I Prefer Paris

February 2023 Eye Need to Do’s: Serge Gainsbourg, Faith Ringgold, Mardi Gras in Paris & 1,001 Orchids

Serge Gainsbourg- Le Mot Exact

The original hipster, Serge Gainsbourg was the definition of 70s cool with his raspy, sexy, smokey voice crooning songs he wrote and performed. In addition, he was a novelist and was profoundly influenced by poetry and literature. This new exhibit contains over manuscripts written by Gainsbourg along with books from his personal library from his Paris home.

Until May 8, 2023

Centre Pompidou

https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/program/calendar/event/sERpg1R

Faith Ringgold- Black is Beautiful

I saw a show of Faith Ringgold’s work in New York last year and was blown away by her talent and artistry. Ringgold is a painter, sculptor, writer, and performer and one of the leading black, female artists recording and documenting the black experience of America. In her fist show in Paris, she relates with the Parisian art scene and Picasso, especially “Demoiselles d’Avignon” from the early 20^th century through her art works.

Until July 2, 2023

Musee Picasso

5 rue Thorigny, 75003

https://www.museepicassoparis.fr/en

Mardi Gras in Paris: La Promenade de Bœuf Gras

Paris brings in the Mardi Gras with La Promenade du Boeuf Gras (literally, March of the Fat Beef Cow), a traditional celebration led by a hefty French cow from Limousin, where some of the finest beef in France is produced, wearing a bright red dress. Her partner is Pat the Clown plus about 5,000 festively dressed participants singing and dancing.

February 19, 2023, 1pm-5pm

The parade starts at Place Gambetta & ends at Place de Republique

http://www.carnaval-paris.org

1,001 Orchids

In its tenth edition of the 1,001 Orchids show, over 700 varieties of exotic and rare orchids are on display. There’s also a pop-up orchid shop next to the exhibit.

February 8 to March 6, 2023

Grand Serres du Jardin des Plantes

47-57 rue Cuvier, 75005 or 2, 8, 18 rue Buffon, 75005

https://www.jardindesplantesdeparis.fr/fr/programme/galeries-jardins-zoo-bibliotheques/mille-orchidees-3683

Lost in Frenchlation is a terrific organization that screens current French and foreign films with English subtitles. Checkout this link https://www.facebook.com/lostinfrenchlation/ to view films being screened this month. 

I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful comments and condolences for my friend Cheryl Matzker, who passed away last week. CLICK HERE  to read if you missed the blog post. Unfortunately, the photo I posted of Cheryl didn't appear,  so here it is. 

My Friend Cheryl Matzker

One of the most rewarding benefits of my tours is the wonderful people I meet from all around the globe, and many of them have become good friends and who return to Paris frequently. 

In 2009, Cheryl Matzker, a retired French teacher from the St. Louis area, and bona fide Francophile, sent me an email requesting a tour. She shared that she was finally making a long-time dream come true: She always wanted to bring a group of her students to Paris, so she was coming with two former students and sisters, Barb and Karen, with whom she stayed in touch with for many years after she taught them. It became a family affair when Karen’s daughter and mother joined them. We did a Marais tour, and we had a blast! (CLICK HERE to read the blog post about the tour) I instantly connected with Cheryl and after our first meeting, she would return to Paris, her happy place, at least once a year for a few weeks and on certain occasions, twice in a year. Each time Cheryl came to Paris she would either book a tour, or we would make plans to do some fun activities around town such as new restaurants, food shops, and museum exhibits. Over the years we had become close friends and shared intimate details about our lives. 

I was very sad to learn that Cheryl passed away last week at a young 73-years old. Her last trip to Paris was just before Covid in February of 2019, and I am so sorry she never had the chance to return to her beloved city. 

 

What I loved most about Cheryl was how fun, upbeat, and adventurous she was. She was up for almost anything and sometimes I would invite her to some out-there activities including lunch at a restaurant specializing in porridge, and a pop up, immersive experience of Russian culture from the 1960s under Communism, where we ate boiled potatoes and boiled meat from tin trays. 

 

One of my fondest memories of Cheryl is when she invited me to tea at the Proust Tea Salon at The Ritz, when it reopened in 2017. We spent hours on a cozy banquette, indulging in a decadent procession of cakes and pastries, and Champagne. CLICK HERE to read my blog post. 

 

 

Cheryl spent a year in Grenoble, France as a student between 1969 and 1970, and spent a semester in Paris in 1972, studying at the Sorbonne and Cité Internationale Universitaire, quite a bold move for that time for a 22-year-old girl from Normal, Illinois. She went on to teach French at O’Fallon Township High School from 1973 to 2005.

I appreciated Cheryl’s support of Eye Prefer Paris over the years, always commenting on my blog posts, saying how she would put certain ones on her to-do list when she came here, purchasing my postcards and photos, and recommending my tours countless times to her friends, colleagues. and family. 

