I didn't come all the way to Paris just to shop at American stores. With a little internet sleuthing and the help of this map, I found some amazing places to get some true souvenirs, available only here.

• E. Dehillerin {industrial catering supplies, many specific to french cuisine} 18 rue Coquillière
• La Drogerie {trimmings and such, a crafters heaven} 9 rue du Jour
• Báhn-mì {the owner is a sweet lady who will tell you she makes the best báhn-mì in the world, and it's probably true} 7 rue Volta
• BHV {a French department store that has literally everything} 55 rue de la Verrerie
• Melodies Graphiques {a stationery and calligraphy store with fancy papers, pens and ephemera} 10 rue du Pont Louise-Philippe

My mom and I walked from our hotel to all of these shops (see my map). The full loop took several hours at a leisurely pace, but I came back with major goodies and got a walking tour of the third and fourth arrondissements.

Today we went to Nice and walked the market, ate lunch and walked along the beach. It was beautiful and lovely and felt just like a vacation should. To see some family photos see my flickr.

Sunday afternoon (after regretfully canceling a beach day) a friend invited me to see an exhibit that I had been dying to see. The Tom Sachs Space Program: Mars exhibit was one of the most delightful shows I have seen. There could not have been a better inclement weather activity.

The show is nearly inexplicable, but if you ever get a chance to see one of his Space Programs, you must. Tom Sachs was there himself (pictured below) running some of the scenes. The show was at Park Avenue Armory which is a huge gallery / art space on the Upper East Side.

One of my favorite parts was the Cinema, you can watch all five of the films they screened online: Ten Bullets / Color / How to Sweep / Love Letter to Plywood / Space Camp 2012. If you are unfamiliar with Tom Sachs' work, watch Ten Bullets, it outlines the rules for working for at his studio which are generally great rules for life.

Below is an animated gif of one of the many demonstrations I had the pleasure and good luck to view.

// all photographs by Bekka Palmer

I had the pleasure of meeting photographer Pascal Perich this morning and as we were looking through his portfolio he told me Richard Serra's instructions for viewing one of his sculptures:

First, you stand about ten feet away, and walk the entire perimeter.
Then, you stand very close and walk the perimeter again.
Finally, you enter the sculpture and walk through the interior.

He said, "What you feel outside is different than what you feel inside. You're supposed to be confused, and have no point of reference between the outside and the inside."

I think it's time for another visit to Dia:Beacon so I can follow Serra's own instructions for viewing his work.