Bergamot Station

First time going to Bergamot won't be the last! So many wonderful galleries with artists from around the world.

There were various types of art, including modern art, interactive video, glass sculpture, photography, functional art, and textual pieces.

The architecture compliments the galleries and parking was easy midweek. The metro has a stop literally at the galleries if you want to take public transport. 

Excellent food at the Great Outdoors, including the best Greek salad I've ever eaten! 

I loved several pieces so much that I wanted to take them home, but I would have no room for them in my current place. 

I wish I had $$$$$$$ to be an art patron :)

Mosaic Tile House

Great way to spend a day immersed in art with living artists in residence! It took over 35 years to create this ever changing intricate, funny, profound, and life affirming house. Just email them for a reservation and show up with $20 per person (cash is easiest) to explore this lovely art sanctuary.

From the charming owners to their lively young volunteers and assistants, it is a pleasure to discover all the details all over the house.

Artists will appreciate access to the studios and seeing process unfold. I bought a piece to take home as a reminder to live with art everyday!

Umbrellas, wine, and a tarte au citron

The Umbrella Sky Art Project takes place all over the world and I was fortunate to see their installation in Paris at the Village Royal near the Place de la Madeleine. Patricia Cunha is the artist who created this 800 umbrellas hung by cables over the passageway.

The place to stop is in the very heart of the installation at Le Village Royal where you may sit with a delightful glass of wine as you people watch.

A perfect tarte au citron provided a sweet ending to a beautiful day and trip to Paris :)

Mosaic Tile House Venice Part 2

The artists live and work in the Mosaic Tile House, so the kitchen is fully functional, and their studio in the back is where they create their tiles and where their bigger pieces are displayed.

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Mosaic Tile House Venice Part 1

Even though I have lived in Los Angeles for decades, I had never been to the Mosaic Tile House in Venice until recently. Today and tomorrow's photo posts will be a kaleidoscope for your eyes, a challenge for your brain, and a feast for your imagination. Enjoy the adventure on Saturdays between 1-4pm $20 for adults $15 for seniors and children under 12 get free admission.

 Wrenches, pliers, anything you can imagine are incorporated.

 Yes, those are spoons!

 The details are amazing.

Walls, ceilings, and floors are all part of the canvas.

The artists appear in the artwork throughout the house :)

Blé Sucré & Belleville

Blé Sucré is on so many lists as the best croissant in Paris that I had to taste them for myself :) The tiny shop has a few tables outside if you want to have a coffee and eat facing the park, but I didn't want my croissant accompanied by the melody of screeching children, so I took mine to go. This is a pâtisserie not a boulangerie, which means they offer pastries but do not sell bread. If you want a baguette, go elsewhere, but come here for the madeleines, the pain au chocolat, or the croissants. The croissants here are HUGE by Parisian standards, easily twice as big as others.

The airy light layers and satisfying crunchy flakiness make for the best of combinations, and I added these croissants to my favorites list along with all the others who came before I did :)

Not far away is another kind of pâtisserie, La Rose de Tunis, specializing in North African sweets infused with honey, nuts, and spices. This one is in Belleville in the 11th, but there are other locations in the 15th and 18th, as well as in other cities throughout Europe. There is always a line out the door, so be prepared to wait for your sweet treats.

Since I went to the Yelp event at Les Piaules, I wanted to explore the Belleville area a bit more along Blvd Belleville with all the streetside vendors making freshly grilled breads filled with your choice of meat, tomatoes, onions; think of it as an alternative to pizza:)

The stores sell products I've never seen before, like Rose jam!

There were also markets that sell products I knew very well,

like roasted ducks and char siu.

Off Rue Belleville, which intersects Blvd Belleville, the famous graffiti of Rue Denoyez adds color

 and art to everything from the storefronts to the plant holders.

Some artists were working as I passed by, but this area will be transforming in the next few years to "modernize" the street and about 30 of the local workshops and artists will be displaced despite a petition with over 10,000 signatures trying to preserve the character of this street.

The most surprising thing I saw in the neighborhood wasn't the rose jam or the graffiti, but a Lamborghini, the only one I've ever seen in Paris :)