Post Sound Adventure

Well, a spontaneous adventure to north Puget Sound with Miss Susan and Belle proved bountious! It was a beautiful, clear weekend – warm, like early spring. Drove up on Friday afternoon for an early Sat departure north. Tried a new place in Oly-town, the 4th Ave Tav, met Susan’ buddy Julie, and pigged out on some tasty pub grub (try the onion rings). Sat morning – lazy start, but no worries – hey, it was a holiday weekend. Made the 2:00 ferry to Whidbey Island. First stop – Langly, where I wanted to hit the Useless Bay Coffee House. Great coffee and met a nice couple of guys and their dog Ginko (a Shiba Inu) who told us that Whidbey is even nice in the summer – yeah, right! We were pretty charmed as it was. Walked on the beach and explored the town a bit – thrift store! Then a roundabout tour of the island – lots of farms. We saw Chicago, or at least where it was planned, now a driftwood strewn beach. On our way north, Susan swears she saw an eagle perched on a fencepost. We made it to Desolation Pass in time for a super sunset. Wow – I had been laughing about reading that Desolation Pass was the “Grand Canyon of the Sound” – but that is pretty darn accurate once you see it. The water color was the coolest turquoise – glacial but darker. Some pix up at flickr…

Reading: Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

Archives du Paris

Following is an archive of weekly emails, “La Gazette du Paris,” I sent to friends and family during my Summer 2001 research trip to Paris. It is a document both personal and professional, outlining my work efforts and detailing the experience of a non-French-speaking fellow learning the Parisian landscape. What a great trip! Enjoy reading or re-reading the experience. The trip inspired the name of this blog, which is “les terrains vagues” – areas in between buildings that are not designed, basically left-over space. I’ll add photos from the trip once I get a scanner; I took only film photos during this trip.

Subject: la Gazette du Paris 1

bonjour mes amis,

many thanks to chris madsen for recommending an e-journal of this trip. please let me know if you do not want to be on this list and you will be spared! also please forward to anyone i may have left off the list.

almost a week in paris, and so far i am ready to stay for a while. to big so big, paris feels quite small and intimate because of the human architectural scale (rare is the building over 5 stories). last night was my first seeing
the city at night – the lighting design is incredible. the eiffel tower still sparkles post-millenium, a bright carousel at place de la concorde spins, le louvre looms, and boats creep along the seine.

i’ve spent a bit of time already exploring parks and open spaces in the city (could i have picked a better specialization?). jardin tuileris, jardin des plantes, parc bercy, the river parkway along the right bank (linear
pedestrian park), and chateau sceaux (an in-town palace that is not in the tour books). it’s a perfect city to see how people use urban space. for example, i had not seen any skateboarders, only rollerbladers, but then
along the seine and near Bercy, 100′s of boarders were using the hardscape near the parks. also, a good amount of jogging.

the family who have opened their home to me are awesome: sophie, francis, and their girls rapha?lle and mathilde (5 and 3). they have cooked many wonderful meals, taken me around, shared books of france sites, and welcomed
me to their mothers day celebration with the entire clan – both their parent sets, siblings, etc. let’s say i didn’t need dinner after chowing on so much paella. sophie especially has adopted me brother-like, offering carpool,
mobile phone, extra cheese, chocolate (ok, i’m now a convert), and shopping trips. and i’m able to pick up some french, a good thing. maybe i’m crazy, but having a mellow everyday experience is much more pleasant than touring. no urge to “must see” the big stuff when you can wander a neighborhood and watch people enjoying each other’s company in urban nature while you do the same. besides, that eiffel structure ain’t goin nowhere.

i am tossing ideas of doing some day trips, for example to Normandie, Brittany, maybe even London (only 3 hours). any recommendations? also if you know of any small things Parissien or remember any good park experiences, please share. i have on my wish list: la villette, parc citroen, promendade plantee, butte chamont, and versaille/vaux vicompte. also some cemeteries bec/people have said they are used as parks, too. probably vincennes and boulougne, too.

my favorite thing this week: crawling up a step ladder through a louvered window at my host’s house and seeing the view around their town Sat night (Vitry sur Seine). i was hoping to catch a spectacle pyrotechnique, but i was too early and not patient (i did hang for about 45 min just looking around). but the view of the lights of all the towns from 4th story on the hill and the sounds of parties and fights in the breeze was unforgettable.

salut. chris

Reading: The American Way of Death Revisited by Jessica Mitford

Monte Carlo

Surprising how a swank place like Monte Carlo on the Riviera offers so much public and accessible space. On a day trip via rail from Cannes, France, what surprised me most were fantastic parks, gardens, and public institutions – money creates and maintains some great things here! My first surprise was a beautiful, charming children’s park with game and play areas, designed along different levels of an old olive grove up on a steep hill above the town. For a small fee of 6 euros, I then visited the Jardin Exotique, a collection of cacti and succulents also on the hills overlooking the principality. The entry fee included a tour of a spectacular limestone cave, one of the only caves that gets warmer as you enter it because of its location in the steep cliffs. Finally, I visited the Musee Oceanographique – no doubt the best natural history museum I’ve visited. It boasts classic architecture, a small but high quality aquarium, and beautifully exhibited historic collections. Best of all, you could have cheap but tasty eats on the roof top providing amazing views of the town, the hills, and the Mediterranean. I appreciated the local public buses which were cheap, fast, and clean; I got to see the “everyday” Monte Carlo, with folks getting off work and kids out of school riding the bus. But my favorite discovery? The many “green roofs” on mid-rise complexes throughout the city! I was so shocked that Monte Carlo, a place of dreams and fantasy, gambling, exotic cars, money offered so many accessible treats and even a sustainable touch.

Reading: The Peregrine by J.A. Baker (it’s *awesome*)

PDX Skate Park to open

On 14 Oct 06, PDX opens a new skate park at Pier Park. At a recent City Wide Parks Team meeting, two representatives from the skating community, both around 40 years old, made certain that their constituencies were heard. Several other attendees expressed hope that skate parks would provide an outreach opportunity for Portland Parks & Recreation to one of its most underserved groups, teens. I’ll post a photograph from the skate park opening here, as well as others to my flickr site.

Reading: The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno