Au Revoir France, Aloha Maui (Temporarily)

On Saturday I’m heading west to Los Angeles and staying overnight in an airport hotel to catch an early flight to Maui the next morning. That will put me 11 hours behind France and virtually on the other side of the planet, where I will spend the entire month of November with my daughter—who is due with her first child mid-month—and that puts me on U.S. soil during the election. Maui is not exactly your average U.S. political makeup. In the 2020 election, 63.73% voted Democratic, so I’m not worried about any violent uprisings should Kamala Harris be elected. Almost anywhere else in the U.S., I would be.

Erica, Adrian’s Daughter, in Maui

You’ll be hearing from me regularly all during that time, and doing my best to keep you informed of what’s going on in France, even though I’ll be so far away. While my Paris apartment will be vacant of me, it will be busy with guests who will take advantage of my absence at what I jokingly call “Hotel Leeds.”

Normally I’d be planning time to spend at Paris Photo at the Grand Palais (November 7-10) and often with a friend from New York who likes to come to Paris for the art fair. This time she’s staying at Hotel Leeds without me. I hate missing Paris Photo because of my long-time interest in photography. I began collecting fine art photography in the late 1980s. And thanks to the collection now on the walls in the Paris rental apartment, it feels like home, even though it’s temporary. When we moved to Paris in 1994, we shipped the collection and filled the walls of our shabby rental apartment, accomplishing the same thing. It’s all it took to help acclimate to our very new environment.

For those of you who admire photography, I’d encourage you not to miss the current exhibition at the Musée de la Photographie Charles Negre in Nice, Vivian Maier Anthology, on until March 16, 2025. The photos will wow you as will the story about how her work was discovered. She was a Franco-American governess in Chicago and New York who lived quietly in obscurity until her talent as a photographer was unveiled through the accidental discovery of over 120,000 negatives, Super 8 and 16mm films, audio recordings, scattered photographs, and a wealth of undeveloped rolls, revealing an extraordinary, hidden legacy. Maier was reclusive, a hoarder, and abusive to the kids she nannied, yet brilliant in her work as an amateur photographer. A close friend who lives in Nice personally knew her when she was a kid, and tells tales of Maier berating her on the street for her behavior, even though she wasn’t her guardian at all and wasn’t doing anything worthy of reprimanding. When you’re there, or plan in advance to take the time to watch the 2013 documentary film directed and written by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, “In Search of Vivian Maier,” shown only three times each day: 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. It’s 84 minutes long and well worth it.

Nice in Nice author Ella Dyer will be coming from the Riviera town to spend a few days at Hotel Leeds soon after that as she is hosting Après-Midi on my behalf, and is the speaker, too. It will only be the second time since 2003 that I have missed the event! Try not to miss it—am sure you’ll be amused and delighted hearing from Ella.

Once Ella heads south again, the apartment frees up for my cousins who are now living in Nice to come and visit the City of Light. The Paris apartment will be a revolving door, but I won’t be in its revolution.

Anyone who has an apartment in Paris knows that it can be busy with guests. I warn our clients who want to have extra bedrooms for guests that they pay dearly for that space and that the rooms will get a lot of action, sometimes with friends and relatives they didn’t even know they had! That’s not necessarily a bad thing, unless they aren’t prepared to become tour guides and take them to the top of the Eiffel Tower one more time! I’m just happy to have the apartment occupied while I’m gone. I am paying dearly for it, so it might as well get some usage! Plus, these guests will keep me apprised of what’s going on in the city so that I can relate it back to you.

Thanksgiving Day will be spent Stateside this year and that’s highly unusual for me. By that time, the baby will be born and we’ll be changing diapers in between courses! For those in Nice and vicinity, we’re hosting another one of our Thanksgiving Dinners in lieu of Après-Midi. It’s open to all of you to attend and join the community in giving thanks. To learn more and to register, visit our website. Seating is limited so don’t delay!

Meanwhile, stay tuned for news from the American side of the planet, as I give you a look at what it’s like for a long-time American in Paris visiting home turf at such a turbulent time!

A la prochaine…