Green Fairies, Bad Pirate Costumes, Flashing Pineapples

In the Paris episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, he stays in the hotel room where Oscar Wilde reportedly said: "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death...one or the other of us has to go." Bourdain claims that this comment was the result of too much absinthe and then promptly goes out to a bar, finds an absinthe connoisseur still making the real wormwood stuff in Paris, and drinks too much of it. This prompts cheesy Travel Channel film antics, including swirling gold peacock wallpaper and several scenes with Anthony Bourdain in a dimly lit, underground hotel pool. Although I read somewhere that France lifted the ban on absinthe, it seems like the newly made mainstream stuff lacks the trouble-making hallucinogens for which the drink was known. I know I won't try any, but I'm staying in Montmarte, where all of those famous artists regularly drank it (at Le Lapin Agile, etc). This prompts you to think about such things, especially when considering visiting cemeteries.

Oscar Wilde is buried across town in the La Pere Lachaise Cemetery that includes the likes of Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Camille Pissaro, and Proust. Degas is buried in the Montmarte cemetery down the street from our apartment. I suspect Mason and I will visit those folks at some point.

Anyway, Les Halles (which is the name of Anthony Bourdain's restaurant in New York) is pretty rad, at least the above ground park where the giant market used to be. Beneath the beautiful park and the green framed arches and windows leftover from the famous city market is the most god awful, artificially lit mall I've ever experienced. Luckily, Charlie and I quickly escaped. Here are some pictures of the nice part.


More things of note:

1. Charlie and I bought olives with garlic and herbs at a market near Les Halles. They are very pretty.
2. The best part of La Gazelle (a Moroccan restaurant across the street), in addition to a mighty fine tajine, is the multi-colored, flashing pineapple under the stuffed gazelle in the window.
3. People who play guitar on the steps up to Sacre Coeur like Eric Clapton, U2, and the Beatles. I have heard "Let it Be" twice in three days.
4. Inside Sacre Coeur, the person playing the organ seems like s/he might be playing his/her own version of John Cage's drawn out symphony. Well, okay, maybe not the 639 year long version.
5. The stained glass inside Sacre Coeur is less traditional and more art nouveau than the glass I saw at Notre Dame and San Chappelle. I need to learn more about stained glass. Really, I need to learn more about religion in general.
(I later discover that the original windows were destroyed during a bombing in 1944 and replaced in 1946)
6. It is very cold here. My mom bought me mustard yellow gloves but my hands are still cold. I can see my breath every time I walk outside. All of the dogs out for walks look unhappy and cold. Even the ones with coats.
7. It was not any warmer inside San Chappelle, but the stained glass is pretty damn epic.
8. I am very happy Mason is here. He is nice.
9. Crepes with nutella are a great thing
10. Crepes with nutella and bananas are even better!
11. Yesterday there was a dude dressed like a pirate (Johnny Depp style) near the steps up to Sacre Coeur. He was not making any money. I am excited to hear Johnny Depp sing.
12. I like the way Renoir paints eyes. I also like Redon, and especially this:

13. The Salvador Dali museum near the top of Sacre Coeur is sort of sham, but it did have some pretty neat bronze statues of unicorns and snails with wings. I also found cool 3-D vision glasses of this painting for John's Christmas present. I like space elephants.
14. We ate at a Lebanese restaurant last night where they gave as an appertif that tasted sort of like dijon mustard (but in a good way) and beet-red turnip pickles as appetizers. Lebanese food in Paris is very tasty: The baba ganouj was smokier than I'm used to, and they served us this really heavily herbed, creamy feta with chopped onions and tomatoes. It was mighty fine. Full bellies all around.
15. There was a blue plastic fan (like the part inside a window box-fan) sitting on a window sill on the walk home.

The city is foggy because it hasn't rained in a week or so. It is getting more crowded the closer we get to Christmas. Charlie just walked in and said the fromagerie that sells the chevre covered in rose petals is a mad-house. Then he gave me a pretty half moon Christmas cookie. Today is John's birthday and we're going to the Picasso museum and to ride a ferris wheel.

I like ferris wheels.