I rediscovered why I love Paris last night. The people are so warm and welcoming.

I know this may sound contrary to “popular concepts” in the US, but it is true. If you don’t believe me ask Jeff Merritt, who spent his first night ever in a foreign country with me visiting Thierry Bruet in Paris.*

I first heard of Thierry in 2004 when my wife and I were in Paris on our 10th wedding anniversary (my first and only previous visit). We had dinner at Le Montegrosso, a really awesome restaurant that we found by shear luck. Just over our table was one of Thierry’s paintings. We loved it so much we asked the owner about the artist.

I googled the name and emailed Thierry upon returning to the US to see if we might buy the piece, but the good folks at Le Montegrosso had received so many comments from folks like us that they decided to buy it first.

Fast forward a couple of years and I’m about to go on this fellowship. I email Thierry almost two year’s later half expecting to hear nothing back, but to my delight he not only replies…he invites me to his studio. Keep in mind that until this point I had only ever exchanged a couple of emails with Thierry.

Thierry and his friends greeted us and really shared the true Parisian experience. We were welcomed to the studio with smiles, laughter, Champagne, hors d'oeuvres, and thoughtful conversation. We also got to see some really great works of art, plus some wonderful and passionate advice about other attractions in Paris. Check out the pictures and the link to Thierry’s site that I’ve posted above.

I also learned that Zebulon is very well known in France. No, I’m not talking about our town in North Carolina (but I’m working on that). It turns out that Zebulon was the name of a famous French cartoon character from the 1960s. See the link I posted. I had no idea…but as I said in an earlier post, the more I learn the more I realize there is to know.

Thierry is a superb artist with a twist. I’m no art critic, but I would describe Thierry’s work as serious, powerful, thought provoking, and at times a bit whimsical. He embraces humanity and the dichotomy therein. Actually, dichotomy is too simplistic to capture the complex stories Thierry delivers in a delicious way. His work makes you want to look and each time you think you have it figured out it says something new.

I want to sincerely thank Thierry for his hospitality and well wishes.

Tres Bien! Merci beaucoup!

*Though Jeff has visited both Jamaica and Canada, for the purposes of this entry I'm not counting them as foreign because there was not a time or language change and no passport was required to leave or re-enter the US at the time of each visit.  :-)