Detroit, my hometown! With my sister, and friends I’ve known since the cradle, we walked the streets trying out everything new about downtown Detroit. It is fabulous. We even saw 100 people doing yoga — in an alley — in downtown Detroit. We never stopped grinning.
A Few Things I’ll Miss (until we meet again)… Old & New Paris Friends — The Seine — Walking — Sounds of Cascading Fountains (big & small) — Street Scenes — Classic Cinema — Horns & Sirens — Night Lights — Diversity— Hidden Wonders — The Cornucopia of Creativity — Everywhere, reminders that no matter how crazy the world might seem, the earth still spins on its axis and life goes on!
Spain — I spent an afternoon just south of France’s border in Donostia (what the Basque locals call their town) a.k.a. San Sebastian, Spain. The beaches are more Mediterranean and the sand-art more personal, the tapas more eclectic, the commercial offerings more open-minded and the architecture more spirited — like flamenco. But I’m still partial to France.
Vacances in France –After a week of classes with some pretty impressive literary and creative speakers…and a final soirée, I decided to wind down by taking the train to Biarritz, France, near the border with Spain, in Basque country. There are hills, palm trees, ocean breezes and roaring waves. If you need a momentary break from Paris it might as well be here — just saying.
Paris Spring 2019…
Week 3—Flâneuring through the streets and covered passageways of Paris is a welcome break from writing. It’s still not high season for tourists, so sometimes you get places all to yourself. I try to catch twilight near the Seine as often as possible — it can be dazzling even on a dreary day. Peonies are still blooming. Got to spend special Paris time with best buds Amy (for a week), Cronan for a couple of days and Suzanne (for a few precious hours). And I know it looks like I walk around the city grinning, but that just happens when no locals are around to wiggle a finger of disapproval at such public displays of joy. Finally, speaking of joy — I wrote the last line of my first novel! Lots of editing to come. After that…who knows?
Birthday in Paris — To celebrate my birthday, I hosted a brunch for good friends from far and wide at the home of Phillippe and Dzianis who fixed a fabulous feast… and then smiled the night away as girlfriend —and soulful songstress — Joan Minor, rocked the house at Club Lou Pascalou.
Back where I belong in Le Marais. I’m getting my daily essentials — bread, butter, flowers, friends, walking, Paris-energy. The grand dame’s (Notre Dame) reconstructive surgery is in progress. I returned to my Sunday writers group and got a collective “She’s Back” that warmed my soul. After our literary stimulation, we repair to a classic pub for libations. During the week, I’m writing in a grand bibliothéque (library) in the Hotel de Ville. The internet is bad there so very few distractions from the task at hand. I’ve seen 5 movies and met the director of one. I’m recognized at my gym. It’s the season for peonies, my favorite flower, and I am here long enough to get a different color bouquet every week at my favorite neighborhood street market (Richard Lenoir on Thursdays) which is where I also get my weekly rations of salmon, veggies, cheese, olives and these great little caramel pastries from Breton. The guy who sells sea salt is a comedian. Life is good.
A familiar friend has been injured. She will recover.
Austin, Texas – Good music, great art museums, old friends, massive state capital building (with Davy Crockett to greet guests), fun bars and the moving LBJ Library (an amazing record of legislation that has stood the test of time.)
A Christmas trip to my 2nd favorite spot in North American, New York City, became necessary to fact check some writings. I had to make sure you could see the Empire State Building from 5th Avenue (you can), record details of decor in the Algonquin Hotel’s Blue Bar and determine an ideal spot to meet at Penn Station. In the midst of this “grueling” research I had wonderful meals with lots of good friends, checked out the holiday scene at Rockefeller Center, saw My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center (I was still humming the tunes a week later), saw a breathtaking Alvin Ailey show and was continually wowed by the “only-in-NYC” cityscapes. It’s amazing how much a walk through Central Park and two Nathan’s hot dogs can mitigate the cold.
To Paris and Beyond! 