St. Cloud

I've been trying to find time to go to St. Cloud for more than two months. Its on the western edge of Paris and it isn't clear from my research which metro station is closest to the gardens there. I chose a lovely grey aftenoon to break away from the studio and dive into the St. Paul metro. As soon as my journey was underway and I had transferred to the regional train beyond Paris' borders the mobile began to ring. My friend G. was calling me from the Cite - "Where are you? she asked? She just happened to be in the Marais and stopped by with our expatriot writer friend for a coffee. J. called as well and is leaving to return to Australia tomorrow... she wants to get together sometime tonite...perhaps after her romantic rendevous... and to really add another level of social activity I am unprepared for I am leaving the gardens and going straight to the Power Atelier to visit with another wonderful Australian couple and their six month old.

In the meantime there are mysteries of St. Cloud - a place I've found little info on in English or French. According to the helpful attendant in the bookstore there very few English speakers make it out to St. Cloud. Its is frequented by locals and only when the weather is great. I walked around this expansive site with amazing views on a lovely overcast aftenoon with only a few joggers and strollers on the horizon. I had the place to myself and it was pure magic. I realized how much I missed the smells of the country. The Jardin du Luxembourg or the Jardin du Plantes are great... but these parks are part of the organism of the city and have a different kind of wildness... certainly no wilderness. St. Cloud is on the edge of wilderness. I could smell the bark of the trees and the moss...and it was exhilarating. I love the city but nothing is more healing than to be enveloped in the softer side of nature's elements.

St. Cloud has the grandeur of Versaille (which is very close by) but an element of decrepitude that I found very attractive. I scoured the grounds for sculpture and fountains and took hundreds of photos. Marie Antoniette once owned the villa that was the centerpiece of this estate. Now it is gone but it feels like the shadow it cast is still present.

I didn't know what to expect here so I didn't bring anything with me other than my camera, media and umbrella. Low blood sugar motivated me to find a bus from the St. Cloud train station which took me all the way back to Hotel de Ville without a transfer.

It was a great ride through the suburbs (there is a Tamara de Lempicka exhibition out here... I've seen nothing about this in Paris...) past the Eiffel Tower, the Palais de Tokyo, Tuileries, Louvre and back to the 4th. Now its good my Australian friends served something with the exquisite wine we drank or I would have faded fast tonite. If I'd had time I'd have gone by a boulangerie but I was running late.

J. called around 10:30 or 11pm and I was still upstairs. She and F. were in the reception and I met them in my atelier. They actually had herbal tea with me since both has worn themselves thin during their Romanian adventure. (Too much of a good thing...) It was a very different send off than Y. had one month ago but it was still so great seeing them. They've been very supportive of my work and I've not even had a chance to see theres since J. was working in London and F. is a filmaker. In time I hope all will be revealed. Its nice to have things to look forward to.