I was going to a dinner party on rue Delambre in the Montparnasse Quarter. One of the sidewalks was blocked because they were filming something in front of Le Smoke, the café/restaurant/poetry-music-literary cabaret whose name [...]

I tested Le Cotte Roti with Fabien Nègre yesterday. Fabien and I met a few weeks ago at a press conference for an upcoming spirits (liquor) trade show. I had had a prior appointment so arrived just [...]

Lunch with I. at Sapido, an Italian restaurant between Palais Royal and the Opera Quarter. Came across it yesterday when looking for something new in the area. A small, refined yet accessible restaurant with non-descript [...]

Drinks with L. at Harry’s Bar yesterday. Hadn’t been there in six years, with L. that time too. You got to hand it to Harry’s, it never changes. It’s a Paris slice of Pax Americana, [...]

I’ve always confused Van Dyck with Titian and Velasquez and El Greco. Good thing the wow! of the Van Dyck exhibit isn’t understanding the artist’s place in art history or even being able to distinguish [...]

I helped an acquaintance move, someone from the neighborhood who I know well enough to respond affirmatively to his call for help him move some boxes and furniture.   He lives on the fifth floor [...]

Just got back to Paris from Berlin where I was dumbfounded to find that BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, German radio, and the American papers (online) could speak of nothing but the weather! Weather talk continues [...]

“And the girl I was with was really brave. She didn’t cry the whole time. I know she got shot in the back, and I was looking at her in the eyes most of the [...]