2023

Posted

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Paris tips: visiting

Posted
Image
  Note : this post and the April 28 one, about eating out, were written for American friends visiting Paris, one of them for the first time, who wanted a few tips from a local. They were staying in a hotel just off République... ***** I guess you'll have your own guide book to help you plan your visit. But whichever one (or more) it is, I thought you might find the Michelin Green Guide 's tourist map of Paris (below) helpful, as it makes it easy to locate the main sights. I think you'll find if you click on the map, it will blow up to a more legible size. The inset box at top left explains Michelin's ratings system, similar to its approach to restaurant ratings. With a decent guide book, you won't need much help from me, but I just wanted to add one or two items that visitors might miss, plus an idea for a north-south walk (or south-north, as you wish) that makes a change from the usual main east-west (or west-east!) drag. Also, finally, one neglected but unique mus...
Read more

Paris tips: eating out

Posted
Image
Note : this post and the April 30 one, about things to see, were written for American friends visiting Paris, one of them for the first time, who wanted a few tips from a local. They were staying in a hotel just off République... ***** THREE STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS These are the three places I'd most strongly recommend during your visit, as I think they offer a nice variety of quality Parisian eating experiences. 1. Dinner at Le Train Bleu When the underlying idea was to recommend places off the tourist track, it might seem odd to start with Le Train Bleu, at the Gare de Lyon. But this is surely one of the most extraordinary restaurant spaces in the world. You can only experience it in Paris, of course, and I usually take any first-time visitor there for dinner. It's Lyon-influenced brasserie food at more-than-brasserie prices, but they have simple set-price menus at 55 and 74 euros, and anyway, as usual, the final bill depends above all on what you drink. It's worth it (and...
Read more

Growths of the Earth: Louis Fratino at Ciaccia Levi, Paris

Posted
Image
The first time I saw any work by Louis Fratino was nearly four years ago, when Antoine Lévi was showing some at Paris Internationale, the 'emerging art fair' that usually takes place at the same time as the 'posher' FIAC. I've often regretted I didn't buy the little Man on a Swing that caught my eye at the time. The one that got away: Man on a Swing Since then, I've visited Antoine Lévi's other exhibitions of Fratino's work, and bought a couple of pastel drawings. His pastels, paintings, drawings and even ceramics often visibly feature scenes from gay life, including explicitly sexual ones, but they are generally quiet and domestic in tone, a restful change from aggressive, hectoring, 'Spartist' contemporary art. You never get the feeling you're being beaten into submission with insistent identity politics. Today I went to see Growths of the Earth , Fratino's latest solo show at what's now Ciaccia Levi Paris. It was interesting t...
Read more