The French Riviera was enticing us with its blue calm, and in our slow cruising rental car we set out for a drive along the coast, enroute to Saint Tropez!
Bartosz and I decided to head south, as it was one of my most loved scenes in all of France and there was more to discover. And Paris was getting cold! In merely 5 hours we found ourselves in Cannes via the most efficient TGV train. (Now is not the time I will mention the endless train strikes I encountered in my brief time in France !!) Needless to say we did not meet any movie stars or attend any film premieres. There is something to be said about experiencing a city that has resigned for the season. There we found the little bit of sun that we were in search of. And another adventure began!
Upon returning to Paris I met Bartosz who had come from London for a brief encounter with this city and the places that had become so familiar to me in this, the French chapter of my journey. We spent the weekend walking from the Louvre and it’s collections to Montmartre with it’s views…
A Sunday stroll in the Marais, a last glass of wine with friends and it was time to part with Paris.
On my last night in Amsterdam I had the privilege of attending the preview of the Affordable Art Fair (if you can consider art under 5,000 euro affordable), the first year of this exhibition which I attend annually in NYC. Mirre and Marieke joined me for a wonderful night of art and play, running into our mutual friend Gijs, a small world indeed. Our night concluded in a local pizzeria before a long bike ride back to Mirre’s…and a return via train to Paris…
Sunday was a perfect day. After a proper dutch breakfast of pancakes and sprinkles, Bram took us on his boat all along the canals for a grand tour of the city, in the crisp fall air. For dinner we met Mirre and friends before heading home through the red lights and calm waters. The following morning Bram took me on another tour, this one via bike. We spent the morning at the flea market searching for treasures, lunch in Chinatown and a visit to the Stedelijk Museum where Warhol entertained us for hours.
I had last been to Amsterdam for the Millenium nearly 8 years ago. What fond memories I still had of this adventure with Karen, Brandy and Anna. How young we were! It was that long ago that I had seen Bram. It felt like no time had gone by as I was most warmly greeted by my favorite dutch boy and his darling girlfriend Marieke. We were soon joined for the weekend by Tomek, a friend from Krakow who I had not seen in many years, who arrived from Brussels, and Mirre who I know and adore from the time of Buenos Aires, a local who recently returned home. At Mirre’s recommendation we dined at Eleven, a very cool dining venue and equally hot spot for after dinner drinks and dancing. Somehow I ended the night carousing the red light district with Bram and Tomek…quite a varying set of lights than what I had been so accustomed to in Paris.
