Giant ancient clockface at Geraldine Michaelis's stand Une Chanson Douce at the Antiquities Brocante at Place de la Bastille, Paris.
Come With Me
To the quiet minute between two noisy minutes
It's always waiting ready to welcome us
Tucked under the wing of the day
I'll be there
Where will you be?
Poem by Naomi Shihab Nye from her book Come with Me: Poems for a Journey.
Tara Bradford is traveling. In her absence, timed posts should appear. She will post occasional updates from the road.
This past weekend Leonie and Nic came to Paris for a few days. You may know Leonie from her eclectic blog Chocolate Covered Musings. She and Nic are New Zealanders, currently living in London. What a lively, fun couple they are! Luckily, they intend to stick around London for awhile, so we shall be seeing more of each other.
A lively band of musicians entertain passers-by at a Paris metro station. It's unusual to find such a large group of musicians performing inside a metro station - typically you might see a lone violinist or perhaps a string trio.
A vintage wooden toy truck at Geraldine Michaelis's stand Une Chanson Douce at the Antiquities Brocante at Bastille.
To my maman and all mothers and grandmothers who have tried their best to insure children have happy, healthy childhoods, then go on to lead productive lives and contribute something valuable to the world: Thank you. Merci bien. Muchas gracias. Bonne fete! Happy Mother's Day!
Parts of 19th-century zinc weathervanes, along with an 18th-century wooden religious retablo, a copper figure on horseback and a 20th-century architectural model of a spiral staircase at the Chinez toutes les Tendances stand at the Antiquities Brocante at Place de la Bastille. The event continues daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through May 18th. Tickets are available at the door. Check back Sunday for more brocante photos.
Be aware the "rakkai" or pickpockets are out in full force on the Paris metro, particularly on Lines 1, 8 and 9. Today I was returning from Bastille, carrying an antique sculptor's model. Two guys tried to grab my handbag, but I'd spotted them already and was prepared. I threatened to hit them with the pot. They grinned and said in French, something to the effect, "You'll break it!" I replied, "Et votre tete aussi (And your head too)." They laughed, but jumped off the train as the doors were closing.
Antique original sculptor's model for a piece ultimately made in silver. I found it at the inimitable Sophie Pretelat's Anges et Demons at Bastille. Thankfully, I didn't have to use it as a weapon against pickpockets on the train!
Elaborate gold gilt dragon currently adorning a vitrine at Galeries Lafayette, Paris.
"Beyond this place, there be dragons!" These words once were found on every map, at the place where the mapmakers' known worlds stopped. These words sparked the exotic mysteries that beckoned every adventurer, every dreamer, every person curious to see past their immediate environs. It is the place that the discoverers sailed beyond and were rewarded for their bravery by finding the Americas.
I am about to embark on a journey that is different from the hundreds I have taken over the years. Yes, some of the roads will be familiar; other parts unknown and a little scary. But this journey is important, as it marks a huge passage, not only in my daughter's life - as she presents her first fashion collection to critics, including designer John Galliano - and graduates with honours from college. It also marks the culmination of a journey that Jordana and I have traveled together - just the two of us, on our own. Occasionally we had help from family and friends and when Jordana was 15, David came along as a father figure. But for the most part, it was just Jordana and me.
We navigated a long and sometimes difficult road, living in other countries, frequently traveling, adapting to changing circumstances and for Jordana, new schools - not always easy, but worth the persistent effort. I am thankful for Jordana and so very proud of the bright, talented and engaging young woman she has become, despite all the odds, some might say. Some well-meaning people once suggested I should stay in one place and suppress my dreams to insure more stability for my daughter. I didn't listen to those people; I chose my own path and by extension, Jordana's.
I always believed that as long as Jordana felt loved and safe, she would be fine. And I think she would argue that all the travel, the adventures, the ever-changing situations made her more courageous, tolerant, flexible and able to cope with any situation. I think Jordana would tell you that she's gained a multicultural world view that serves her well, wherever she goes. I think she would agree that while she may not have had as many material luxuries as her friends with two working parents, she gained invaluable experiences while living and traveling in some of the world's greatest cities, meeting many fascinating people along the way.
