studies in blue

Back in Paris with a side trip to Tuscany. One photo of me in a "hybrid" outfit that consists of a skirt from Revolution (White River Junction, VT, USA), an Eileen Fisher tunic from the Pink Alligator (Hanover, NH), and a jean jacket by Inès de la Fressange for Uniclo from a consignment shop in Croissy, France, outside of Paris.

What endures? Aside from Italian architecture, a lot of which dates back to the Middle Ages and looks amazing in the Twenty-First Century thanks to a culture that values its history and visual beauty, I would say that this trip reminded me of the enduring strength of friendship.

                                                       Renaissance building in Lucca

Back in Paris after a week in Tuscany, I met a friend for lunch at "Le Petit Cambodge" in the 10th, in Paris, a small restaurant that happened to be the target of a horrible shooting two years ago, before the terrorists headed down to the Bataclan for more horror. At first I thought, why are we meeting for lunch at a place that has such a morbid history / But the fact is that Parisians eat and drink and socialize on terraces when the weather allows it. The outside sidewalk spaces are filled with people chatting away into the night. Le Petit Cambodge is a popular neighborhood place, filled with people of mixed ethnicity, mostly young. While waiting for my friend to arrive, I couldn't help but listen in on the conversation at the table next to mine, where they were discussing philosophy. Just when I thought nobody was doing that in cafes anymore...What can humans control? What can humans not control? (the body is the first answer that popped into my mind, but the man talking began with time...a male/female divide?) 

Things that endure: cafes where people gather over a meal and a drink, and talk, laugh, share the ups and downs of life, take a break from the daily drudge, watch the world go by. 

Beyond the fringe

Back in France for a few weeks, I stumble upon this suede jacket in a consignment store outside of the Paris, in the city of Rueil-Malmaison. Rueil, as the locals call it, is located in the western suburbs, and one of its claims to fame is Empress Josephine's palace. It's a sweet little place, worth a visit, and so is the entire region, reachable by RER A, if you want to take a break from the intensity of Paris. 

Back to the jacket. Before leaving for France, I had just watched a documentary about a rock photographer by the name of Jini Dellaccio whose most famous photograph might be the one she took of Neil Young wearing... a fringe jacket. 

I did not purchase the jacket, but it was tempting to do a reenactment of that photograph!

A few days later, my friends drove me to the north coast where we walked on the beach stones between rows of changing cabins. 

Talking about places that endure, Mers-les-bains is a small coastal town with colorful Victorian era houses facing the sea, and little white changing cabins that each have funny names. Neighboring Le Tréport could be the set of a Dardennes film, with its dirty 1950s era apartment buildings facing the sea, its smokestacks in the distance and its broken down pier. But the little fish restaurants serve the fresh catch of the day for a very reasonable price, and the funicular takes you up to cliffs with breathtaking views.