Grandes Serres Tropical 🌴 Jardin des Plantes

 

Stepping into a wild jungle 🌴

When the rest of the world 🗺️ 

David Bowie, Epifanie, rue de Bretagne Map

I know I've been M.I.A. this week. I've been UNDER PRESSURE.

My niece came in from Philadelphia last weekend. On Friday nite at this time 7 PM,

We stopped in Notre Dame

There was a service going on with lovely music, incense 

Next morning, Saturday (my niece slept in with Jet lag) I went to the annual Escoffier Chefs charity sale

100s of Galettes des Rois in front of St. Germain.

A plethora of top chef's galettes onboard for tasting and bringing home

There was a chefs party was going on. Head chef, Jean-Pierre Biffi of Potel & Chabot and formerly president of Disciples d'Escoffier. I'm not looking at another galette till 2017!

At the same time I'm working on the January map - rue de Bretagne/Marché Des Enfants Rouges in upper Marais

Its a hotbed of ethnic and ever new epiceries and patisseries popping up. A don't-miss street.

A year ago I took a terrific Context Tour with Alisa Morov in exactly this area. First stop J.Barthouil, excellent Sud Ouest purveyors of all things foie gras, duck and smoked saumon on 41, rue Charlot.

On the facing corner at #42, Caractere de Cochon, specialist of superb hams

And superb ham sandwiches changing daily.

There's a new patisserie at 57, rue de Bretagne, Bontemps

Try their passion fruit-filled sable cookies...well they're my favorites. And their lemon cake is divine.

My cousin emailed me of David Bowie's passing Monday. This week has been full-time immersion in his music - the perfect background for drawing.

I discovered we were joined at the hips in two ways ( I would love to have his hips).
Bowie said "I'm a 'grasshopper' hopping from thing to thing".
I grew up being called a grasshopper at home. My father thought I should be a 'squirrel ' collecting acorns for the future instead. Dad also said, "You're going to end up in a garret with a bunch of cats" if I continued with art. He forgot to mention the garret might be in Paris.

Bowie said he created his lyrics using a 'cut-up technique' (like poet Williams Burroughs) scissoring old journals, ending with scraps of paper. Out of this he pulled together lyrics in around 10 minutes.

I too use the 'cut-up technique' to create the the Paris maps.

I just haven't figured out how to pull the scraps together in 10 minutes. It takes me FOREVER. The finished map is on Etsy.

Do you have a favorite David Bowie song?
There are too many to choose from. I'm working my way through his catalog. I'm crazy for Ashes To Ashes, Ch, Ch, Changes, Wild is the Wind, Modern Love, Heroes, Rebel Rebel, 9/11, Where Are We Now...

I, I wish I could swim

Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim

 

Though nothing,

 

nothing will keep us together

We can beat them, for ever and ever

 

Oh we can be Heroes, 

 

just for one day

I, I will be king

 

And you, you will be queen

 

Though nothing will drive them away

 

We can be Heroes, just for one day

 

We can be us, just for one day

R.I.P. Star man