Happy Halloween Weekend to All!

Hope you've got some

(not my pic)

grrrrrrrrreat plans!

Ceret, C'est Sur, Part Two

Oh good!  I needed that this morning:  I'd already uploaded most of these pictures for my

artsy post, Ceret Part Two.

So yes, a town that takes art seriously - and maybe more in the sober "making" sense -

than in the touristy "buying" sense which you see a little too often in some "holiday" towns.

I do like the sobriety of Ceret - and the water in the gutters, its subtle sound and smell, in the quiet of the afternoon.

I like how it's a bit "serieux" about art.  And not commercial and touristy.  I've always wanted to live in a community like this.  Where you do your work in the morning, alone in the peace of your studio....

and a little later pop out for some quick shopping for a new moustiquaire, (mosquito stripping to hang in your doors and windows) for a coffee, a cigarette, a chat, and maybe a little lunch with your other pretty "serieux" artist-and-writer friends.......and then head back to a quiet studio all refreshed and soothed

by either your lunch or the beautiful things you encountered on your way to or from....

We usually spend our French holidays in "Gites".  This one looked appealing but I haven't tracked it down yet on the website.

Sometimes a friend or an acquaintance will have a show.

or....

the artist could be you......and yes, more cigarettes and wine for the occasion.

(No I'm not actually encouraging cigarettes.  Remember, this is a fantasy!)

The sign says "Truffiere Protege - Access Interdit" ("Truffle Zone - No Entry").   Fantasy could become reality though, right?

If I got just the right dog or piggy.  With the appropriate "license de saison" (I'm making up that "French" too!)

Ah oui - la vie douce.  But then......YES.  My fantasy would include serious art/photo shows like the following.  Which was actually taking place in Perpignan, about an hour away.  (Because I don't like to be too shielded from the world.  I think it's my responsibility to know what's going on, and incorporate it into my life and into my art.)

An exhibit of photo-journalists' photos, including some of Syrian devastation that we are NOT seeing in America.

A quote from de Saint Exupery has meant a lot to me this past year:  "What may not be seen is what is the essential", or, 

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” 

(The movie was apparently "beautiful, funny and moving".  Anyone see it?  Not me.)

"Je suis Charlie" was visible in Ceret.  I liked that.  See what I mean?  Serieux.

'Nuff said?

p.s. - Glad you all liked Mouni Feddag.  Serious can be funny too, or seriously funny yes?

En fait, c'est comme ca, la vie!  N'est-ce pas?   Hope it's a good week so far - xoxo

Mouni Feddag - I Have to Share! Fun, Witty Illustration

And can I mention color?

I found her on another arty blog - sorry!

can't remember exactly which one.  (Doesn't the picture above crack you up?)

I love the watery translucenies here and layering of "washes".  This has a kind of vintage look.

The hand is light in the image making but the "narration" is kind of cheeky and in your face.

Is this a sad, funny, or happy pic?  What do you think?

A fierceness here, no?

Chaos?

Again, sad?  Lovely, scary?  Love the ambiguity.  Mouni Feddag, website here.

Have a great weekend everybody!!!!

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Ceret, C'est Sur! Part One.

I like places - (in the same way that I like people) - with

a strong sense themselves, their history and origins but which are also able to embrace

in graceful ways, a larger world. (Apparently many artists from Northern climes have flocked to Ceret - including Picasso, from Paris.)  This is why I liked Ceret so much.  Starting with it's most beautiful parking lot in the world.......

It has ancient seeming towers advertising Catalan pride.....

it's tree-shaded main corridor is like being in a watery fish bowl (like the Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence)

I like that it has a friendly traiteur overflowing with sumptuous traditional comestibles

with EVERYTHING you need for a lazy indulging lunch or dinner, alone or with friends.

I like a place, as I do a person, that celebrates color!

Where life seems to be lived as a quiet, graceful celebration, and being alone doesn't have to mean lonely.

A place that values beauty and encourages lovers of beauty.  (Not lovers of schlock.)

A place that accommodates children, and simple pleasures.

Ceret is such a place.  With peaceful streets to wander down, and lovely surprises around every corner.  We did not go into the museums but the Paradis family does hope to return very soon.  I hope it remains unspoiled.   

This is is the end of my Ceret, Part One post.  Come back for Part Two.  Until, then, breath deep and enjoy!  I've been doing so.

Ceret: Ca Vaut le Detour! Highlights

The Paradis Family spent this most recent French holiday in a cottage surrounded by olive trees

 nectarine orchards, and artichoke fields.  It was elegantly decorated but it was dusty (ah-choo!)

dirty, and inhabited by more than a few rodents.  (That's life in the country!?  I'm naming no names.)

Ceret felt like swe-e-e-e-e-t civilization.  I highly recommend at least a daytrip there.

More Ceret next week.  Have a G-R-E-A-T weekend!

Bueno! Barcelona! Bar Pinotxo!

OK.  So we drove over the mountains from France to Barcelona.  That was the easy part.

When we arrived in Barcelona:  pouring rain.  So what was our strategy?

We walked straight to the Boqueria, under cover of umbrellas and dancing between the raindrops. 

It didn't take us very long AT ALL

to decide that the two stools at Pinotxo, Pinotxo (click for more info)! had our names on them.

I've spent two days only EVER in Spain, and only an afternoon in Barcelona.

But I will stick my neck out and tell you authoritatively that Pinotxo is THE REAL DEAL!

The NICEST people, starting with Juanito - on both sides of the counter.  Gorgeous food.

It is a very HAPPY PLACE!