c'est fantastique
a few fantastic stops in Paris. plus: my favourite Arsenal merch in honour of the season kickoff, Greek Island clothing and other good stuff on the internet
trying Paris again
I first went to Paris in 2016, and honestly didn’t quite get it. We didn’t find anywhere good to eat, it was cold (January) and we were feeling a bit unwell the whole time. The art was good though!
Since we moved to London we have been plotting a trip back, primarily because of the landmark David Hockney show that’s on (more on that later), but also because there’s no way that everyone else is wrong about Paris - it must have been our mistake.
This week, we finally made it happen, with a budget conscious overnight stay before I headed to Amsterdam for work on Thursday. With some expert guidance and a dose of better weather, we had a much improved time.
Here are some quick thoughts on the bits that made the whistle stop trip worthwhile, and a couple of bits I’ll change next time.
location, location, location
Because we were in and out so quickly, we needed to prioritise handy access to where we wanted to get to. We stayed in a hotel across the road from the Centre Pompidou (Hotel Beauborg, highly recommend!), which meant we could walk almost everywhere, and there was handy access to the Metro when we needed to get across town.
better food spots
Food was the let down on our last trip - how could one of the culinary capitals of the world be so mid? Turns out, we just had the wrong recommendations. This time, we entrusted our food recs to our flatmates Chris and Nicola, who are regular Paris visitors, and they set us right.
The first meal we had was a falafel wrap each at L’As du Fallafel, which is apparently quite famous and did not disappoint. €10 gets you a pita stuffed with falafel, hummus and garlic sauce and various vegetables, including eggplant, not something I’m used to in a falafel wrap but which was a welcome addition. They run a very tight ship over there, and we found a lovely little jardin around the corner to eat in. Delish! Just remember to bring cash.
The real star of our dining, though, was Bouillon Republique. This was a strong recommendation from Chris, who ate there at least 3 times while selling au Concours at fashion week. Bouillon has a few locations, and basically does fantastic bistro food, at excellent prices.
The dining room was packed, the menu had something for everyone, and the bill came out at around €50 for two courses and two drinks each - that would be unheard of in London. Shout out to reduced VAT on restaurant food!
Honestly, if every restaurant was as tasty, hospitable and affordable as Bouillon, the world would be a better place. Can’t recommend it strongly enough.
~~ culture ~~
The main reason we came to Paris in the hottest month of the year was to get in before the end of the David Hockney retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
As a non-expert (although my wife is a literal art professional), Hockney is one of my absolute favourite artists. I love how his work is instantly recognisable even though it’s not all the same, how it encourages you to find joy and beauty in the world, how he keeps making work, and how he has embraced new formats and mediums over the decades.
The show was fantastic, highlighting different eras of Hockney’s work and immersing you in the way he sees the world. I got a bit emotional looking at the different ways he painted the same few parts of his homes in Yorkshire and Normandy, and also decided that I want to steal the look of whoever this guy is:
We bought a book, a poster and two postcards, and honestly, if I could have taken some of the originals home with me, I would pay any amount of money to do so.
After the Hockney, we went to the Centre Pompidou to catch the Wolfgang Tillmans retrospective, Nothing could have prepared us – Everything could have prepared us. I’ll admit to sometimes being a bit iffy on photography as art - in a world where everyone is taking photos all the time, what does it mean to place someone’s camera roll in the last show before a major cultural institution closes for five years?
Perhaps more so than Hockney, Tillmans’ work spans a wide range of subject matter: Frank Ocean’s blonde album cover, first responders, markets in India, an image as part of a video montage that I swear was the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake (unverified). If you’re a fan, it’s a demonstration of the ability to put a discerning eye to different things, if you’re a hater, it feels like the middle slides of an Instagram dump.
I went back and forth between both points of view a couple of times while wandering the exhibition, and I really enjoyed chewing over my own biases and how they were reflected in my response to different pieces.
My favourite part was a selection of Tillmans’ work as it’s really experienced: in books, magazines and newspapers - the contexts where photography thrives, even when it feels complicated in a gallery.
In one day, I got to have two very different, while both incredibly enriching, experiences with artworks, and that to me is art at its best. Much more fulfilling than getting your elbows out to see the Mona Lisa, or whatever else you might find yourself doing in Paris musees.
a few things we’d do differently
We flew to Paris because we left our booking a bit late and flights were £100 less than the Eurostar, but after you get to Gatwick, go through the horrible experience of the airport and a flight, then head into town from from Charles de Gaulle, then one feels the train might have been preferable. Next time we’ll plan a bit further ahead and take the objectively better option.
Our timing was dictated by our financial status post-move, and the fact that the Hockney show ends at the end of the month, but city breaks should not be conducted in high summer - it’s too damn hot. Going forward I will be spending my summer annual leave at the beach or pool, and doing city breaks in the shoulder seasons. Lots of the shops I wanted to go to also close for holidays in August - they have their priorities right.
clips
👕 I haven’t made it to the islands of Greece this summer, but near the top of my list is Hydra, which doesn’t allow cars so is a utopia. Everyone’s favourite slightly too expensive casual tailoring brand Drake’s has collaborated with artist Michael McGregor for a collection inspired by the island, so you can dress like you’re still on holiday. I like the painted work jacket (“request to purchase” on the page means I can’t afford it) and the “restaurant” tee, and if I lived a different lifestyle this white seersucker suit would be very cool.
🕹️ I am an addict to the LinkedIn daily games and play three of them every single day. This week they added Mini Sudoku to the rotation, with a 6x6 instead of 9x9 board. It’s a lovely way to start your morning, just as satisfying as the original but without quite as much mental exertion.
🎙️ One of my favourite on-again, off-again podcasts, Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway’s Home Cooking, is coming back in honour of Samin’s new cookbook dropping. It’s a really great podcast and the short seasons mean you have time to listen to all of them before the new season drops!
☕ One other thing not included in my Paris roundup above was that at Bouillon I experimented with an espresso with dessert for the first time. I think of this as quite a classy move but always worry that it’ll ruin my sleep. Turns out, it’s a lovely way to close out your meal, and after a long walk home I slept perfectly well.
bonus: cool arsenal merch
This evening, my favourite Premier League team Arsenal kick off their new season against Manchester United. When I lived in London as a baby I lived around the corner from Highbury, and on my return I live near the Emirates too, so of course I am outsourcing my mental health to Declan, Bukayo, Martin x2 and Mikel x2, as well as the rest of them.
One part of football fandom in late capitalism is the sheer abundance of shopping opportunities to demonstrate your allegiance. Of course, you could wear the real kits (I’m going to buy the blue away in a long sleeve), but there is so much more on offer - you could kit out your whole life only in branded items. Here are my picks from the bowels of the Armoury. Of course, you don’t need to spend to be a fan - you just need to be insufferable at the pub.
The full zip Adidas track jacket has taken over the city, so why not get the one that supports your favourite team?
Just cool shorts, innit?
Unisex Cannon Drill Top in Blue
Love this alternate colourway, love that it’s football merch that is 100% cotton (shout out my sensitive skin pals!), love that it can be layered for chillier nights down the pub. Wish it didn’t say “Gunners” in big letters on the back.
Stanley 1913 x Arsenal The IceFlow™ Bottle Fast Flow
Stay hydrated, folks!
Arsenal Navy NPC Worker Jacket
This is a collaboration for last season and on sale for 40 quid. Arsenal merch you can wear to your fake email job and no one will even bat an eyelid.
That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks so much for reading! If you enjoy clipboard, send it to your friend who triple-captained Antoine Semenyo because he has a cool name. See you next week, and in the meantime you can get in touch old-school, via email, or in the comments!