Marguerite Yourcenar on a cruise in her later years, photographed by Jerry Wilson

Saint Germain des Prés is still the place to be. At least if you know where to look. I always start at l’Ecume des Pages, the fabulous bookstore next to Café de Flore. This is where I went to buy Christophe Bigot’s new book, “Un autre m’attend ailleurs”, on Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987) after hearing him on France Culture. The first woman to have been elected at the Académie Française in 1980, she was a monument in French literary circles and especially celebrated by gay fans for her description of Roman emperor Hadrien and his love for Antinoüs. I was surprised when Bigot talked about her male lover who was 45 years younger and whom she became infatuated with after her long time companion, Grace Frick, died in 1979. In this sort of story anything can turn wrong. This book is fascinating, well balanced between literary quotes and deep feelings, and I read it in one go.

Petite Plaisance, the house of Mount Desert Island where Yourcenar lived with her companion Grace Frick

Marguerite meets Jerry Wilson, a photographer from Arkansas who works in Paris, during a television interview at home. She enjoys the few days of work together with his partner, the French TV producer Maurice Dumay. They will only start seeing each other regularly (she lives in Maine at the time) after Grace dies. Their relationship will last until 1986, when he dies of AIDS. The details of their numerous travels together to India, Japan, Italy, Greece and Egypt, are quite wonderful and I was relieved to find out that this very serious intellectual had such a fun time for the 8 last years of her life.

Amin Kader’s very simple dress in crêpe of viscose sells for 1 870 €

I was intrigued when I received an invitation to come and try the new perfumes developed by Amin Kader, a couturier as discreet as he is well loved by his International customers. He started as a fashion designer in the 1970’s for Kenzo leather, Aujard and Cacharel and now owns his own boutiques on place des Vosges, rue Guisarde and boulevard Saint Germain. His style is the elegant dress for the very rich ladies who attract the eye by their simplicity, the X RAY ladies of Tom Wolfe‘s “The Bonfire of the Vanities”. Silk crêpe dresses go for 3 200€ and can be made in many different colors. There is a clever use of the reversible satin and matt sides. His shop of boulevard Saint Germain is very glamorous and the scents I tried were all excellent and not too strong. I had a coup de coeur for a small bag in horse hair and crocodile which costs 13 400€…

The bag in horse hair is divine at 13 400€

I then went to have tea at Wistaria, an elegant tea shop at 6 rue du Pont de Lodi, across the street from Kamel Mennour, where the new exhibition is starting on September 7 with Brazilian artist Sidival Fila “A rose is a rose”. Sophie Lin, its owner, is from Taiwan where she runs a tea room, a true artistic salon, in a listed Japanese house from the 1900’s. Each tea, whether Chinese or Indian, is chosen among growers she knows and whom she visits once a year. They are perfect Haute couture teas and the nice Franco Chinese salesman takes his time to recommend each flavor. They also sell miniature tea pots and cups in celadon and teaches the art of tea making.

Miniature tea pots are divine at Wistaria Paris

Not far from there on rue de l’Echaudé, Documents 15 is having a group show with all its wonderful print artists, Sécheret, La Forest, Desmazières, Delprat, Bacquet until September 14. And Martin Basdevant will then show his pastels until the end of October. Do not miss the pretty gallery full of affordable treasures, on 15 rue de l’Echaudé.

Ted Joans, “Drawing on a poem by Jorge Camacho”, Galerie Pixi, until October 9,  3 500€

At Galerie Pixi rue de Seine, the Afro American poet and musician Ted Joans (1928-2003) presents his “surrealist” drawings “Dirty Rainbow Rimbaud”, a tribute to the French poet and to André Breton with drawings based on the Cuban artist Jorge Camacho‘s poetry. This exhibition curated by Gwenolée Zürcher marks the centenary of Surrealism in conjunction with the show opening on Wednesday at Centre Pompidou where Joans has a large painting. He will have a show at the Zürcher gallery in New York on September 10 th-October 29 and will take part in the large exhibition “Paris Noir” at Centre Pompidou on March 19 th.

Ted Joans, “Dirty Rainbow Rimbaud, Birthdays are wrapped in wedding gowns”, 1981, photo Jean Louis Losi, at Galerie Pixi

You can spend a whole day in Saint Germain des Prés and never be bored.