For Jordana, I pray her best adventures are still to come. And I will be cheering her on, along whatever path she chooses.
For me, the three-week journey that begins in Savannah also heralds major changes. Some thrilling challenges and creative opportunities are unfolding and I will see many friends, both old and new. Much excitement ahead! My laptop and camera are accompanying me, so barring technical glitches, will be posting on Paris Parfait comme d'habitude. Hope you'll come along for the ride!
Galeries Lafayette in Paris currently features window displays with an Asian influence. Designs from Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan are presented, with many mannequins wearing bubblegum pink or cherry red cotton-candy wigs, sportswear-influenced clothing in bright colours and loads of bling-bling jewlery and accessories. The increasing influence of high-technology and digital games, as well as various sports and medals are referenced in the vitrines, a nod to this summer's Olympic games in China. Visit Paris Parfait again on Friday for more Asian-inspired photos.
I've spent much of this warm, sunny holiday (in France) at Bastille, for opening day of the Antiquites Brocante. I was happy to see some old friends and be invited to participate in an exciting new venture; meet some interesting artists (and by happenstance, a French fan of my blog) and find some very unusual things. Check back later for photos galore.
Today I went to les grands magasins on Boulevard Hausmann, ostensibly shopping for yet another pair of black shoes. But somehow I never made it to any shoe department. I was too distracted by the bohemian windows at Printemps and the Asian-inspired displays at Galeries Lafayette (check back Thursday for photos of the latter).
Once inside the stores, my attention was diverted by exquisitely-crafted handbags; handmade jewelery; wonderful patterned and sequined scarves for friends and fabulous red crocheted gloves for Jordana's design partner (who adores gloves). And that was just the first floor of Galeries Lafayette! Before I knew it, was laden with packages and couldn't think about visiting a shoe department while keeping track of all those bags.
All this shopping is strictly necessary, after all. Next week I'll be off for three weeks to the Wild West - my first trip to the US is over two years. And one can't arrive empty-handed, when visiting friends and family - it's just not done! Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
As I'd been shopping for hours without eating, my blood sugar was plummeting. So a quick two-block walk over to Madeleine, where on a little side street lined with sex shops - and a Starbucks - there's a great little sandwich place, Cojean. It has tiny sandwiches and salads with fresh organic ingredients, juices, etc. - not cheap, but a fast energy revival before more shopping!
Check out the painted trunk and wooden horses, piled along with these brightly-patterned fabric "hobo bags" in a Printemps window. See that guy sitting on a fence? If you're sitting on a fence about something in your life, this is a reminder to get off! Make a decision; take a stand; do something! Don't just sit there!
Bohemian clothes, suzani fabric bundles and handbags tied to a purple car!
More views of the purple car, piled high with worldly possessions.
A dress in animal-print fabrics, along with fabric-tied bundles and a pedicab in my favourite aqua colour.
More aqua bundles, a wooden horse and an enamel tiffin.
A mannequin sitting on a bright pink Mini, loaded with parcels.
Red fabric-tied bundles, along with a gorgeous hand-painted chest and a Lancel handbag (er, ahem...there is one just like that at home!)
A green jungle-print chiffon ruffled dress and surreal images reflected in a Printemps window.
And if you're an American voting in the presidential election, this is both surprising and dismaying.
Scaffolding props up the facade of a 19th-century building on Oxford Street, London. Behind the facade, construction is underway on a new space, which will retain the historical facade. In the building at left, a flag is reflected in the window's glass.
A jumble of cooking wares caught in a fisherman's net at Divertimenti in Knightsbridge, London. The Brompton Oratory is reflected in the glass.
The spring-themed window in an upscale charity shop on Brompton Road.
A giant lipstick tube - Heatherette for M.A.C. Cosmetics - in a window display at Selfridges on Oxford Street.
Banners advertising an ongoing exhibition at the Natural History Museum on Cromwell Road.
Children and their parents line up for tickets to the giant maze and butterfly house at the Natural History Museum.
Boxed plants suspended from iron railings outside buildings on Cromwell Road.
