Joanna Walsh, writer of Badaude, took time out from her daily idle observations of everything of a Parisian bent to discuss her ongoing blogging work and share her secrets to a life in Paris.

 

Tell us a little about the Badaude blog…
“I started it a couple of years ago. It was originally dedicated to observational illustrations with a little writing on them - an outlet for work I felt I couldn’t do as a commercial illustrator. Then I found I was enjoying the writing more and more and it eventually overflowed the boundaries of the illustrations to became part of the blog. The dictionary definition at the top of my site tells you what it’s all about, really - Ba’daude (nf); a person given to idle observation of everything with wonder or astonishment; a credulous or gossipy idler. I found the word in a 19th century engraving by the French artist, Honoré Daumier and feminized it by adding an e to the end (not something the Académie française, who are notoriously strict about neologisms entering their langauge, would approve of)”.

…and your involvement with artist network IVY Paris?
“I can’t remember now how I met Susie Hollands who runs the network, though I think it might have been through artist, Matthew Rose. I write posts for them, designed a carte de voeux (New Year card) for them last year, and have just finished work on an illustrated piece for a new project which should be revealed soon on the site”.

As an illustrator and writer, having your work published in The Guardian, The Times and Wall Street Journal amongst others, what has been the most interesting project you have worked on?
“I love commissions because I like working in response to other people’s ideas. I enjoy the adrenaline of producing pieces for newspapers on 24 hour or same-day deadlines, but I also like longer term projects and pieces where editors will let me do more or less what I want, like The Idler magazine (my last piece of work for them was a four page graphic story about John Ruskin)”.

You blogged on Badaude recently about an experience at Hotel de Crillon – listed with The Leading Hotels of the World. What would be the best hotel you have had the pleasure of staying in Paris?
“I think the Hotel de Crillon has to be the most exciting place I’ve stayed in so far - just because it’s such a glittering package, a wonderful way to suspend reality for a night or two’s Cinderella experience. I also like the Hotel des Academies et des Arts, far more modest in scale, but a model of everything a boutique hotel should be”.

Where would you recommend to stay for a romantic breaks in Paris?
“I would go for the Hotel Particulier Montmartre fairytale townhouse hidden down a leafy ‘impasse’ high up on the butte de Montmartre. There are five suites, each designed by a different artist, commissioned by art curator/owner, Morgane Rousseau and a wonderful garden with seats in secret corners - perfect for a romantic rendez-vous”.

…and for a romantic night out?
“Walk up the Canal Saint Martin in 10e, crossing the bridges just as the sun sets and the lights start coming on in the buildings along its banks. Stop at one of them - maybe the Hotel du Nord - for an aperitif, then continue down the canal for dinner at Le Chateaubriand on Avenue Parmentier for top class modern French cuisine (at very reasonable prices) in a relaxed bistro atmosphere”.

Sharing your wisdom on the city…a tip on places to see for anyone booked to stay in Paris for the festive period?
“I’d love to see the Jeff Koons balloon doggie at Versailles… If you miss that, there’s always the fabulous installations in every department store window (I’d recommend those at Le Bon Marche)”.

Do you ever fly to Paris – or do you only ever travel by Eurostar?
“I prefer Eurostar as I like to depart from, and land in the centre of the city. I also like to travel greenly where possible”.

Which other Paris blogs are you a regular subscriber?
“I read Maitresse who blogs on reading and writing in the City of Light. Czukpa Cakis always has something amusing to say, as does Charles Bremner at the Times. The Paris Blog is a good composite site with posts from a range of Paris bloggers”.

You were nominated yourself by La Belette Rouge in September’s Ermine Awards. If you were to share the love for the greatest blog right now, what would that be?
“I think the hitotoki site, which has a Paris section, has nailed something central to the practice of blogging. This site of ‘postcards’ from mindscapes as much as cityscapes picks up on blogs’ capacity to capture the immediacy of a fleeting, but nevertheless important, moment”.

