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Let Creativity
Guide You
Travel
stimulates
creativity like
nothing else. In
2003, Cynthia
went to Paris,
armed with the
mission to paint
postcards for
friends back
home. A creative
fundraiser,
Cynthia had
enlisted
donations for
her trip,
promising an
original
postcard in
return. The
result is the
images in this
online gallery,
which continue
to inspire and
delight Cynthia
and others to
make travel an
interactive and
creative
experience.
La
Fourmi
Ailee
This
is
the
restaurant
outside
the
garden
next
to
Shakespeare
and
Company.
I
love
the
cozy
atmosphere
and
the
delicious
vegetarian
quiche.
This
is
where
I
took
Noel
Riley
Fitch
to
lunch.
She
wrote
“Sylvia
Beach
and
the
Lost
Generation”
(and
a
biography
of
Julia
Child).
I am
writing
a
novel
about
Sylvia
beach
so
it
was
a
great
thing
to
meet
Noel
and
talk
to
her
about
a
shared
passion.
We
sat
outside
on
the
far
right.
Fourmi
ailée
means
flying
ant.
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Bouquiniste,
Quai de
la
Tournelle
The
bouquinistes,
or
booksellers
on the
quais
along
the
Seine,
are a
famous
Paris
landmark.
I once
bought a
pen and
ink
drawing
of Notre
Dame at
one.
Perspective
and
depth
challenge
my
skills,
but when
I showed
my
drawing
to the
white
haired
bookseller,
he was
kind and
reminded
me of
‘artistic
and
poetic
license.’
I
agreed,
relieved
that the
rendering
didn’t
have to
be
perfect.
That’s
Notre
Dame
peeking
up over
the
trees. |
Palais
de
Justice
This
was
the
first
postcard
I
did
on
my
first
morning
in
Paris.
The
Palais
de
Justice
is
imperial
and
guarded
by
policemen
in
pointy
caps.
Who
knows
what
goes
on
inside.
When
I
walked
away,
I
turned
back
and
saw
the
most
amazing
tower
just
to
the
left
of
this
view.
French
majesty
is
stunning
and
awesome
to
my
practical
American
sensibility.
|
Le
Saint
Andre
bar
This
was
the
second
card
I
did
on
my
best
day
in
Paris.
I
was
drinking
a
Diablo
Cassis
–
cassis
and
sprite.
A
group
of
Israelis
sat
next
to
me.
They
loved
this
postcard.
They
were
leaving
for
home
in
Tel
Aviv
in a
few
hours.
If
you
walk
out
of
this
painting
to
the
right
you
will
come
across
a
famous
Paris
pizza
joint
- a
tiny
space
with
a
window
to
the
street
stacked
with
limp
pizzas
that
the
man
will
shove
into
the
brick
oven
to
heat
for
you.
My
favorite
is
the
eggplant
and
zucchini
pizza,
folded
in
half
and
wrapped
in
paper.
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Musée
de Cluny
The
Musée de
Cluny is
a
medieval
museum
on the
Boulevard
Saint-Germain
des
Pres.
Surrounded
by
abundant
trees
and
fences,
it is a
haven
for
lunchtime
picnickers.
I loved
this
oasis in
the
middle
of the
city. On
my last
day in
Paris I
went
into the
garden
to see
what I
could
paint. I
sat in
the
Lover’s
Garden
and
approached
this
corner
of the
building
with my
pen.
Children
ran and
screamed,
playing
around
me and
buzzing
the
walkways.
French
buildings
are
difficult
to
capture,
old and
wise
beyond
my
artistic
abilities. |
Patisserie
- Rue de
la
Roquette
The
mission:
paint a
patisserie
or
boulangerie.
Easy
enough,
huh?
Well,
easy
enough
to visit
one,
every
day, for
my daily
dosage
of pain
au
chocolat
or my
new
favorite,
croissant
aux
amandes.
Pastry
displays
are
clear
illustrations
of food
as art.
Capturing
these
3-D
masterpieces
on paper
was a
huge
challenge,
which I
undertook,
fortified
by
coffee
and
pastry.
I did
not like
this
work
until I
turned
it
upside
down and
saw it
as a
children’s
book
illustration.
|
Mythic
Beast in
the
Medicis
Fountain
There’s
the most
amazing
long
pond in
the
Jardin
du
Luxembourg,
where
this
creature
lives.
He rises
up out
of the
water,
his body
furred
with
ivy, and
spews a
stream
of water
from his
mouth. I
love
this
mythical
whimsy
in the
heart of
Paris’
famous
gardens.
The
other
sculptures
in the
gardens
are of
France’s
queens.
They
ring the
walkways,
casting
their
blessings
on the
people.
This is
one of
the few
places
you will
see the
French
being
sporty:
tennis,
jogging,
rolling
boules.
|
Lonely
at Café
de Flore
I had
an
appointment
to meet
a French
woman I
knew at
the Café
de Flore
at 2:00.
I
arrived
late and
flustered.
The
terrasse
and
inside
tables
were
packed
and
waiters
buzzed
by, the
epitome
of
French
efficiency.
Like a
stupid
moth
trying
to get
to a
flame, I
bumped
around
searching
from my
friend.
Inside?
Outside?
I
finally
surrendered
and sat
inside
for a
lone
café au
lait. On
both
sides of
me pairs
of
elegant
French
women
nibbled
their
salmon
and
tomato
salads.
I drew
this –
flat –
like I
felt,
and kept
going
with it
even
though
it
didn’t
look
right.
