Adventures in Paris and Building Something New

Key takeaways from my trip to Paris and starting to dream up my next big project

The past few weeks have spun by in a blur as I was staying in Paris, and only last Thursday did I find myself home again, still dizzy from the experience. Paris is one of my favorite cities, just behind Los Angeles, because it’s so ripe with culture. Kyle and I had a realization that Barcelona is perhaps a home base, a tranquil place to rest? But the rest of our time can be spent in other cities, befriending people who are active and curious and living life to its fullest. And so, the time spent in Paris was filled with adventures, long conversations with friends new and old, and experiencing both downpours and perfect sunny days (though I’m very glad we missed this hail storm!). Shoutouts to

Shelby Chambers

and

Seb Emina

and

Lindsay

for the great hangs! Anyhow, here are my top takeaways from the trip —

• Paris is overwhelming! Intellectually, I know that Paris is a big city, but it’s the density of the city that astonishes me. Each block is jam packed with restaurant after cafe after patisserie after boulangerie, it’s nonstop. I feel like my Google Map doubled in size after this trip! There’s honestly no way to see “everything,” nor should you try. Be sure to spend time doing your research. Understand the priorities of places you want to visit, finding out when they’re open and make your reservations far in advance. To this, I would recommend you…

• Stay centrally. The city is organized by arrondissements, aka neighborhoods, and the central part of Paris is shaped like a snail shell, with the arrondissements numbers getting larger as you circle around. Staying in the 2nd or 3rd arrondissements is nice because you’re basically in the center of the city, and each of these areas is jam packed with interesting shops, restaurants, and bars. The other reason I recommend the 2nd and 3rd is…

• Everything is 20 minutes away, by foot or by train. Being central means no matter which direction you go there’s a dearth of interesting activities are easy to access. Paris is a walking city and you will be getting way more than 10,000 steps, in fact, I did 24,071 steps one day, so absolutely wear your most comfortable pair of shoes. I found the Metro in Paris to be a cinch to use, with an easy to use ticketing system, timely trains, and overall I felt safe no matter what time of day I travelled (says the 6´2” white man, lol). I would also recommend the Velib, Paris’ bike system, as the bikes are all over the place, and generally cars are pretty respectful of you, just be sure to watch out for wayward tourists.

• Paris has a flow. What I mean by this is that locals know how to walk without running into one another. You see this in London and New York, and obviously this doesn’t account for above mentioned wayward tourists. I found relief in people noticing one another, accounting for their path, and smoothly moving out of the way from one another, like life in a busy should be. Barcelona can be a nightmare in this regard, which is why I’m sensitive to it. There’s nothing worse than a group slowly walking, four people wide, taking up the entire sidewalk, clueless that others around them want to get by. Thank you Parisians for making me realize that I’m not crazy!

• Baguettes and croissants are great everywhere. The breads in Paris are the best in the world, period. Don’t google “best croissant in Paris” because honestly, you won’t be able to tell the difference! Neither you or I have a refined enough palette to know any better, so here’s what you do. Walk into any old-timey looking boulangerie or patisserie, and buy all the things you “oOoOoOo” at, and eat them all. When a restaurant brings bread to your table, eat it all. You’re actively burning like 1200 calories a day from all the walking anyhow, so enjoy your life! Related: there are many bakeries with gluten-free options, so be sure to do your research and don’t miss out.

• Only eat at one expensive place per week. I’ve been fortunate to eat at many fancy, Michelin starred restaurants in my life, with many great experiences and a few goose eggs. At this point though, I have a hard time recommending spending money on expensive restaurants anymore. Michelin starred spots nowadays are like Disneyland for your senses. It’s a lot of hype, a lot of dramatics, and honestly, you’re going to leave either overly-stuffed or completely starving. Do your research and figure out what that one crazy meal will be, and make it a place serving something that you can’t get where you live. Expensive doesn’t mean it’s good! The rest of the time eat and drink serendipitously. Make note of places you walk by that look cute or interesting, find a local wine bar, eat the durem kebab at midnight. You’ll be surprised how much more you enjoy your time eating.

• Avoid the Louvre. As someone who loves museums and arts, please don’t go to the Louvre. The Mona Lisa is tiny, the room is cramped, and you get like 3 minutes to stand there until you’re forced to leave. And while there’s plenty of art, honestly, most people seem completely bored and disinterested by the works. The Louvre feels more like a museum, a collection of a lot of old stuff, versus works that are super exciting and interesting. Instead, visit l’Orangerie, the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d'Orsay, the Museum of Hunting and Nature, Deyrolle, as well as the myriad independent galleries that are everywhere.

• Learn a little French. If you’re one of those people who say, “all French people are rude” I’m going to assume you are the problem. I studied French for about a year, and I always brush up again before I go, and my French is still horrible! I speak what I know and try to use proper accents and I’ve had no issues. All you need is the basics. Hello, thank you, you’re welcome, please, excuse me, where is the bathroom, and how to ask for the bill. These small gestures go a long way and make you feel like you’re actively participating in French culture.

All in all, a lot of this applies to traveling anywhere in the world, but Paris is a very special place, especially if you’re a curious person. Traveling is about being open. Exploring, trying new things, leaving your expectations low and finding the wonders a city can hold. If you’re in need of any recommendations or advice, feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll do my best to help — thefoxisblack@gmaill.com

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What comes next? This gets at something that I’ve been trying to figure out for a while now, precipitated by leaving Los Angeles, my career, my friends, and the security and safety net of the life I had built over the last 17 years. Being middle aged is starting to become more clear, and I wish that someone would have clearly articulated what it really feels like. There’s this sense of having worked for over two decades, having all this experience and growth, and then realizing that you don’t want to do that anymore, that you’re not the same person you were, and that that is okay! Part of me wonders if this is a uniquely millennial feeling or if previous generations also felt this way?

During my time in Paris I had to time to think and reflect on what a longer term plan for myself looks like and what needs to change in order to realize my aspirations. I’ve written many times about my desire to open a cafe. I find this to be a viable way to support myself because, 1. I want to work for myself and 2. I want to spend my day meeting interesting people and listening to music. This isn’t an endeavor that will happen overnight, and so, perhaps I start on smaller projects that lead toward this larger one? What I’ve realized is that I need a fresh start, away from the trappings of what I’ve done before.

What this looks like is still rough and very WIP. I figured if I wrote my thoughts out it could help me articulate and understand what I want to achieve here. The days of Kitsune Noir/The Fox Is Black have long been over, I’m acutely aware of this. It would be something like a creative studio that allows me to create projects under a new umbrella, a new name and brand. I would utilize my skills and know-how and network to build a new studio for myself, to create a series of print projects I started developing. Print as a medium is still a wonderful world to play in and it gives me the ability to start world building what this brand is about, through tone and point of view. Print also allows for a myriad of collaborators to be involved which can further amplify the awareness of the brand. This work provides the bedrock for more small products, one off art objects and the such, but continues to grow the brand to a niche audience, with the ultimate manifestation being a physical store, something like a cafe and bookshop to house everything.

So, that’s the plan, for now. It will adapt and change as needed, and it’s probably going to play out over the next 5 years or so, with print projects hopefully coming out sometime in the fall. I’m excited by the prospect of a new project, a new universe to create. Not really sure how this newsletter will change, or if it will stick around at all, but that’s the nature of this shift, to do things differently. Hopefully you’ll come along for the ride, wherever it may take us.