Monet’s ‘La rue Montorgueil à Paris’, is a painting depicting a jubilant celebration during the French festival of 30th June 1878.
The painting doesn’t only confirm the historic significance of this market street; it also manages to capture, to some degree, the spirit of this vibrant and colourful street.
Rue Montorgueil is a pedestrian market street, home to some famous restaurants, cafés, bars, bakeries and other excellent food markets.
Stohrer has been making fine pastries at their 51 Rue Montorgueil location for nearly 300 years.
And of course, L’Escargot, which seems to be in a bit of trouble at the moment, has been around since the late 19th century.

It truly is the food lover’s paradise; charming and lively with so much to explore from little cheese shops, fish markets, green grocers to candy shops, and patisseries.
It’s where to go to people watch; and observe regular Parisians go about their day, which naturally involves a lot of time in cafés
This is one of my absolutely favourite places in Paris, although I haven’t explored it enough to offer any helpful insights, save for pretty pictures – but David Lebovitz has a handy post on the awesomeness that is Rue Montorgueil.

I had no plans to visit the Ladurée in New York.
Hard to believe, I know, but apparently there wasn’t room in our bloated itinerary of things to do in New York for a trip to ‘a sweet shop’.
So there I was, having a nice stroll in Central Park on my way to Belvedere Castle when I spotted a cute couple perched atop a rock having a little picnic, I stopped when I spotted the pale green bag… and with a daringness usually reserved for people I know, I asked them where the Ladurée shop was.
“71st and Madison” they said, “it’s pretty close too, you could be there and back in twenty minutes tops”
That’s all I needed to hear – I cut through the park, meandered through the Upper East Side and minutes later I was in pastel coloured confectionery heaven…

The macarons are flown from Paris everyday, which I guess works, because macarons are best eaten two days after they are baked.
Luckily, the wait wasn’t long; they were unfortunately out of the salted caramel (my favourite).
I went for the classic vanilla, pistachio and rose.
The macarons were delicious – smooth, slightly chewy and soft.
And I added another jewellery box to my collection of cute Ladurée boxes.

Maison Ladurée
864 Madison Ave
(between 72nd St & 71st St)
New York, NY 10021
(646) 558-3157

Moulin Rouge (the red mill) is the world’s ‘most famous and best’ cabaret.
Located in the Pigalle quarter in Paris, it first opened in 1889.

Photoquai is a biennale photography exhibition founded in 2007 by the Quai Branly Museum to showcase ‘non-western’ photographers.
The term ‘non-western’ sounds vague, but these are mostly emerging photographers from countries that aren’t usually included in larger photo exhibitions.
The 2011 exhibition, held outdoors on the banks of the Seine, right across from the museum in the 16th arrondissement, ran between September and November last year, and I was lucky enough to have caught it while on vacation.

The photos are snapshots of the world; unique and intriguing, showcasing a world perhaps different from many at the exhibit.
I imagine the photographers are fascinating too; their photos are varied and moving, they tell complex tales of people and places in Africa, Asia, Australia, Eastern Europe and South America.
The photos connect you to these places and make you inquisitive…. It leaves you wanting to learn more about the people and places in the pictures.
Vibrant and beautifully shot, the exhibition felt impressive under the open sky.

AutoPotraits – Hélèn Amouzou / Togo
Hélèn took these self-portraits for an art school assignment, at a time when she was also seeking asylum in Belgium.

Waiting Little People – Sergey Loier / Russia
This set on orphans was my favourite of the exhibition; the pictures are beautiful, haunting and poignant.
It’s almost like a fairytale with the bit in the notes that all the children in the pictures found homes
I hope they are happy

Alter Gogo Getters – Andrew Esiebo – Nigeria
The Gogo Getters are a football team made up entirely of grandmothers

Adrián F. Milanès / Cuba

Spring Summer Collection 2018 – Hassan Hajjaj / Morroco
I loved these playful photos from Hassan Hajjaj

And the picture I didn’t take… is young Mack Magagane’s ‘I’ll Be Gone Soon,’ black and white pictures shot in Johannesburg which shed light on teen suicide in South Africa

The next Photoquai exhibition happens in 2013

 
I’ve already talked about my thing for cemeteries… and how I find them calming and centering.
So it probably wouldn’t come as a surprise that I went to the world’s most visited cemetery while in Paris last year.
Père Lachaise Cemetery is in the 20th arrondissement in the eastern part of the city, it was about a twenty-minute walk from our little apartment in the Haut Marais.
Pere Lachaise is evocatively beautiful, a place of soothing solitude, the ultimate resting place.
It’s laid out like a city; with its named cobblestone streets, and rolling hills, tall trees and house-like mausolea, with views of the Eiffel Tower.
Many famous people are buried here, Edith Paif, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Mollière, etc, etc etc…
Colette’s grave was among the many I loved seeing; her life always intrigued me.
And many more interesting graves… like this

What becomes of the dream when the dream is over?