Sen. Barack Obama tells voters the facts about the proposed gas tax "holiday." Obama says it's time to investigate oil companies for price gouging and for Congress to adopt higher fuel efficiency standards and America invest in alternative energy sources.
The gas tax holiday supported by presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain will be dead on arrival in the House of Representatives, Democrats said Thursday. Party leaders sided firmly with Sen. Obama, the only White House contender who opposes suspending the gas tax.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “there’s no reason to believe that any moratorium on the gas tax would be passed on to the consumer.” She left the measure off the list of energy proposals that may be attached to the supplemental Iraq war-spending bill. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also said suspending the gas tax would “not be a policy that I would think is particularly positive."
And talk about a sense of entitlement! Hillary Clinton's spokesman Howard Wolfson tries to backtrack about her "Rich people, God bless us," statement, to no avail.
Meanwhile, Colorado Congressman and Senatorial candidate Mark Udall has made it clear he's not buying into Clinton's campaign rhetoric about the gas tax holiday:
"Senator Clinton claimed yesterday that I either stand with her on this proposal or stand with the oil companies. To that I say: I stand with the families of Colorado, who aren't looking for bumper sticker fixes that don't fix anything, but for meaningful change that brings real relief and a new direction for our energy policy. We can't afford more Washington-style pandering while families keep getting squeezed.
"It is exactly the kind of short-sighted Washington game that keeps us from getting real results to our energy problem. Experts across the ideological spectrum agree that it will increase the deficit, drain money away from Colorado roads and bridges, and hurt the environment, all without actually making prices lower for drivers."
An antique dealer entertains shoppers with his guitar skills Sunday morning on Avenue Marc Sangnier at the Puce de Vanves. Susan of Soozphotoz and her daughter Sara and I spent the morning shopping and chatting and shopping and chatting. No, I can't show you my purchases, which are for friends I'll be seeing during my travels in May.
A curious keyboard on wheels on Avenue Georges Lafenestre. The flea market at Vanves is open every Saturday and Sunday morning. Plan on arriving early for the best choice.
A group of cane-bottomed bistro chairs.
Vintage Barbies, complete with original box. Susan and I remember the Barbies in the yellow-and-white lace dress and strapless striped one from childhood.
In keeping with the shipwreck-themed window displays at Selfridges, the London department store, lighting designer Stuart Haygarth created these unique light sculptures. Black barnacle (above).
An unusual shrub near Cromwell Road, London. Anyone know what kind it is?
On Monday I received this delightful message:
Hi Tara,
My name is xxxxx xxxxx, an xxxxx currently living in xxxxx (another country). I hope you don´t mind using xxxxx to contact you hoping that maybe I could get some advice from a local perspective for a special evening that has been on my mind for the last few weeks.
As it turns out, I will be visiting Paris for xxxxx days at the end of xxxxx in order to meet some potential clients my company wants to develop. My girlfriend xxxxx, who currently works in xxxxx (yet another country) will join me for the weekend and the idea is that we can spend some time together, as well as get to know this charming city.
What she doesn´t know is that I would like to take advantage of the fact that we are in such a romantic town to plan the perfect day that ends up with me asking her to marry me. This will hopefully catch her breath away :-) The problem is that I have never been to Paris so far, so here is where I would need your advice. I would really appreciate if you can recommend me some romantic spots and places that can help me build up a nice atmosphere towards the evening. I am thinking maybe a walk in a beautiful street, some gardens or parks, a nice restaurant or a traditional serenade around the river, but please, you are the expert and that is why I came to you. The keyword as you already notice: Romantic.
As you can surely imagine, I am very excited and cannot wait for this day to finally come. So, if you decide to help me in my quest you will make this romantic xxxxx the happiest man of the world.
Merci et au revoir,
(Name)
Ah, a charming man with a romantic soul... And what a lucky woman to win his heart! Practically every woman I know wishes men would make more of an effort to be thoughtful and sweet. Today I was having lunch with my friend Susan of Soozphotoz and her lovely daughter Sara on Ile Saint Louis. When I told them the story, they simultaneously exlaimed, "Aaaawwwww - how sweet!" Yes, you can bet I sent the writer a list of some of the city's most romantic rendezvous spots. And the Eiffel Tower was not on the list!
