All posts tagged: writing

Reflections on our most significant place in Paris

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For 2017 we’ve decided to reflect on the places in Paris that are the most significant to us, as well as ask some friends for their contributions. Lawrence Rue du Faubourg St. Denis, between Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle and Boulevard de Magenta Here is my favorite bar in the city. It’s called Mauri7, pronounced MORE-ISS-SET, MORE-EES-SET if you’re French.  Here there are beers for average prices and wine for cheap.  It’s two fifty for their house red, which you can ask for without embarrassment, as it should be. In my brokest months, I brought a flask filled with trash whiskey from the Lidl, ordered Coca-Cola and made myself endless mixed drinks that got stronger and stronger. They play good hip-hop.  It’s very busy on weekends.  There is a small smoking area in front cordoned off under a dark awning.  In the warm months it’s packed shoulder to shoulder, and a stocky bouncer polices its boundaries.  I saw him at the Franprix on Boulevard de Magenta once, but I didn’t speak to him – what was I …

Conversation with a Paris-based creative: Ella Strowel

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We’ve decided to start a section featuring interviews with fellow creatives who live in Paris, to gain insight into how others are inspired by the urban landscape and the environment around them. Ella Strowel – Photographer Why did you move to Paris? I moved to Paris almost three years ago after having done a foundation year in London. I moved to Paris to study photography at Paris College of Art. What are your typical sources of inspiration?/ How do you find inspiration? I find most of my inspiration through looking at the work of other photographers and artists. Most of my inspiration comes from the work of photographers, however this year I enjoyed researching the work of sculptors for the project I am currently working on. I enjoy looking at photography books and going to exhibitions and shows in Paris. Another great source of inspiration is talking to peers and friends, those who know your work often have a great insight into what you should look at and research. Where is your favorite place in …

Montparnasse: A Guide Inspired by The Dud Avocado

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Inspired by one of our favorite books about Paris, we decided to spend an afternoon in the Montparnasse neighborhood, formerly a happening bohemian scene in the 1920s and then again in the late 1950s. Now less of a nightlife destination, we were curious to see what the area still has to offer and also to check out the hotspots of Sally-Jay Gorce, the book’s young American protagonist. Although The Dud Avocado is a work of fiction, it’s based on the reality of this once booming left bank neighborhood and the lives of the creative, free spirits who spent time there. Settling in with tea at her go-to bar, Le Select, we tried to imagine the environment as it was 60 years ago– filled with intriguing artists, French regulars sweating out their drinks, and East Coast crossovers. “The waiters at the Select comported themselves with that slightly theatrical mixture of charm, complicity and contempt that one would expect from servants in Hell.” pg. 93 The Dud Avocado Explore the neighborhood in the present: – Pay a pilgrimage to …

Favorite Ways to Stay Creative

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We’ve all been in a creative rut, felt writer’s block, or just uninspired in general (it’s part of the reason we started this blog!!). Sometimes it can be very difficult to get back to your creative practices so here is a list of simple things to help get the juices flowing:  -Keep a journal: write down random thoughts, quotes from other people, interesting words, ideas, doodles etc. -Morning pages (see our upcoming post!) -Carry a camera (or phone with a camera) and take a photo of anything and everything you see throughout the day that’s interesting – Collect images from newspapers, magazines, fabric scraps, found photos and paste them into a sketchbook – Go to museums and galleries (absorbing visual information will help inspire your own creative practice) – Read art blogs (seeing other people’s work can help get the creativity flowing– there is no real such thing as copying, all art pulls influence from somewhere) http://www.booooooom.com/ – Buy or borrow short story anthologies from the library (one of the best pieces of advice a Creative …

Best Winter activities to do in Paris

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When it’s cold, rainy and grey in Paris, it can be hard to feel motivated to go outside and do things. Here are just a few ideas of some indoor activities for the Winter time. 1. Explore Paris’ covered galleries (les passages couverts) Dating back to the 18th and 19th century, these glass roofed shopping galleries offer shelter from the rain and transport you to a different time. Wander through Galerie Vivienne and adjacent Galerie Colbert absorbing the elegant architecture, mosaic floor, and chic boutiques. Be sure to check out A Priori Thé in Galerie Vivienne. One of the best places in Paris for cream tea and real scones.           2. Drink mint tea at the Paris Mosque Just across the street from the Jardin des Plantes in the 5e arrondissement is La Mosquée de Paris and its restaurant and tea room. The tea room is a very popular spot where waiters bring around 2€ cups of steaming hot, sugary mint tea. For those with a real sweet tooth, you can also choose traditional …

