If some day you find yourself in Paris and are looking for the most authentic experience of french culture/tradition, you need to go to the market on rue Mouffetard on a Sunday morning. It's a somewhat medieval street, totally out of time and exactly the same for decades: The butcher is roasting his chickens outdoors; the fisherman is catching some crabs still alive with his barehands; at the veggies booth, a guy is singing to a customer: "Don't look at my tomatoes like that you are going to make them blush and they are red enough!"...and of course, the street is full of charming outdoor cafes that are pouring fresh roasted coffee for some people and fresh white wine for some others...

Walking down the street you will find a outdoor ball on a little place with a fountain... Here an old classy man call the blue man who invites every women from 6 to 80 years old to share a waltz or a tango while people sing along with the band...

Some ladies are dressed up for the occasion, in the shade of a terrasse, waiting for the blue man to come pick them up for a romantic dance.... It's how the life goes here...

This weekly "rendez-vous" is so unique because it's not just the time to feed to fridge, it's a pure moment of generosity, a time for everyone to be together and share a unique experience beyond the cultural differences or age range. You arrive alone and you share a slice of saucisson with one, a piece of cheese with this one, a glass of Rosé with this grandma, and a dance with this little girl... This feeling in a word is "Inspiration" and it's what is feeding you for the next upcoming week....

After a quick lunch I head to the galerie of Serge Mansau where I was invited for a private tour... It's possible you own at least one of his creations at home... Serge is the designer of an object that we all have held in our hands at one time or another: the parfume bottle.

For the last 4 decades: Guerlain, Lancôme, Kenzo, Hermès, Estée Lauder, Dior, Rochas, Azzaro, all of them at one point, asked him to design a bottle...

Why him more than other designers? Probably because of the way he approaches his creation: not only as a designer but more as a sculptor who knows how to work with glass, melting metal, sculpting wood... and how he knows to create a dialogue between the materials and his sense of humor.

After creating more than 250 perfume bottles, at almost 80 years old, Serge is a full time sculptor, sharing his time between his 3 studios (where each of them is dedicaded to a material: glass, metal and stone)...

At the entrance of the gallery I was greeted with his smile and a walking baguette...Serge has a sense of humor and incorporates this into his work...there is this monumental Colosse standing six feet tall by the front door and then the "Forets d'hommes" following and the glass "teddy-bears" all reminescent of his childhood.

Every day he is molding the world according to his own fancy, making it more pleasing to his eyes, constantly playing with the meanings of objects such as with a piece called "Pate a Pain" This piece is the walking baguette I referenced and a play on words. 'Pate' is dough used to make bread, 'Pain' means bread, and 'Pate' also can translate to feet....Hence " La Pate a Pain" !

Serge takes inspiration from whatever is surrounding him: autumn leaves under his feet, a broken wine glass, rulers 3 meters long....He takes these common objects, adds humor and creates his own world with them...and I was glad to peek into his world for a day.