Here's another wonderful story, just in case you missed it----or need a tiny glimmer of hope.
One of the most fascinating encounters I had during my last trip to London was talking with an Iraqi mini-cab driver. The minute I saw him, I knew he was an Iraqi refugee. He was wearing the usual three-piece brown suit, white shirt and tie made of cheap fabric; had carefully combed hair and a heavy douse of scent. I say this not to disparage this gentleman, but to explain that I have seen a version of him in nearly every country in the Middle East, in Europe and - more rarely - in the United States: someone who has lost nearly everything. A desperate person trying to make his way in a foreign country, with very little, while working hard to make ends meet. This particular man drives a car seven days a week to support his family.
While moving slowly through London traffic to St. Pancras International, we chatted about war in Iraq and the American presidential election:
"The situation is so bad that most teachers, doctors and anyone who can afford it have left Iraq," the man said. "We knew when the Americans arrived that they would not be leaving anytime soon and no one was happy about that. But we worry that if American troops pull out now, Iran will seize the opening. They are always looking for a way in (and he referenced the eight-year Iran-Iraq war)...We are threatened by Turkey from the North, Iran from the South and Al-Qaida taking advantage of the chaos."
Asked why Iraqis are listening to Iran, a non-Arab country and longtime enemy, the man replied: "Only a few are listening, but they have influence with others." He said Moqtada al Sadr "gets all his weapons and support" from Iran.
We talked about the dilemma for the US, as 68 percent of Americans believe we never should have gone into Iraq and want our troops home, but have sympathy for the Iraqis' plight. Then we discussed the double-edged sword for the Iraqis, who badly need help, but resent the foreign troops' presence. He said he believes it will take "50 years" to rebuild Iraq. "The situation is so perilous that Iraqis now living outside Iraq talk about it only at dinner and when questioned by people like you," he noted. Otherwise, "we try to forget about it," he said. "It's just too horrible to think about."
He expressed concern about Iraqi deaths that often go unreported by the media. "There have been hundreds of Iraqis killed this week alone and nobody talks about it or does anything about it," he said.
He said Iraqis are watching the American election with a mixture of interest and fear. "We're worried that the next president might pull all the troops out too soon, leaving Iraq to fend for itself," he said. "The Iraqi government isn't strong enough and can't fight powerful influences of people like Moqtada al Sadr, without help from outside."
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band singing Worlds Apart in Barcelona, Spain. I had the privilege of seeing Springsteen on this same "The Rising" tour in Paris. In memoriam:Danny Federici of the E Street Band.
Outrageous battles for those who live to tell
Meanwhile, more than 120 veteran soldiers of Iraq and Afghanistan commit suicide every week, while the Bush administration delays mental health treatment and benefits to which returning troops are entitled, veterans advocates told a federal judge in San Francisco.
The rights of hundreds of thousands of veterans are being violated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), "an agency that is in denial" and by a government health care system and appeals process for patients that is "broken down," Gordon Erspamer, attorney for two advocacy groups, said in his opening statement at trial. Erspamer said veterans are committing suicide at the rate of 18 a day - a number acknowledged by a VA official in a Dec. 15 e-mail. The agency's backlog of disability claims exceeds 650,000.
These photos from the London department store Selfridges "shipwreck" series remind me of one of my favourite films, Wings of Desire. The Wim Wenders film features Bruno Ganz, the late Solveig Dommartin and Peter Falk. In 1987-88, the film won numerous prizes in festivals in France, Germany and Europe, including Best Director at Cannes. The film's premise involves angels surveying the war-scarred city of Berlin. The angels listen to tortured thoughts of mortals going about their daily lives and try to comfort them. One angel desires nothing more than to become mortal, after falling in love with Marian, a beautiful trapeze artist.
My poem in homage to Wings of Desire:
The heart knows nothing
until that fateful encounter:
a seemingly chance meeting
at the right place and time
and something inside stirs.
