Parc des Buttes Chaumont

My favorite park in Paris, and it's in the 10th! On sunny weekends, this place is full of life.

Segway

Finally. Finally Finally.
After the Gonzales show (he entered the stage on one), a segway was all alone, charging backstage. Adrian had his moment. Simone and I fell on the floor from overwhelming laughter.

Blooming

Been having an extraordinary week. Ducking into basement-cave jazz clubs, picnicking at the Butte Chaumont park, walking and talking and all the rest. Went to see Feist's friend, Gonzales, the other night. I had no idea. What an amazing entertainer he is... the show was fantastic. The night ended with Gonzo hosting a large 1am dinner at Brasserie Wepler...Adrian ate snails for the first time. Yes!

Settling into Paris

Been here for over a week now and feel at home. Been walking the streets like mad, every day, looking for my new favorites. Found a few. There is a large covered market nearby, Marche St. Quentin, and another, Marche St. Martin. These farmer's markets are open 6 days a week and have stands selling fresh produce, artisanal cheeses, pates, rillettes, butchers, seafood sellers (including tanks with crates of oysters), bakers, and the odd tailor and shoe repair. The flat is near the canal St. Martin, which is the perfect spot for strolling and breathing while taking it all in.

The other night we got lost on purpose and discovered a tiny bar called "cinquante" (50). Its on 50 rue du Lancry and has a special something. We went into what we thought was the tiniest bar, to discover that it actually opened up in the back to be a long narrow bar that feels like you are in your long lost french Grandfather's livingroom. Lots of old postcards and family photos jumbling up the walls and an old piano (with candle holders on hinges) with little odds and ends scattered about. The owner, Patrick, looks like an old sailor and welcomed us to the neighborhood. Nice.

One of the new pals through the Casa Rincon in Mexico swirl, Ed, lives here. He took us to a party the other night where wonderful photographer, Mark Borthwick, cooked risotto Milanese for everyone and sang songs along with Ami Sioux. It felt like a french version of one of our parties...an interesting slice of CA vibes in Paris.

The photo at the top was taken yesterday from the balcony of the flat. Those windows make great movies. The ceilings in Paris have beautiful detailing. Ours has things like oak leaves and cornucopias of fruit.

There are also bums in Paris sleeping on benches that look like little smurfs.

Rubies in Bergen

Bergen Photos

Scandiland

Had a lovely last few days in Bergen with el joker Erlend and his mom, Kjersti, Øystein, Eirik, Frei and Ina. The crew! Visited a ceramicist outside of Bergen where little goats and large Norwegian horses hang out. Some beautiful hand made ceramics were obtained by all. Had a glorious dinner at Eirik/Ina's and made homemade egg pasta ravioli with a filling made with carrots, shallots, red peppers, nutmeg, herbs and parm-regg. After which we made a salad with lacey greens and a blueberry vinaigrette with fresh blueberries and toasted nuts. They were so delighted to be eating some Cali creations and it was nice for me to have a solid night of cooking with friends while on the road.

Davide took us iceskating. It felt crazy to feel the 10 year old self come back, since it's been since back then since I've tried it. Wobbly ankles turned into skating feet after 10 laps or so. It was awesome.

We had a nice transition to Sweden when Andreas took us to his parents house in the country (just outside Stockholm) after having some insane swedish meatballs for dinner in the city at Pelikan. oh dang. We hung out late with his parents having cocktails followed by an intense Sauna experience.

Speaking of which, I just came out of the sauna with Simone and Terri. Did some hydrotherapy by dunking in the cold pool several times. yes!!! We are here in Linkoping (we were in Gothenburg last night) and will head to the venue shortly. Tonight will be fun as Andreas is joining in with Karl-Jonas's band, Blood Music. The big Swede gang in full effect tonight.