Disco Fiesta at the Mairie de 3ème, Les Soirs d'Eté
Photo by Erica Simone
Parler Paris Nouvellettre®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, July 12, 2010 • Paris, France
SPECIAL NOTICE RE OUR RESPONSE TO THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE OF JULY 6th...
Because of a technical glitch, many of you may have not received last Wednesday's very important Nouvellettre® titled "Cracking Down or Cracking Up?," a response to the recent New York Times article that everyone is talking about. We believe that it is very important the truth be known, so if you DID NOT receive it, please visit adrianleeds.com/parlerparis/issues/pparis7-7-10.html and be sure to pass it on to your friends who may have interest in the topic. As a follow up to that edition, you may also want to read French Property Insider's Thursday edition titled "Cracking Down, Cracking Up and Cracking the Case" at adrianleeds.com/frenchproperty/insider
Dear Parler Paris Reader,
Isabelle Isato comes to the apartment (now that her shop across the street closed -- rents have gotten too expensive!) to manicure my nails and pedicure my toes. It's a treat and a luxury that has been avoided for too many years and that not so long ago went back on the "can't live without" list -- like a weekly housekeeper (mine's been with me almost 16 years), a piece of chocolate every day and a cell phone.
Isabelle does everything to make someone beautiful -- hair, nails, face, massage, epilation, etc., does it well and no longer does it out of her little boutique, but in the comfort of your home. It's not any more expensive, either, so it's easy to see how one can come to really appreciate her. You can find her at 06.31.15.48.86 or isatobeaute@hotmail.com, speaks a bit of English (wants to practice) and she'll understand it if you say, "Adrian sent me."
She painted my toes red in preparation for the evening's event -- a birthday party for a 30-year-old named Sergey which promised to be a "Cabaret." On route to the party, the Mairie de 3ème's final concert prior to the upcoming Bal on July 13th was in full swing just in front -- a "Disco Fiesta"...a band dressed in sparkly 70s costume including Afro wigs (a little over the top and politically incorrect, but no one cared!) playing, of course, disco music. We didn't stay long enough to dance, knowing what was in store for us at the "Cabaret."
The party took place in a large elegant Haussmannian apartment on rue du Turbigo at rue Saint-Denis with balconies overlooking this very animated intersection. The rooms were virtually bare, except for the almost all male guests dressed in 30's Cabaret garb, a topless male waiter and a bathtub filled with champagne and ice! There were a few token women, a drag queen or two and lots of happy men filling their glasses with champagne until they knew no pain.
At midnight, the birthday boy, Sergey-alias-Liza-Minelli, and a couple of his close friends-alias-cabaret-dancers, who had been rehearsing for a couple of months, entered to land center 'stage' at one end of the large "double salon" with two bright lights shining on them and three small chairs as props. That's when "Life Became a Cabaret, My Friend!"
Dressed in thigh-high stockings, garters, high heels and little silk nighties, these 'guys' put on one hell of a show, right there in that large bourgeois living room with about 75 drunken friends cheering them on. Could it have been more hilarious!? No. And impressive it was, I might add! You should have seen those long, gorgeous legs! Just wish mine looked as good!
There's one thing about being around so many men who wish they were women -- they really know how to boost a woman's ego by passing out lots of compliments without being jealous...and then you can always share clothing and make-up tips! What a deal!
We sauntered home after 1 a.m. and collapsed to find Sunday a very hot and bright summer day. After catching up on paperwork, we set out in the evening to watch the final World Cup match by finding a spot in Montmartre with a TV screen and cool drinks. With not many seats left, the bars all overflowing with fans, we trekked along the boulevard de Clichy between Métros Pigalle and Blanche, past the sex shops and strip joints to find a quietish, coolish and very tacky bar. It seemed fitting considering the location -- a far cry from Le Marais where 'life was a cabaret.'
Before the match ended, I took my red toes home to watch the final score, hear the cheers from the party of people watching together in an apartment across the street and directed the fan to keep the air cool. At 6 a.m. this morning a thunderstorm shook the whole apartment, spraying rain into all the open windows, leaving today a little more humid, yet a little cooler.
Tomorrow...we get ready for the Bals des Pompiers and then for Wednesday when the Eiffel Tower lights up the sky...all for the annual Bastille Day celebration.
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
Photo by Erica Simone
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P.S. Be sure to join us tomorrow for Parler Paris Après Midi...from 3 to 5 p.m. at La Pierre du Marais. Visit adrianleeds.com/parlerparis/apresmidi.html for more information. And take note that the Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group is open all summer long, but closed tomorrow and Wednesday for the holiday. Visit parlerparlor.com/ for more information.
