Paris Samedi 30th

Poured with rain which gave us good sleep one and all, The unionists were again at breakfast.A a funny lot. All in workaday suits few ties and real shoes. One comes down and loudly gives a smacking great kiss on the cheek of his similarly shirted mate. Two others look on dourly as they greeted each other in french german cheerily. Like aussies they were. Vocifoous leaving a stillness behind them when at some previously agreed time they all bolted downstairs carrying huge half open briefcases

We split up today. I to meet people in the Lavage autmatique and Sheel's to buy stuff  The rain cleared through it all and with the sun came saturday markets cheer, tiny baby dogs walking eagerly hind their similarly statured  doll-like owners one of whose copy of  figaro bore  the dog's breakfast.

Pony dressed me very kindly in nice shades of grey Lacoste and now I can look chic like her.

Then to visit the La Maison  de la Europeen Photographie off the rue de Rivoli itself a marvelous thing.

http://www.mep-fr.org/

Very elegant space with the usual stairs tween galleries probs most old buildings turned galleries encounter.

Karl Largefield managed to make Nicole Kidman look absolutely shocked. What can he've told her as the uberlens caught it all? One gets the feeling that there is very little not on the agenda should one fall beneath Karl's silver coiffed gaze...

The wonderful vertical photos printed on silk and turned into fabulous dresses were great.

Kimiko Yoshida managed to disturb me with her at first self indulgent chalk white perfectly presented 1.5 mtre square self portraits arrayed with various stuff ..cool narcissistic and perfectly Parisienne.

Then a tiny packed resto l'elephant du nil" . 3 friendly girls to do the work of 5. Pasta Italian salad with spuds and weird yogurt frommage dripping with a honey so tasty it had the waitress licking it off her fingers a la Nigella. The chef came out and amused us with her hard Paris accent and a hidden smoke in her half  closed hand.

A walk past the jesuits church and college onto the Bastille and home.Lovely lovely day with autumnal sun and hot africa to look forward to. Tomorrow we start to pack up, shrink the bikes post the kitchen, and liberate the books....