MARGO'S GUIDE TO PARIS (PART VIII)

Just in time for Paris fashion week I whipped up a list for my friend Gareth and my other favourite creatures heading there this weekend. Read on, mes amis...

EXCITING THINGS TO DO

Honour the spirit of Serge Gainsbourg, Robert Desnos, and Sartre at the Cimetière de Montparnasse.

Check out the large format French paintings section in the Louvre (room 77?)

Go to the Centre Pompidou. If you get there before nightfall go to the top of the escalator and check out the view- you can see the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, and the skyline in between. If you get there after 7 pm (it’s open late on the weekend) there will be smaller queues. Right now there’s a great Dali exhibition on.

Buy ‘Pariscope’ at the newsstand to see what’s on. (It’s similar to ‘Time Out.’) There are so many fantastic museums in Paris. There are also lots of queues so make sure you’ve eaten first and you’re bundled up or you won’t be in the mood for culture by the time you get in.

Wander through the morning flea markets in outer Paris.

Walk by the Seine and think about life.

Pick out cheese at markets like Le Marché des Enfants Rouges.

Buy a 60s dress at Mamz'Elle Swing at 35 Rue du Roi de Sicile. Last Saturday I found a beautiful white crochet Jane Birkin number for 50 euros.

Visit Sacre-Coeur and pretend you’re in Amelie.

Watch endless amount of films (look for v.o.  version originale to see stuff in english or original language) Paris is the best city in the world for cinema and revival houses.

Explore St Germaine, Le Marais, Rue des Martyrs, Les Abesses, and Belleville.

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WHERE TO NIBBLE

Lunch

Candelaria, 52 Rue de Saintonge, metro: filles de calvaire. Affordable, fantastic proper Mexican food. Try the cactus or verdes tacos. Cool décor- check out the loo. The soundtrack adds to the ambience: Television and Patti Smith were on last time I was there. Also, the neighbourhood is good for a stroll. There are some cool galleries nearby.

Le Loir dans la Théière – Métro Saint Paul , 3, rue des rosiers, in the marais neighbourhood. Low-key fantastic affordable bistro, no laptops or talking on your mobile allowed. Nice vibe. Try the courgette omelette and the camembert epinard tart, and the famous lemon meringue pie. Best pie in France. The queue outside is totally worth it.

L'Eclair de Génie, Métro Saint Paul, 14 Rue Pavée. Actually this is for after lunch. It’s around the corner from Le Loir dans la Théière. Even if you went there for lunch-and you should- and you had the famous tarte au citron, pick up one of these mindblowing eclairs. They are worth the 5 euros and the wait. Seriously.

Dinner (make a reservation first)

For a romantic but slightly expensive and super delicious dinner:

Hotel Amour, 8 rue de nevarin, metro: St George or Pigalle, 75009 (Try the memorable  lemon soup, the roast goat cheese salad, and the ravioli  is amazing!)

Le Derrière, 75003 (Explore the whole place and go inside the secret armoire upstairs and lean back- see what happens. The experience will be more exciting if you don't read anything about this place beforehand.)

Nightclubs:

Le Silencio- This is David Lynch’s club. It can be hard to get into so wear something original and pretend you're friends with a band David likes. I was hoping it would be like the bordello in Twin Peaks but it's more of a fancy disco with a cinema inside. Random crowd, cool décor,  drinks are 18 euros.  Le Social Club, 75001, right by Silencio. Electro, techno, not pretentious. Le Baron- hit or miss. Actually forget nightclubs- why don’t you just get drunk and shag in an alley?          You’re in Paris.

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Merci  Zoe et Thomas, my favourite Parisians.


p.s. here’s  another little guide to Paris...

MY FIRST TIME IN CANNES: The Evening Hours

Le Genou de Claire, Eric Rohmer, 1970

Recently I travelled to Cannes, thanks to some wonderful people I work for. We lived in an airy villa near the beach that week. An enchanting photographer named Robyn stayed with us; she spruced the space with white peonies and plates of sliced honeydew melon. The sun, the boardwalks, the palms against the summer sky, the old town with narrow streets leading up to a museum that houses ancient swords edged with pointed animal teeth…it was magical.

One evening a band from London played at our party.  Afterwards my friend Tara and I had a drink (or seven) with them in the Carlton Hotel. Someone kind treated everybody to massive bottles of pink champagne. We told dad jokes and talked about music and then Tara invited everybody back to the yacht she was staying on. We crammed into a car and sped towards the port and tumbled out onto the dock and crept onto the yacht.

“Let’s go swimming!” Three of us headed to the water, and stripped off our clothes. The sun was rising now and the sea enveloped us. We swam out to the rocks and climbed around, slipping and laughing and bruising our shins. “I swear my cock is usually bigger than this. It’s just because it’s cold,” the keyboard player joked. I waved towards the shore, “Come on in!”  The rest waded in and splashed around. Upon returning to the boat an old man hosed us down. It wasn’t clear if it was his yacht or if he was an important person I vaguely worked for.  Who could contemplate such matters on a cloudless morning in France? We drank red wine in our underwear and talked about John Waters’ films. The side of my face stung a bit.  I took another sip of wine. It was already warm out.

A few minutes later it transpired that my friend and the bassist had been stung by jellyfish.  The handsome fellow turned to show us his welted, scarlet bum. “Anyone want to piss on me?”

“I don’t think your missus would like that,” Tara answered, wrapped up in a big towel. The old man appeared, brandishing vinegar and talc to treat the sting.  “Thank you so much, if you ever want to come to one of our gigs, I’ll make sure you’re on the list…” The old man drove us back to our respective dwellings. It was touching how gentlemanly the band was, staying arm’s length from the girls, since they had sweethearts at home.