From that first moment
the stars and planets align.
Anxiety gives way to certainty,
saying yes to all the questions
too long unasked and unanswered.
No matter that the distance
of time and space is long
and the journey ahead
fraught with challenges and obstacles
that may alter the route.
The picture in your mind's eye steady;
the path to your beloved clear.
No maps needed to find the way
to the one who understands
before a single word is spoken.
A connection forged long ago
in another lifetime
so distant from this modern realm
etched into memory's core;
written indelibly across your heart.
Check back Tuesday for photos of shipwreck-themed sculptures created especially for Selfridges, London by artist Stuart Haygarth, as well as pictures from today's Marches des Puces at Vanves, Paris.
This is the second of a three-part series of shipwreck-themed window fashion displays at Selfridges on Oxford Street, London. Check back Sunday for photos of angels amidst the rotted hull of a ship, as well as pictures of some amazing sea-themed sculptures created especially for Selfridges by artist Stuart Haygarth. For Part I, go here.
The famous London department store Selfridges on Oxford Street has the most imaginative window displays I've ever seen, outside of Paris. Currently, they're displaying fashion in elaborate and imaginative scenes of shipwreck. If anyone knows who designed these fantastic windows at Selfridges, please email me. Check back Saturday and Sunday for more London vitrine photos.
Our Homeland Security Secretary thinks our fingerprints are not "personal data."
Michael Chertoff was in Canada discussing the so-called “Server in the Sky” program to share fingerprint databases among the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Chertoff told Canadian reporters that fingerprints are "hardly personal data, because you leave it on glasses and silverware and articles all over the world, they’re like footprints. They’re not particularly private, " he said. Chertoff's claim contradicts Homeland Security's own definition of "personally identifiable information." In Privacy Impact Assessments used by the government, the department lists "biometric identifiers (e.g., fingerprints)."
Jennifer Stoddart, a Canadian official involved with privacy issues disagreed: “Fingerprints constitute extremely personal information for which there is clearly a high expectation of privacy.” There are compelling reasons to treat fingerprints as “extremely personal information,” Stoddart said. "The strongest reason is that fingerprints, if not used carefully, will become the biggest source of identity theft. Fingerprints shared in databases all over the world won’t stay secret for long and identity thieves will take advantage."
We are well aware of the Bush administration's reckless disregard for our civil liberties, including rights to privacy. Chertoff's claim about fingerprints not being personal is yet another example of the administration's lack of respect for individual rights.
Government scraps plan for "virtual fence"
Meanwhile, Chertoff's judgment was again called into question (remember Hurricane Katrina?), this time by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Two months after Chertoff announced his approval of a $20 million "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border, the government is scrapping the project. The GAO told Congress the plan "did not fully meet user needs and the project's design will not be used as the basis for future developments."
The fence would have consisted of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson. The glaring problem was the time lag between electronic detection of movement along the border and transmitting a camera image to agents patrolling the area, the GAO said. The project is to be replaced with towers equipped with communications systems, cameras and radar capability.
Travelers beware: Fourth Amendment again under threat
On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled that border agents can search laptops, cameras and mobile phones without cause. The ruling extends the government's power to look through personal belongings like luggage, briefcases and handbags. Further, the ruling allows agents to seize electronic devices and keep them for an indefinite period of time!
The unanimous three-judge decision reverses a lower court finding that digital devices were "an extension of our own memory" and too personal to allow the government to search them without cause. The previous ruling said US Customs agents would need "reasonable and articulable suspicion" a crime had occurred before searching a traveler's laptop.
On appeal, the government argued that was too high a standard, infringing upon its right "to keep the country safe and enforce laws." Civil rights and business traveler groups defended the lower court ruling, to no avail. In Arnold vs. USA, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the so-called border exception to the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches applied not just to suitcases and papers, but also to electronics.
The court's ruling did not indicate whether a traveler must provide login information to help the government search his computer. The ruling also did not address the issue of encrypted data on the hard drive.
P.S. In the New York Daily News, Mike Lupica has a fascinating column about the Democratic presidential race.
