Keeping the Equilibrium

As Christopher, a Parisian nester, made his way to New York for Thanksgiving and to work with the New York office on the rockin' farylrobin holiday card, Laura, a New York nester, decided to come over to Paris. Life is full of checks and balances. Is it that they can't stand being even in the same country together or are they hiding a darker secret?

In any event, I got to spend a typical Parisian afternoon with Laura. Being a Paris virgin, I eased her in gently, being the gentleman that I am. We met up at Café Beaubourg (fr's salon de la ville in Paris) with Antoine (a hidden webster-nester) having a café creme, chocolat chaud and express (who had what? well how well do you know us?).

After our 'this conversation doesn't leave this table' session, we had a stroll through the Marais, checking out the new crop of mod home deco stores; Fleux (striking the right balance of chic and kitsch) and Muji (the no name Japanese brand store, I know its an oxymoron, but still worth checking out) being the highlights.

Then it was on to some culture, hitting the Haut Marais galleries; Yvon Lambert, Thaddaeus Ropac, Karsten Greve. Most impressive was Kendell Geers' show entitled "Kannibale", a series of splattered black ink stencils. No two (not sure if they even are serial editions) are exactly alike. Its sort of an updated Warhol silkscreen with added messages of consumption apropos to our times.

By this time our cafés have worn off its effect, so we headed to the Murano's Vodka Bar. This extensive vodka selection watering hole is found in the boutique hotel, where some rooms have their own private swimming pools, best used in summer however. We all went for les experiences a selection of vodka by theme served in test tubes. Ironically this time we all chose the 'Sexy 'n Spicy' experience, which included Hot Red Pepper, Ginger, and Badian Anise.

We topped the evening chez Antoine, ordering in sushi and popping a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. When in Paris...

The accompanying photo is of Laura and I, in front of Antoine's Xmas tree.

Bises, Victor

Addresses:
Café Beaubourg, corner of rue Merri and rue St Martin, 75004
Fleux, 39 rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie, 75004
Muji, 47 rue des Francs Bourgeois, 75003
Yvon Lambert, 108 rue Vielle du Temple, 75003
Taddaeus Ropac, 7, rue Debelleyme, 75003
Karsten Greve, 5, rue Debelleyme, 75003
Murano Urban Resort, 13, boulevard du Temple, 75003
chez Antoine, well you have to contact him on that one ;)