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.