One afternoon I saw Debbie Harry, one of my heroes, give an interview. She is still the epitome of New York cool, with the grace of Marlene Dietrich. She moved with such finesse. It was thrilling to have her just a few feet away. She even stood up in her Dolce + Gabbana pencil dress and sang “Heart of Glass” a cappella.

Another evening, a friend and I walked into a dark afterparty filled with Canadians. Right away a man came up to me and started chatting. I was pretty blotto so I began arguing with him about what he was wearing.

“What? Girls don’t like this?” he asked, gesturing towards his Quantum Leap blazer and loose trousers.

“Depends what kind of girl you’re looking for.”

“Wait a second…” he unbuttoned the blazer and pulled off the shirt underneath and then unzipped his trousers and stepped out of them – to reveal a completely different outfit underneath. What an impressive move.

“That’s better,” I laughed, and we transferred to the sofa, clutching whisky cokes, and talked for an hour.

Later in the week, after a cocktail party followed by a dreamy Swedish pool party then a stop at the Gutter Bar, some of us meandered home in the moonlight. As we passed a gazebo I scampered over the rail and beckoned everyone to join me. It was perfect weather for dancing around to the songs on my tinny cellphone. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZKNl3nxN9Y&feature=related) 

After some moves and relaxing in a mint green Mini Moke, we disbanded. Emily and I traipsed home. When we got back to the villa we realized we didn’t have keys to the main house, where she was staying. 

Since I’m quite flexible and fond of scaling things, I whipped off my floor-length 70s dress and started the ascent in my underwear.  As I stood with one foot balancing on a pile of table and chairs, I reached up and grasped the balcony, semi-dangling, wishing I did push-ups occasionally and hoping my boss, who was sleeping near my attempted break-in, wouldn’t wake to this fracas. I was so close! Alas, at this early hour, it wasn’t possible. I dropped down to the courtyard, put the furniture back, and told Emily she could sleep in my bed.

Two afternoons of winning (three) awards was very exciting and motivating.

The last night was the most decadent, but it’s late, so the story shall end here for now.

Swing by Copenhagen on your way home.

Tivoli Park in the 1890s. It still looks like this.

Last fall I went to Copenhagen to visit my friend Anders. The metropolis is dotted with whimsical details like fountains based on characters from Hans Christen Andersen stories. As a city, it’s very clean, safe, bicycle-friendly, and laid-back.

We rode on a rickety old roller coaster in the Tivoli gardens, admired paintings in the Danish National Gallery, went dancing, and ate some vegan cake at a friendly squat party.

Here are a few ideas for your next trip to Copenhagen:

NIGHTLIFE

The Modbyen (Meatpacking district) is really fun for going out. On Friday night we went to Mesteren & Larlingen, and a little place called Jolene, where they were playing 50s and 60s music. On Saturday night Bakken is pretty lively and crowded with a house party vibe. They played a fun random mix of music to drink to, everything from the Rolling Stones to 90s dance to 2Pac.

For late night snacking, try the delicious pizza from La Foretta on Istegade Street.

I heard the best time to visit Copenhagen is during Distortion Fest in June.

SHOPS

Illums Bolighus is an expensive design emporium filled with gigantic sky blue wooden pepper mills and tangerine velvet sofas that cost $10,000. If you’re on a budget, pick up some beautiful glasses instead. It’s a great place to buy presents for a modernist.

Pede & Stuffer is a cool (but pricey) clothing boutique with carefully edited menswear and womenswear sections. They sell Acne angora sweaters, Isabel Marant dresses, Opening Ceremony pieces and Calvin Klein underwear. Klosterstræde 15, 1157.

Most shops seem to be closed on Sundays, and those that are open close around 4 pm.

FOOD

If you’re a vegetarian you should visit Morgen Stedet in the commune Christiana.

There are numerous delicious places to get pastries. Anders took me to Andersen in the city center, which is run by Japanese owners. There is a mix of tasty treats, green tea sweet buns, and classic pastries. I recommend the cinnamon bun. Østerbrogade 103 , 2,100 Copenhagen

Copenhagen is also famous for delicious fish.

ART

If you want to go to the pictures check out the independent cinema Gloria Biograf. Or if you’re in the mood for new art, visit Andersen’s Contemporary. More galleries can be found here.

If you venture out of Copenhagen to Aarhus this summer, there's a great exhibition on performance art featuring Marina Ambramovic's SSS and Lene Adler Petersen's The Female Christ, which captured the day she disrupted the Copenhagen Stock Exchange by walking in naked, as a feminist and political statement.

Performing Women is at The Aarhus Art Building from June 23-September 16, 2012.

Bjørn Nørgaard and Lene Adler Petersen, The Female Christ. 1970.

Thank you Anders and Anna for a fantastic time.

mind scrape

Gerhard Richter, Bach (1) 1992, Oil on canvas

Gerhard Richter, 1990, Oil on canvas, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh

“Abstract painting illustrates nothing…allows ourselves to see the unseeable that has never been seen and indeed is not visible. This is not an artful game, it is a necessity: since everything unknown frightens us and fills us with hope at the same time, we take these images as a possible explanation of the unexplicable or at least a way of dealing with it. Thus paintings are all the better, the more beautiful, intelligent, crazy and extreme, the more clearly perceptible and the less they are decipherable metaphors for this incomprehensible reality.”

-Gerhard Richter, 1979.

Gerhard Richter, 1991, Oil on canvas

The retrospective exhibition Gerhard Richter: Panorama is on through May 13th 2012, at the Neue Nationalgalerie
in Berlin.

More Richter exhibitions will take place in Beirut and Paris soon:

http://www.gerhard-richter.com/exhibitions/

http://www.gerhardrichterinberlin.org/index.php?id=1130&L=1

Gerhard Richter, 1987, Oil on canvas