Just back from Paris, our co-founder Laurent Vernhes, claims that the city has a whole new vibe, one that he welcomes warmly, as he describes below.
There was a song in the ‘80s called “Paris” by Taxi Girl which goes something like: “How do you spell Paris? M-E-R-D-E.” Of course, there is a lot to love about the city, but that song encapsulated the pervasive sarcasm of my generation. (I grew up there.) We were most certainly spoiled, but we just didn’t see then.
I left Paris over twenty years ago and at the time, nobody could understand why. Parisians can be like New Yorkers, in that they can’t fathom why anybody could possibly want to live elsewhere. Curious to see another corner of the earth, I moved to Vancouver and then to Southeast Asia. But almost as soon as I returned, I felt I had to leave, and I did. In my eyes, Paris’s reverence for its own history and traditions had become an obstacle, a hindrance preventing change and innovation.
I have returned to Paris many times since, my visits divided between business, family and my closest friends. On my last trip, however, I got to see a different side of the city, thanks to Dante, the editor of our French site. What I saw made me feel like they city is on the move again, perhaps in the wake of its global electronica superstars.
I asked him to show me something new — quite an open-ended request, I know. After a long night at David Lynch’s new club Silencio, we recuperated in the 10th arrondissement, in Porte Saint-Denis and Porte Saint-Martin, the neighborhood where Dante lives.
In the past few years the 10th has become Paris’s new Left Bank, a center for everything “bobo” and hip. I loved it. There is, of course, a bit of the same “too cool for school” feeling you get from Williamsburg or Greenpoint — sorry, I’m a New Yorker now, these are my reference points — but the architecture is far more charming, with lots of terraces and neighborhood cafés, and rows of mature trees lining the canal. The dinner I had at Vivant was amazing. The food is described as cuisine de marché, but it’s deceptively simple, and is far from anything hippie-ish or New Age. For le verre de l’amite we visited Hôtel du Nord, which is not only a legend in French cinema lore, thanks to Arletty, but also a fantastic bar. In fact there are many more cafés and bars worth a visit — Chez Jeanette, Le Pompom, Le Cinquante and Le Verre Volé, an unpretentious wine bar that was a catalyst in the whole vin naturel trend — so perhaps it’s best to leave a couple of days for exploring the area. I think you’ll find yourself impressed by the 10th’s uninhibited spirit, as was I.
Laurent Vernhes is a world traveler, wine enthusiast and the co-founder of Tablet.
