A Summer in Paris [August 2025]
Another summer where I’m cat-sitting. This time, it’s for friends. Three cats in total. It’s surely my (late) Rosalie who sent them my way. I was looking at Rosalie’s photo, thinking how much I missed her; that being sedentary was useless if you don’t have a cat, etc., when we were asked to take care of the cats during the August holidays. In Paris / Île-de-France. Since JB can work remotely unlimited and I have no geographical constraints, we happily accept.
Lille is only a 1h30 train ride from Paris, but it’s quite a hassle to do a round trip in one day when we have quite a few museums / suppliers / friends / family to see. A month is perfect! I have an endless list of museums and exhibitions I want to see. Plus, our friend lent us a car for the whole month of August, so for groceries, visits… it’s much more convenient.
And Paris without Parisians is much less stressful. Well… unfortunately, there are still a few Parisians particularly disgusted to stay in Paris in August, so I still had some unpleasant encounters… I think I’ve gotten so used to the relaxed attitude of Northerners that this time, I notice and suffer much more from Parisian toxicity.
I got to see my dear L. again, with whom I discussed everything, notably the incivility and rudeness we observe every time we enter Paris, and the feeling she describes following these situations is ANGER. When I lived in Paris, I did indeed feel anger constantly, even my osteopath felt it and asked me why I had so much of it. And I think when it’s your daily life, you ignore the cause; whereas when you’ve lived abroad or in the provinces for a long time, you better recognize the source of that anger. According to traditional medicine, anger eats away at the liver.
Luckily, the cats I looked after were incredibly affectionate and not at all stingy with purrs. After a day on public transport, having purr therapy did me a world of good. Plus, our friend lent us a car, so I could limit public transit when I was tired. Besides that, thanks to the proximity to Paris, I fully enjoyed the capital:
Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
I went to see “the exhibition of the century,” where we see, probably for the first and last time in our lives, unbound folios from the first two booklets of the “Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry” which I talked about here. This illuminated manuscript is the Mona Lisa of illuminated books and has been known since its creation. Many other books are directly inspired by its style and drawings. And being able to see it like this, perfectly restored, is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. And for the first time since 1416, the six books of hours commissioned by the Duke of Berry have come from all museums to be shown simultaneously, in the same exhibition!!! It’s a shame the venue is so small and the people who come to see it are so little bibliophilic. I talked about it here. But I was able to flip through the facsimile of the book (the facsimile alone must be worth 3000 to 5000€) and just the facsimile is too too beautiful, the gilded parts are embossed and the leaves are super thick. I think even those who have no interest whatsoever in medieval art should go (it’s open until October 5th), it’s a historic event that will still be talked about a century later.
Time
This month, I thought a lot about our relationship with time.
The Très Riches Heures was a book of hours. It’s a prayer book that begins with a calendar, month by month, and the most extraordinary page is the one following the calendar: the zodiacal man. This representation is not found in other books of hours. This zodiacal man highlights the idea “As above, so below; as below, so above.”, man is a microcosm; if you understand a grain of sand, you’ll understand the whole universe.
If the calendar was so important, it’s because prayers also changed with the seasons, and life was paced by festivals (which are meant to mark the seasons). I told myself that the ancients had a much closer bond than we do with seasonality and nature. At the Musée des Arts et Métiers, when you look at old clocks, there was a lot of information about seasons, lunar cycles… Before, I paid no attention to all that, until I learned via Chizu Saeki the cosmetic routines to implement by season and according to the menstrual cycle. It was a major discovery, and I was able to stop adult acne thanks to that tip.
When solar storms can cause problems for power plants, how can humans claim not to be influenced? The full moon makes many of us insomniacs, why don’t we follow the lunar cycles anymore when astronomical clocks like those in Rouen, Beauvais… display them for all to see? Why do we detach from the universe when we undergo its influences and are ourselves mini universes?
This relationship with time, with the cycle of time, weighs heavily on my mind because I read a Vietnamese book (Chữ Thời – Kim Định) that explained how the way we perceive time (linear, or cyclical) can totally change our worldview.
For over a year now, I’ve wanted to take part in the 2-day illumination workshop led by Florence Aseult but I never had the chance. This time, I managed to sign up for her workshop at the end of August. Several participants said that illumination had become an obsession, and it was only by practicing it that I understood why. It’s the first time I’ve seen a repetitive and simple task that lasts several hours (applying paint in several thin layers) in crafts; and since it doesn’t require much thinking, you enter a “flow” state comparable to meditation. You cut yourself off from the outside, find yourself face to face, and it’s really relaxing. When I saw the subject on the first day (a dragon), I thought I’d never make it in 2 days. At the end of the first day, I went home very confused and full of doubts because the result is really bad and I don’t even know where I messed up because I thought I had followed the instructions more or less. Fortunately, on the second day, when we started adding shading, my drawing finally started to look like something. I’m quite proud of myself, even though the result has NOTHING to do with the original model.