This was
a moment
of
courage
despite
being a
dying
bug.
Afterward
I called
my
friend –
they
were
next
door at
the Deux
Maggots
and we
had a
fantastic
time. |
|
Notre
Dame
Notre
Dame.
Kilometer
Zero,
the
place
from
which
all
points
in
France
are
measured.
Tourist
mecca,
architectural
wonder.
Every
day I
sat in a
tent
across
the
street,
listening
to
lectures
at the
Shakespeare
and
Company
festival.
I vowed
to not
even
attempt
to draw
this
masterpiece
of
French
holiness.
Then I
saw a
painter
with her
easel
set up
in the
park.
She had
done a
delightful
watercolor
of the
whole
scene.
On my
last day
in
Paris, I
took on
Notre
Dame.
Listening
to a
lecture
about
James
Joyce
(it was
Bloomsday
after
all) I
eked out
this
façade.
The
buttresses
gave me
trouble.
It
turned
out
okay.
I’m glad
I tried.
|
Zone
Touristique
Much of
Paris is
a zone
touristique,
but I
saw this
sign
from Le
Danton,
my
favorite
café
near
Sylvia
Beach’s
original
bookshop.
Not may
tourists
here,
but fun
and
friendly
waiters.
Paris is
on a
kick to
clean up
the city
– less
dog doo,
more
plastic
bags
hanging
from
poles, a
recycling
effort
whose
slogan
is
“Let’s
sort out
recycling!”
Paris is
a
carnival
of
sound,
color
and
movement.
The
people
are
prime
targets
for
people
watching,
tourists
and
natives
alike.
One day
two cops
on
rollerblades
gave a
ticket
to an
illegally
parked
SUV. I
love
sitting
at this
café and
watching
it all
go by.
|
Drinks
with
Laura
My
friend
Christina
hooked
me up
with her
friend
Laura.
We
arranged
to meet
at Rue
Tibourg
Petit
Tibourg.
She
walked
me
through
the
Marais,
showing
me her
favorite
shops
and
streets.
At
Republique
we went
into
Habitat,
a classy
French
Pier
One. We
ended up
at Cocoa
Café,
where we
sat for
awhile
with
drinks –
me a
Monaco,
her, a
carafe
of rosé.
Laura’s
fiancé
joined
us
before
his
shift as
chef of
the
restaurant.
We had a
delicious
dinner,
a
four-course
feast
that
ended in
toasting
our new
friendship
with
limoncello.
|
Restaurant
in Le
Marais
This is
one of
my
favorites!
After a
morning
of
walking
and
wandering,
searching
for a
place to
sit and
sketch
an
inspiring
scene, I
ended up
here.
This
place is
in the
Marais,
Paris’
gay
neighborhood,
a mecca
of tony
shops
and cool
cafes.
The
resto
across
the
street
wasn’t
open
yet, but
the
colors
and
greenery
drew me
in. I
sipped
my 4,40
euro
café au
lait and
eked out
the
scene.
Les Fous
d’en
Face
means
‘The
crazy
ones on
the
other
side
(opposite)’,
a funny
name
that
conjured
up the
idea of
a
lighthearted
rivalry
with the
café
where I
sat. The
place is
shady,
cozy and
a great
place to
relax.
One man
sat
across
the way,
talking
on his
cell
phone. |
Le
Marché
On
Sundays
the
market
sets up
in the
walkway
down
Boulevard
Richard
Lenoir,
which
shoots
off the
Place de
la
Bastille.
My
apartment
was
nearby.
At the
market,
I moved
among
men and
women
pulling
shopping
trolleys
they
filled
with
vegetables,
meats,
cheeses,
fruits,
olives
and
flowers.
Some
vendors
cried
out like
circus
barkers.
The
colors,
smells
and
activity
intoxicated
me. I
wanted
to live
there so
I could
shop for
my food
every
week.
Instead
I bought
picnic
food:
one
tomato,
a half
baguette,
a slab
of
Morbier
cheese.
I also
bought a
bottle
brush,
of all
things,
to clean
my bud
vases at
home.
Prices
are
easier
to
calculate
with the
Euro.
|
Shakespeare
and
Company
Bookstore
George
Whitman
owns
Shakespeare
and
Company
bookstore,
which
sits
across
from
Notre
Dame on
some of
the most
prime
real
estate
on the
planet.
The shop
is named
after
Sylvia
Beach’s
bookshop,
which
closed
in 1942.
Whitman’s
version
is a
cacophony
of
books,
tiny
rooms,
and
narrow
steep
staircases.
Student
travelers
from
around
the
world
sleep in
beds
among
the
books in
exchange
for a
little
work. It
is an
interesting
community.
Whitman’s
daughter,
Sylvia,
organized
the
seven-day
festival
that I
attended.
She’s
young
and
vital
and I am
happy to
know
that she
is
carrying
on the
legacy
of books
in
English
in
Paris.
|
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Lovers –
The
Marais
The
request:
a
postcard
of
lovers.
I
agreed,
forgetting
that I
don’t
draw
people
very
well.
One day
at a
café in
the
Marais I
saw
these
two
chairs
huddled
together.
I drew
them,
then
added
color
later. I
like to
imagine
a
tete-a-tete
at a
café and
what
might
have
happened
afterwards.
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Want more
inspiration for
your trips?
Check out
Cynthia’s
e-book,
Creative Toolkit
for Travelers.
It is chock-full
of methods to
move from
ordinary
traveler to
inspired artist.
Make your
journeys more
fun and
creative!
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