充電
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
It's Friday night and I'm thinking about the many times I spent watching these guys practicing their art right next to the Notre Dame in Paris. Beautiful in the evening light, the city finally cooling down after a hot hot day.
Most of us would likely agree we spend more time recharging our phones than we do ourselves! So how do you like to recharge?
Beyond my habit of making work and pleasure the same thing, on the rare occasion I do take a day off, I tend to head into the city to soak up the life and the culture.
Paris is a city with heart, but one that will rarely open to those rushing to see all the monuments in just a few days. To feel it, you have to step back, relax, and let it in.
I love to head first to a market and take inspiration for the next dish I want to cook, the next pastry I want to create. Sometimes the colours, other times the textures, always the freshness. The fresher the produce, the simpler the dish, because that is what will sing.
Next you'll find me in an art shop followed by one of beautiful hand-crafted paper, hidden away in a little street few people go down.
I'll cross the river to my favourite book shop where I sit, stroking the cat, imagining all the writers who did the same, reading the messages they left for all to see. One day I will sit at that typewriter by the open window and leave my own.
In Paris, you really can't sit enough. So my next seat is in funky loungers by the city hall. In winter, I'll bring my ice skates and enjoy the magical ice rink, but in the heat of the summer it’s all about cooling off under the mist machine or in the green fountains.
Food has to be a falafel sandwich, always at the same place, always sitting in the street to eat it and watch the people go by.
More art shops or fabric shops, I'll then grab a bike and cycle down to see the N-D artists, or head to a secret spot where I can watch the sun set over the river, listen to music from one of the city's many street musicians, and think about the many dreams I have yet to make reality.
What would be your ideal day for exploring?
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