Crabbey in Europe: I am still here.

OK so it is time to catch up on some of the stuff I have seen and been doing over the last 2 weeks.

Le Cabaret
Let me start with Le Cab. Check out their website here. I was invited here my a friend of my friend Sydney (we worked together at Current TV). The friend's name is Rachel. I didn't really know what to expect so I checked the website first to see what I should prepare myself for. I found it on many of the "Top 10 Clubs in Paris" lists, so I knew that I was gonna be in for a night and a half.

So at first we almost didn't even get past the bouncers because one of the guys we were with was wearing sneakers, which as us Vegas people know, is a big no-no. But then this lovely girl comes out from the door and has a few words with the bouncer (none of which I understood). After a about 2 minutes of discussion, he unclips the velvet divider and let's us pass. I greet him with an grateful, "Merci" and cruise on through. I asked her what she said to him and she explained that she just flirted with him a bit. Shit, in the States, only money and bribes work at the clubs. Here you can just do a little flirting to make it past the gorillas.

There was no cover for this particular evening because there was a special event going on, but to give you an idea of the normal cost, the site lists it as about 30-40 euros. On top of that, my first venture to the bar set me back a cool 13 euro. Yeah! That's right, 13! And that was for a Heinekin beer. What the hell? But who cares right? It is an experience either way. So on I go to end of the bar and chat with my new friend, Rachel and explore the rest of the club. I was very impressed with the decor. Take a look at some photos:

I will tell you what I was not impressed with though, the music. How can I describe it to you? Let's see... OK, go back in time to the mid 90's and try to remember the candy-ravers and electronic beats. Exactement! That by far has been the worst part of Paris as a whole. The music here is like taking a time warp back 10 years and reliving the electronic side of the 90's. So just as I was coming to terms with the state of things, a strange thing happened. The next song came on and it was The White Stripes. Yeah, it didn't fit the style at all, but then something even stranger happened. Everyone started humming the beat of the song. Just to be clear, they were not singing the song, but like kinda yelling the beat to the song. If you can understand... It was very strange to say the very least.

Anyway, I danced for a bit and brought the night to and end around 1 am cause I had to work the next morning. I headed over to grab my coat from the coat check, which by the way, is common at all clubs in Paris, and costs 3 euro (just to leave a coat). Shit. how much am I making again? hahaha... I exited the club said goodbye to Rachel and her friends and headed towards the taxis. This was the very peak of the evening to me, because I only had to say my address once and the driver understood perfectly. Hell yeah!

Design Contre Design

I also want to mention this very cool design show that I attended at the Le Grand Palais. Check out the video on this page here. It was a furniture design showcase from the past 200 years. My favorite part of the show was that it was difficult to tell when a piece was created. This just goes to show that truly good design is ageless. Honestly, there were pieces that could have been for sale at a trendy furniture shop today and they were created 150 years ago. It was very cool to see where we have come from and where we are today, even where we are heading in the future.

Some Favorites
NOTE: These photos were taken directly from this website.

This section was more my taste in terms of classy design:

I love the random pieces of the couch that line the wall and floor. Random is great!

The table here appeared to be shaped out of a single piece of wood.

This radiator fooled me too. So beautiful...

This was called "The Womb House". It was in fact a womb of a woman and had all the aspects of an actual house. Kitchen, desk, toilet and bed complete with a vaginal opening for the children to enter the way they came out. LoL.