Expectations vs. Reality: no need to specify which drawing was made by the teacher and which by me 😀
In the group, there are some people who are doing illumination for the first time and are 10 times better than me. I believe in innate talent but also in hard work and perseverance. However, after spending so much time doing so many things by hand, this workshop only confirms what I have long suspected: I have to admit that I don’t have innate dexterity. I’ll keep doing all this for fun, but in no way can I claim to make it my profession. To reach the same level as someone “with gold in their hands”, I would need more than 10,000 hours and I’m not ready to do that, having too many passions and interests at the same time. If there’s a career change to consider, I don’t think it will be in crafts.
Museums
The National Museum of Asian Arts – Guimet has been on my wishlist for a long time because I’ve seen videos and photos of its sublime library and its terrace with a view of the Eiffel Tower. While the ground floor doesn’t impress me too much because these are things I’ve more or less seen during my travels, the library is absolutely incredible, and the top floor is my favorite because there is a large collection of porcelain and ceramics (my new obsession) and incredible objects. My favorite is a miniature Chinese ivory pavilion offered by the Emperor of China to Empress Josephine. As I browsed this beautiful collection, I kept telling myself “so that’s what money was for, to buy beauty and art”.
My friend O. then took me to the Hangar Y park, and it did me a lot of good to be in a nice but quiet place.
The highlight remains the Jacquemart-André Museum, which I loved so much that I bought the book with the complete list of its permanent collection. It is a mansion converted into a museum, owned by Mr. André, who was a very wealthy banker. The mansion was designed around his art collection. He was already quite old and sick when he married Miss Jacquemart, of modest origins but educated by an aristocratic family. The two traveled non-stop to complete their collection. He had a sure taste for furniture, she had a sure taste for statues and paintings. Looking at their collection, I imagined generational wealth like this: when you need a piece of furniture, a family member will give you an ivory stool; and when you need to decorate your wall, your grandfather will give you a Rembrandt hahaha. I understand how you can be extremely wealthy and want even more, because there are so many beautiful objects and paintings to acquire in this world, it will never be enough. Looking at the refined furniture of the gentleman, I could only imagine the pleasure of designing these pieces yourself and receiving them brand new with your initials on them. On the ground floor, it was possible to receive up to 1000 guests, the two large walls can descend into the basement! The staircase near the winter garden is my favorite place, you don’t know where it leads. Its size and structure are sumptuous. If I were a multi-billionaire, my dream house would totally resemble the Jacquemart-André Museum.
The Museum of Arts and Crafts is also a place I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time. It explains the progress of applied sciences: from units of measurement to weaving machines, and aviation and automobiles. I find it super interesting, especially with its guided tour (included in the admission ticket) at 2:30 PM, which lasts 1.5 hours and shows the museum’s “stars”. They explain the making of the Statue of Liberty (whose 2m30 model is exhibited in the museum), how the meridian was measured exactly, how a message was sent from Lille to Paris in 1 hour (without a pigeon)… and there are plenty of miniatures of machines/technologies… super well done. There is a large room on means of communication and you can see old presses + miniature presses with miniature letters. Amazing!
In the corner, Rue de Réaumur is super well-known for its jewelry findings wholesalers. Some shops are open to individuals (SELFOR). I know there are diamond and gemstone boutiques more secure than a bank; where you ring, give a password, and go through a series of very heavy doors to access either precious metals sold by the gram, or gems set in high jewelry. The rare shops open to individuals sell very cheap jewelry because there are no middlemen. I’m particularly interested in findings and tools for jewelers (especially at SELFOR). I went to look at beads, but I find them very expensive and not round enough. I prefer to have them come directly from China.
Speaking of suppliers, I found incredible fabrics at So tissus, from Balenciaga and YSL dormant stock. They have much more stock in store than online. And the prices are a bit more interesting too. I left with several meters of 100% silk, a material I could never have afforded in a normal fabric store (20€ per meter for luxury silk twill).
For the first time, I visited the Sennelier shop on Quai Voltaire, where everything seemed frozen in time. I found primary color pigments, gold powder, fish glue, and very fine brushes for my future illumination activities. I don’t know how art students do it, as the supplies are exorbitant. Unfortunately, discounts here and there, it’s still a big budget. I source from the same suppliers as them, and each craft activity costs me at least 300€ just for basic materials. I’m glad I went to a public business school because, apart from the computer and a bit of tuition, I didn’t pay for anything else.