Describe Paris in no more than five words…
“Light, Stone, Glitter, Water, Night…”

Paris has always been a city very much associated with photography, with the work of Doisneau, Ronis Brassai and Cartier-Bresson helping to create the image we have of the Paris today. In more recent times, it is the creation of events such as the Mois de la Photo which has helped keep the city in the focus of photography lovers.

Held every two years in November, the Mois de la Photo is one of the biggest photography festivals in the world. Created in 1980, this year it is celebrating its 16th edition with its biggest and most ambitious festival so far. Loosely based around a theme of ‘Europe’, the shows and exhibitions can be found in almost every corner of the city, in cultural centres, museums, art galleries and even schools.

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In difficult economic times we are more used to hearing about closures, but this week saw the reopening of one of Paris’s favourite nightspots, Le Palace, after over 10 years in limbo.

Originally opened as a music-hall in 1923, it was transfomed into a cinema at the end of the Second World War. The rather banal history of this establishment though took an abrupt turn with the birth of disco, and when it was reinvented as a nightclub in 1978, a myth was born. Throughout the 1980s it became the Parisian equivilent of New York’s Studio 54, hosting shows by artists such as Grace Jones and the first public appearance of Prince. It was not generally considered a trendsetter though, but rather a jetsetter. The focus was not so much on the music but on the people, and it was the nightspot of choice for princes and millionaires, fashion designers and models.

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The French artist Raoul Dufy has suffered from a cruel paradox since his death. His works are ubiquitous on postcards and calendars and are displayed in museums and galeries worldwide, yet he has not been honoured with a full retrospective in his own capital city since his demise in 1953. Over 50 years after his death though, an exhibition has finally opened in Paris with the goal of rehabilitating his somewhat battered reputation.

“My eyes were made to erase all that is ugly”, declared Dufy, and it is perhaps this insistence on the aesthetics of beauty which has led critics to label him in recent times as an artist without substance. We like our museums and galeries to be light and spacious, but art to be dark and demanding. Through the 1960s and 70s, Dufy’s tableaux of light and colour were no longer relevant in a post-modern era of personal and institutional revolutions, and his star declined due to this perceived lack of radicality.

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My Marais tours are my speciality and one of the things I like most is showing people the wonderful gourmet and food shops in the area. Two of my favorites are a creative chocolate shop with the most unusual chocolate sculptures and one of the top patisseries in Paris.

I call it my double sugar whammy part of the tour and usually after walking around the neighborhood seeing the splendid historical buildings and beautiful parks & gardens, we work up a bit of hunger and thirst and I ask the client if they would like to stop for coffee. I take them to Gerard Mulot off the Place des Vosges, one of the master pastry chefs of Paris emporium, and the client’s eyes bulge and their mouths salivate over the glistening, mouthwatering pastries. One of their specialties is their famous macarons in over 15 flavors including classic fillings of raspberry, lemon, almond, caramel, and chocolate and more exotic ones like passion fruit, cassis, and rose caramel. After the client finally narrows down the tough choice of picking one pastry or a few flavors of macarons, we sit and inhale our treats and wash it down with their strong coffee, which energizes us to continue the tour.

As if we didn’t indulge enough with the pastries, the next stop is Josephine Vannier, a delectable chocolate shop a few doors down. We marvel at the incredible chocolate sculptures in the window and the latest theme is a collection of chocolate boxes with varying yellow happy and sad faces painted on each one. Once inside we are assailed with an intense scent of chocolate and amused by the other sculptures of musical instruments, cell phones, Eiffel Towers, and globes. As wonderful as the sculptures are, they are not the most transportable, so the client usually opts for something they can munch on right away. I suggest the exotic flavored chocolate bars with combinations of salt & pepper, dried raspberry, spice bread, curry & pimento spice, and dried apple & pear.

After the client complains that I made them break their diet, they profusely thank me for tantalizing their taste buds, expressing that the treats were well worth every calorie.

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