Museum Musings

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Ekphrasis: a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art (Merriam-Webster) For this creative adventure we decided to take a classic Paris activity–a museum visit– and get something more out of it than just looking at some pretty art. We asked ourselves: How do we best engage with a museum? How do we really get impacted and inspired by it?  How do we really feel a work of art? Prompt:  Pick a museum with an exhibition that interests you or somewhere you’ve never been. Take some time to explore and notice what artworks jump out at you, instead of scanning through the entire exhibit. Try to sit with the work of art that speaks to you most for 20 minutes or more and let your mind wander. If feeling inspired, take it a level further and pull out a notebook. Sketch the painting or simply write free-associations that come to mind, something you could turn back to later as a seed for a poem or short story. Our creative adventure: We chose …

Window Sketch

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For this creativity break, take a picture of a window that you like visually or that intrigues you in some way. Maybe it’s a window you pass daily, or one that stands out in an unfamiliar area. Write a short character sketch about who you think lives inside, what they do, or what goes on behind the window. It can be a more formalized short story, or simply a free form writing exercise in imagination. bonus: send us your photo and text and we’ll publish a collection of window sketches from around the world!  Nora: Behind the orange and white striped windows lived Cornelius. He spent his days selling popcorn at a movie theater, and at night he chain smoked, wrote bad poems, and sometimes tried to paint in search of the romanticized “starving artist in paris” life he had read about so many times. He’d been squatting in this abandoned building for 3 weeks, eating tuna out of a can, and trying not to start a fire with the candles scattered all over the room–so far …

All the old familiar places

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It’s a strange reality of living in cities that neighborhoods where you spent most of your weekdays or weekend nights are relegated to places you once went, bars whose names you struggle to remember. You move to a new apartment, a different neighborhood attracts your attention, and subconsciously, you have moved on from that place and that time. Prompt: Pick a cozy café or place where you can lean back and reflect for a while. We chose Nuage Café, a co-working space in the 5th, where you pay for the time you spend there (4 euros per hour) with unlimited coffee, tea and snacks. The upstairs nooks (where you’re required to take your shoes off) with floor cushions are a great place to write and work. Think back on a neighborhood that had some significance to you (we picked the 5th arrondissement in Paris). Write a list of places (including bars, restaurants, apartments, spots where you kissed someone or broke someone’s heart) that hold meaning to you or that you simply like in that neighborhood. …

One week later

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“elle (Paris) est battu par les flots, mais ne sombre pas // she is tossed by the waves but does not sink” It’s hard to know what to write after something like this happens, but we both felt like a post about the events of November 13th, 2015 was necessary particularly for our own healing. This post is very personal, but in line with why we started this blog, we hope to inspire Parisians, expats, and people in big cities everywhere to go out and live, have fun, and do the things you love to do as much as possible. -A & N Annie: Last year, when I was living in a box of an apartment (my sister likened it to an “efficiency apartment”, my dad to a sailboat) in the 11th, near Oberkampf, I would walk around at night, go running during the day, and feel removed and freed from the obligations of work and life. The neighborhood wasn’t like the ones I had lived in before or what I had envisioned as “Paris.” There are …

Proust and a dream house

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On a lazy afternoon head to your favorite cafe, park, or any other place where you feel comfortable and can spend an extended amount of time. Feel free to bring a friend. Bring the Proust questionnaire (questions about your personality and aspirations) with you and choose at least 8 to ask yourself and your companion. Take your time, but go with your gut when answering. You may find out something you didn’t know about yourself or your friend. Note: We picked Le Pavillion des Canaux in the 19th arrondissement. Situated on the Bassin de la Villette, this coffee shop/clubhouse is filled with funky furnishings and comfortable corners. We especially liked the repurposed bathtub option. At one time a private house, and with the rooms still intact, you will feel at home spending all day reading/writing/chatting or daydreaming. Annie Favorite object at le Pavillon: Nora Favorite object at le Pavillon :