While in Paris, I took the opportunity to see my favorite massage therapists again: Véronique Meissonnier who gives me facial massages (half kobido, half kiné) to save me from skin aging (I told her my face was drooping and she re-lifted it in an hour; I highly recommend the custom massage at 140€/hour). Elsewhere, when you get a facial, it’s rare to be massaged for the entire treatment, but with Véronique, out of 1 hour, there are 55 minutes of massage, and it’s blissful. My jaw, which suffers from bruxism, comes out happy. I managed to go see her twice! The Kobido treatment massages absolutely all facial muscles, but the custom treatment allows targeting problem areas in a personalized way. The order in which one massages is also very important, so Mme Meissonnier often speaks of kobido as a “dance of the fingers” with a choreography unique to her.
I’ve never admitted it publicly, but last year, one day in front of my mirror, I didn’t recognize myself; my face “dropped” all of a sudden. I did research and Dr. Idriss explained that there are times like that when you feel like you’re aging all at once. And there’s nothing to be done. Apparently, it’s the loss of collagen/fibroplasm… which results in visible sagging, all of a sudden. The next time will come in about 5 years according to Dr. Idriss. So I’m trying to save my face as much as possible, and massage is highly recommended for this kind of “problem.” It will stimulate blood circulation, make the qi flow, and smooth wrinkles.
I’ve seen my Vietnamese masseuse in the 13th arrondissement several times, who walks on me (sheer torture), but miraculously, everything is put back in place afterwards. I’ve seen her so often that I had time to chat with her and noticed the results of a treatment she was testing on herself. I won’t share the address of my Viet masseuse because her method isn’t very orthodox, but if you want a more acceptable method, you can go to Lanqi Spa.
What I try to explain to everyone is that Lille is a small city and there’s a sort of medical desert. I have to go to Paris if I don’t want to wait 6 months for a medical appointment. And for now, I haven’t found good massage therapists in Lille.
To celebrate our upcoming birthdays, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at a gastronomic restaurant 1 hour from Paris (there are more choices here than near us in Lille), and I wrote a post about it here.
While in the Paris region, I took the opportunity to spend time with my niece. It’s so tiring to watch a kid all day, even if my task was just to feed her and play with her. I understand parents’ desire to hand an iPad to kids to have 10 quiet minutes, or the urge to drop them off at the babysitter’s or school just to have a life. It saddens me so much for today’s children. Before, Vietnamese kids my age grew up in a community, in a small village or in our street community, where we played with other neighborhood kids and could hang out at the homes of adults we liked. There was a whole village to care for each child; the pressure on the shoulders of both parents was much lighter. I was very sad when we moved and I could only spend time with other kids at school.
I brainstormed with my Vietnamese friend V., who runs a Vietnamese organic tea salon (Tra Art 34b rue Bichat 75010 Paris). Thanks to her, I became interested in the art of tea. Tea is also an excellent way to access meditation. I’ve never been able to sit and do nothing and reach a meditative state; I like to have an accessory, whether it’s a manual activity, watching a beautiful landscape, or sipping tea. I need a focus to access flow. With V., we wondered if there wasn’t some handicraft product we could bring back and sell in France. From my personal experience, I have some suppliers who sell extraordinary things but for a given color, there will only be 10 copies for example; and others who are always out of stock because the organic ingredients to make them are limited and production requires good weather, etc. She confirms to me that there always needs to be a very precise process; a lot of money just to buy the raw materials (it’s always very difficult to access premium quality if you’re a small buyer). Handicrafts are a fine balance between production capacity and excellent quality.
I had lunch with quite a few people and I left with lots of new ideas and anecdotes. I think that like the Sims, my sociability meter is filled to the max and until the end of the year. So, I saw some friends and some people I only knew online and met in person for the first time. It was super super nice! What’s very pleasant is that the meetings were set and decided very quickly. Whereas with some people (whom I no longer see because of this reason), it was impossible to have the 3 elements together: date / time / place without exchanging 40 messages. With age, I think I’m becoming impatient so I really appreciate people who can decide quickly, especially when the priority is just to see each other; the rest is detail. I tolerate less and less overthinking. What I also like to see in people is evolution. Not necessarily a career change or a promotion but an evolution in the way of thinking, no longer making the same mistakes, or simply talking about a new movie or a new book they’ve read – so that there’s something to exchange and grow together, rather than staying prisoner of one’s beliefs and habits. These past months, I’ve been wondering how I could renew myself and be in tune with the times and the answers came along as I met people, I can’t wait to show you the first results.
In short, I had a lovely summer in Paris and in the Ile-de-France region. I was busy for a month and it’ll do me good to rest a bit in my little northern province. My best friend will come to see me in Lille and I can’t wait!
