MARTI'S BIRTHDAY FESTIVALSEPTEMBER 29, 2013SUNDAY IN PARIS WITH ALYCE & JOHN

Marti and I spent the afternoon and evening with our California friends Alyce and John, shown here on their first evening in Paris (on this visit), nearly two weeks ago. We’ve had a rollicking time together celebrating Ms. Marti’s birthday with musical nights on the town, Natal Day dinner here with our Paris pals and a train trip to Amsterdam.

Our final hang together was at 59 Rivoli, an artists studios complex where our bud Perry Leopard was performing an afternoon Caballeros Simpáticos acoustic gig featuring Mike Cahen (guitar), Marten Ingle (bass) and Marty Vickers (drums). Great mix of country, country-rock and soul covers, with a few of Perry’s fine originals added to the mix.

We moved from loft world to swank hotel watering hole: a drink at the Defender Bar at the Hotel du Louvre.

Then we went to dinner at the historic Vaudeville brasserie, all 1920s art deco and color. Sorry, no food porn pics. We were too busy taking care of the business at hand.

Our next destination was Pigalle. We passed on the live sex shows and marital gadget shops, opting instead for a touch of Soviet era nostalgia. The four of us are nothing if not Cold War Kids. Vodka shooters at one of favorite standbys, Le Kremlin.

We capped it all off with a drop-in at the Noctambules, where our good pal Rob Armus was holding forth with The G Man on bass and the irrepressible Serigne Gueye playing his calabash and hi-hat. When Rob swung the mic over to Serigne to sing a song about Paris-Dakar, Marti and I got up to dance to the infectious Afro-fusion beats.

Now Alyce and John will be heading to the next stop on their ten-week Grand Tour: Instanbul. And Friday morning Marti and I will wing our way to Athens, en route to a two-week island idyll on Spetses. #ThePartyNeverEnds