Finding Creative Fuel in Paris - Adventure Year Week 35

After a week that felt like sloughing through mud, the best thing I could think of for returning to my inspirational headspace would be indulging in the creative delights that are easy to find around any corner in Paris.  If I couldn't feel productive on my own work, I could at least celebrate the creative work of others and get back to a place of remembering anything is possible.  I went out to find things that gave me hope, and was not disappointed.

An architectural moment, catching my eye and sparking my curiosity to learn more...

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Two huge feather quill pens defensively crossed like swords behind a big gold shield... things that make me go hmmm and investigate the map to learn more. (Swipe to see the map location.)

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 5, 2020 at 2:46am PST

The Hemmingway Bar, tucked into the Ritz Paris, inspiring me to get wrapped up in a completely different character's world...

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Hidden deep inside the The Ritz Paris, the Hemingway Bar is known for a dry martini, but perhaps more famously known for Barmaster Colin Field’s ability to work the room and find just the right cocktail for a guest. The cocktails were great, but I have to say, getting a front row seat to watch him in action is a fantastic lesson in how to make everyone who comes to your bar feel like family, or at least like they truly deserve the 30€ cocktail price and one of the few seats in the very intimate setting. It is both masterful and entertaining. When I first entered, I could swear I smelled smoke and thought cigars may be allowed (they are not), but I later discovered the reason. In order to control the smell that may waft in from the Paris streets and old sewers, occasionally rosemary will be burned to clear the air- as if to sage the room of the unpleasantries of the outside world. Another touch of pleasantries? How about a rose in full bloom placed on nearly every cocktail delivered to a lady in the room. Fruit salad in a glass with a spritz of champagne? No problem- whatever will delight you. However, should you doubt Mr. Field’s ability to deliver the driest martini you’ve ever had, he may bring the head of Hemingway to the bar to judge you earnestly while you take a sip and then dehydrate in front of him before conceding and needing a sip of the cucumber water and bite of bar snacks before you can think clearly again. My intuition leads me to wonder if Mr. Field has a witchy ancestry of spirits behind him that stir his passion for concocting potions and spells in this cabinet of curiosities. We’ll see if my curiosity is strong enough to lead me to return and pay the price to pry a little deeper. 😉

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 6, 2020 at 12:38am PST

The possibility of creating fantastical and modern public infrastructure that defies traditional tastes...

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Like my crown? 🤣 This Paris metro station entrance always make me smile when I see it. I think about the audacity and courage of the artist, Jean-Michel Othoniel who had to be doing work like this for years before a city council might have enough trust and faith in his sculptural work to allow him to take over the design of a metro entrance that would defy tradition while still needing to be public infrastructure. Do you have the courage to create art people may say is crazy, weird, ugly, or trash and to keep doing it for decades without giving up before landing a project like this?!? That’s how I recognize the heart and soul of an artist... it is a person who can keep creating, keep refining, keep experimenting, keep playing, keep daring, keep standing up for an individual vision of creation, no matter what anyone else thinks.

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 7, 2020 at 1:06am PST

New and experimental music not once, but twice!  With supportive audiences willing to pay for tickets and sit through hours of acoustic boundary pushing.

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The Avant-garde is alive and well in Paris at Cité de la Musique, right next to the Philharmonie. Last night’s Grand Soir numérique showcased the latest in boundary-pushing computer-acoustic hybrid music. Blurring lines between deep club beats with 3D visualizations to experimental hybrids with sensors, mechanical sounds, and traditional instruments. If anything became clear last night, it is that there is still space for composers and musicians to experiment wildly and to find a supportive and open-minded audience willing to listen in Paris. (Architecture by #JeanNouvel)

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 8, 2020 at 12:48am PST

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A classical concert with 3 living composers- all in attendance, hardly a major chord to be heard, and a Boulez score the size of the podium. Art music is alive and well at Radio France.

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 13, 2020 at 11:06pm PST

The audacity of turning backstage areas into an amusement ride filmmaking experience!

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Did you know that Europe’s largest movie theater has an amusement ride inside? No photos or video are allowed inside to spoil the surprise, but I can tell you it includes a ride behind the scenes of the massive screen, special effects, creating your own green screen scenes, and recording voice over effects, which all result in the cheesiest piece of movie material you may ever be featured in. It’s so bad it’s good. The tour takes off from the REX Studios entrance and is available in the European language of your choice, departing every 5 minutes. It’s even better with friends. Dare I say, you haven’t explored all of Paris if you haven’t done this.

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 19, 2020 at 4:35am PST

A bar that feels like a lava lamp?  Brilliant!

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I feel like I’m inside a lava lamp, sipping on cocktails just to marvel at this artful interior design by Denis Montel (RDAI).

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 13, 2020 at 1:20am PST

Flowers blooming in February?!  Why not?!

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Flowers do not need permission to bloom, and neither do you.

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 11, 2020 at 1:24am PST

Macarons that taste like fruits and flowers?  Yes, please!

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My first macaron tasting since arriving in Paris a month ago- might as well go for the best! Verdict: go for the bright fruity and floral flavors! Also glad I didn’t have to taste-test these all myself- they may be tiny, but wow they are sweet! Note: not a food stylist or food photographer- not even pretending to be one- that’s why you hire the pros. 😉

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 8, 2020 at 9:30pm PST

Writers who overcame hardships and told deep and powerful personal stories through their own poetic written forms- so inspirational.

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What story do you wish more people understood? What story do you wish existed when you were young? The world is enriched when more people make the effort to share their stories. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever for storytellers to get their work into the world without needing to go through a bottleneck of approval from publishers or studios. If there’s a story inside you, I hope you find a way to share it with others. Whether you speak it, write it, make it fiction... I just hope you share it. Art by mudpuppy, from the board book Little Feminist Artists

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 10, 2020 at 12:38am PST

The flow of water, reminding me that life has its own flow, and it doesn't have to be hard all the time- yes please.

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The most peaceful parts of Paris for me are along the water. The open sky, the flow of the water, whether it’s day or night doesn’t really matter... it’s where time begs to be enjoyed rather than hurried along.

A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Feb 12, 2020 at 1:57am PST

Of course there are inspirational things to be found wherever we are, not just in Paris.  However, Paris definitely makes it easy to find and celebrate a wide variety of possibilities all in one place.  Thank you Paris, for reminding me that there is still plenty of room for creative work in the world.