 

Cheryl had a special connection to Notre Dame and it would always be her first and last stop when she came to Paris.  

My dearest Cheryl, Paris will not be the same without you, and I will miss you terribly. Hopefully, there’s a Paris in heaven you can enjoy.

 

Please watch the special YouTube video Corey Frye/ A French Frye in Paris made as a tribute to Cheryl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsJfeJIgFCo

Cheryl, last on the right

Cheryl, bottom right, from our first Marais tour in 2009

 

Faurn Lebanese Pizza

I have never had Lebanese pizza before until last week. I read about a new restaurant on rue Saint Martin, near the Pompidou Museum and was intrigued by a new kind of pizza I had never heard of. I went with Vincent and our friend Lisa Anselmo, author of the best-selling memoir My (Part time) Paris Life, for lunch on a cold, blustery day with temperatures in the 30s Fahrenheit, perfect weather for comfort, and stick to the ribs food. 

There’s a high glass counter in front, stacked with rows of some of my favorite Lebanese delicacies including kibbe, falafel, lahme bajin, kefteh,and manouches (Lebanese flatbreads) and I was tempted to order a mezze platter of them, but didn’t want it to get in the way of my pizza. We each ordered the same thing, the Halloumi Zaatar pizza, and we settled in the dining room in the back while we waited. We had sides of baba ganoush and hummus for starters and they were both authentic and delicious, especially the hummus which was laced with sweet pomegranate seeds. We watched the bakers in the open kitchen rolling dough with rolling pins and behind them was a grill and pizza oven with a copper hood.  It took less than ten minutes for the pizza to served, and they were humongous. We agreed that we could have just ordered two and it would have been enough. At first, the taste was almost identical to Italian pizza, but once we each ate a few more slices, we could distinguish a different taste because of the intense and flavorful zaatar and the halloumi cheese, which had a different texture than mozzarella. It turns out the pizza was so good, we ate almost all of it, so the three pies didn’t go to waste. The crust was so crispy, I kept dipping it into the baba ganoush and hummus. 

 

Also, at the front counter were cake plates of mouth-watering Lebanese pastries but were too stuffed to indulge.  Our bill including a half-bottle of wine was a mere 39€, a super bargain considering the size of the portions and the quality of the food. 

 

Other menu items at Faurn include oven baked lemon chicken, kibbeh, and kefta, galettes with zaatar, labneh, and spicy lamb and chicken kefta, plus baked goods such as Lebanese cookies, babka, cheesecake, and carrot cake, made on the premises. 

 

Faurn

212 Rue Saint-Martin, 75003 

https://linktr.ee/faurn_boulangerie

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

https://eyepreferparistours.com/

Sangham–Art Installation by Subodh Gupta at Le Bon Marché

Le Bon Marché has an ongoing program that gives artists carte blanche to create special works to exhibit in the store and in their windows. The newest show is Sangham is by Indian artist Subodh Gupta, who collects vintage furniture, kitchen tools, objects, and dishes and turns them into sculptures and art pieces.

 Two striking centerpieces start on the main floor on mirrored pedestals, reaching up the four-story atrium, ending with a collage of gleaming stainless-steel pots.

On the second floor is The Proust Effect, a large circular sculpture, made of old pots, hanging from the ceiling, which you can step inside of.

The ten windows on rue de Sèvres exhibits a series of furniture and objects enclosed in ropes, which channels French culture and Gupta's penchant for using ordinary objects in his work.

Until February 19, 2024

Le Mon Marché

24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007

https://www.lvmh.com/news-documents/news/le-bon-marche-welcomes-sangam-the-confluence-of-art-and-domestic-objects-by-subodh-gupta/

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

https://eyepreferparistours.com/

Yayoi Kusama & Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton has invited for a second time, world renowned artist Yayoi Kusama to create a new collection. Kusama, who is 93 years old and lives in Japan, has received international acclaim and exposure in the last 15 years, now making her one of the most popular artists in the world. She is known for painting and creating infinity rooms with colored dots.

The limited-edition collection at Louis Vuitton includes handbags, wallets, purses, clothing, shoes, sneakers, and other accessories, covered with Kusama’s signature dots.

I visited the flagship Louis Vuitton boutique last week (the line was surprisingly short, I only waited 15 minutes) and the outside has a massive, life-like sculpture of Kusama perched on top of the building and metal dots covering the facade. Inside, I loved the dots covering the floor and the walls, and the salespeople wore specially designed white smocks with the dots. On the second floor is a fun video installation of Kusama along with models sporting the clothes and accessories. Gourds with dots, another Kusama signature, are also referenced in the collection.

Kusama has also delved into the other arts during her long career including film, poetry, novel and short story writing, performing, and videos. She lived in New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s and was an important figure in the Pop Art world. She also organized live happenings in the 1960s in Central Park and on the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the Vietnam War. In 1972 Kusama returned to Japan and currently still lives there.

https://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/stories/lvxyayoikusama