door. The guards kindly called him back to pose for a picture and a bit of petting. I think I'm in love.

Moujik je t'aime.

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