Q&A with la [min-ya-'net]

Thank you sweet Joanna of la mignonette for inviting me to participate in the first interview of her q&a series, which you can read here:)

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screenshot from Vivre Sa Vie, since we both like Anna Karina!

A little chanson

On s'est connu, on s'est reconnu,

On s'est perdu de vue, on s'est reperdu de vue.

On s'est retrouvé, on s'est réchauffé

Puis on s'est séparé.

Chacun pour soi est reparti

Dans le tourbillon de la vie.

Je l'ai revue un soir aïe aïe aïe

Ça fait déjà un fameux bail.

Ça fait déjà un fameux bail.

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My favourite tune for a drowsy, dreary afternoon.

Musings from the Cubicle

I am forever fascinated with the many ways of how people make a living - in Paris I marvelled at the entertainer who sang funny songs and attracted children like a magnet, wondered who build those little black and white pillars in Palais Royal, and almost asked the poete public to compose me something, anything.

This summer I am working too; not in the medical field but in the government, working as an intern and researching on child welfare policies. The work is fun and stimulating and feels strangely familiar but the cubicle itself embodies boredom, dullness and rigidity. Every afternoon I try to go out for a little stroll round the busiest bit of town, where every corner is flooded with an overflow of people and always in flux. Only when the streets are bloomed with such buzz and vitality can I finally experience the transient romance of the busy work life.

Cinematic Writing IV

'For having lived in Westminster - how many years now? over twenty, - one feels even in the midst of the traffic, or waking at night, Clarissa was positive, a particular hush, or solemnity; an indescribable pause; a suspense (but that might be her heart, affected, that said, by influenza) before Big Ben strikes. There! Out it boomed. First a warning, musical; the the hour, irrevocable. The leaden circles dissolved in the air. Such fools we are, she thought, crossing Victoria Street. For Heaven only knows why one lives it so, how one sees it so, making it up, building it round one, tumbling it, creating it every moment afresh; but the veriest frumps, the most dejected of miseries sitting on doorsteps (drink their downfall) do the same; can't be dealt with, she felt positive, by Acts of Parliament for that very reason: they love life. In people's eyes, in the swing, tramp, and trudge; in the bellow and the uproar; the carriages, motor cars, omnibuses, vans, sandwich men shuffling and swinging; brass bands; barrel organs; in the triumph and the jingle and the strange high singing of some aeroplane overhead was what she loved; life; London; this moment of June.'

- Viriginia Woolf, excerpt from Mrs Dalloway

Adieu, room

Pictures of my current room; leaving in a week's time!

With the radio on all day through the never-ending drizzle, I stayed at home and packed. Packing is a sentimental journey through the past, the present and the habitual. It is about partitioning life into boxes, categorising, keeping or discarding all the pieces that daily life leaves behind.

I am excited about the new place (a top-floor room scattered with light) but also incredibly nostalgic of my room of one's own, the two years I have spent in this place, my lovely friend whom I shared the flat with.

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Une Chic Fille

A greek friend of mine bought some clothes that she will only wear in Paris. "They don't deserve it, here they would not be seen. Athenians don't care, it's in Paris that these outfits make sense, that their poetry can spring."

- Caroline Parson, Guide Paris 2010

Only in Paris could you find such an air of effortless chic and grace, an indescribable elegance evoked by the profound appreciation of life, beauty and aesthetic shared by these women - if you have not read the Secrets of French Girls by Ellen Wallace already, you should do so!

Rue Madame

A.P.C. sells the best clothes (I would wear anything there!) and also has the calm and minimalist atmosphere that you would love. Their original store and warehouse along Rue Madame, near Jardin du Luxembourg, are definitely work checking out. I regret not taking more pictures!

Got myself a bottle of Fleur d'Oranger as a souvenir (for 20E only! I was shocked), boyfriend says it's the best fragrance I've ever owned. I love how it evokes an air of orange blossoms with a hint of jasmine flower.

38 Rue Madame 75006

Musée Rodin

'It is the artist who is truthful and it is photography which lies, for in reality time does not stop...'

- Auguste Rodin

A visit to the museum filled with summer roses and sculptures. How did sculptors manage to instil vitality and sensuality into a piece of bronze, transforming it to exhibit the most fluid movements, the most intense emotions, the most beautiful form of life?

I recommend the musée and jardin for everyone - even if you are only in Paris for a day!

79 Rue de Varenne 75007

Quatre Jours

Still slowly waking up from my parisien dreams. We have had some really blissful weather throughout the trip, wandered around aimlessly, visited museums and little shops, watched The Tree of Life and Midnight in Paris, watched tennis, wine and dined, walked along the quay night and day, fell asleep to the sound of evening rain.

This picture is taken from the roof of Printemps. What is not to love about this city?

{More photos soon}

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