I sat on a bench on the square of le Republique and watched people search for and find each other. Then strolled Ryan Frank looking pretty much as he did in high school when we were good friends. So what has Ryan been up to since I last saw him in New York where he was going to NYU? He decided he liked visual art more than theatre and started doing that. He worked for an Art Gallery and worked on his art until his art was able to support him financially. So he’s an Artist in New York. Who actually does that? And now, a woman in Paris liked his art, and brought him out here to install it. Again? Who does that? Ryan Frank. We talked about our old friends and caught each other up on our lives of the last 15 years, and we wandered the lovely streets of Paris.
We stopped for Falafel and when we asked where the toilets were, he pointed at the wall. There was a sign for the toilets pointing down to the floor, where there was a tiny hole with a spiral staircase that led down to the bathrooms. This place was more efficient than a motor home! I wish I had gotten a picture of the sign, but here is the spiral staircase:
Kitty cat street art:
We stopped for ice cream, and when I saw they had macaron ice cream sandwiches, I knew that’s what I had to choose!
Here we are at the Hotel De Ville, which is not a hotel or owned by Cruella Deville. It is a government building. As Ryan said, “The French have a thing for domestic charm.”
Ryan is as funny, subtle, intelligent, warm and delightful as I remember, and I just adore him.
Lights on the canal on my way home.
