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20060504

Who knows the way?

Sometimes I receive fan mail. So far it's all been Kylie Minogue's...
fan mail letter







Dear Matteo,

It's great to get messages like yours that come to Doktor Weingolb all the way from France. France makes me think of so many wonderful things -- wine and food of course making it immediately to the top of my mental list.

But you say you are from Italy originally. I wonder how you find Paris compared to where you grew up. I've never visited your homeland but I can imagine it being a fantastic place, especially if you are into wine and food, like I am.

kylie map of parisIt was food and wine that prompted me to describe how I tracked down the real-life Michel Gondry/Kylie Minogue set in Point du Jour. (Well, perhaps it was mostly the wine that did it.) Either way it was an adventure that occupied an afternoon in a way no form of orienteering could. I used landmarks from video stills and analyzed the angles of 3-way street intersections shown on maps. Needless to say, it would be just as much of an adventure trying to repeat the feat two years later. Which is basically the reason you wrote me. So here goes...

I have a old map of Boulogne-Billancourt. If you click on it, I have marked it up to the best of my memory. (If the circle I've drawn is wrong, then move southwest along Rue du Point du Jour two blocks towards Place Jules Guesde -- I have a feeling that this is the real site and it's tricking me since that corner is not officially in the Point du Jour division of the neighbourhood though it is on the Rue du Point du Jour.)

Kylie Minogue's Come into my worldIt goes without saying that you should avoid taking my route, which as I remember it today, was entirely Kylie-less and meandering until the last moment. In fact, even when I found the intersection it was so unlike the "World" created in the video that it was hard imagining the footsteps Kylie took there. But with any luck you will find it. Perhaps the boulangerie (pictured, right) will still be there -- one of the few buildings that appeared as it was for the video shoot -- and you can confirm to yourself that you've got the right location.

Next time I cross the ocean I will have to ask you to tell me where to find authentic Italian cooking in Paris. I hope you will have simple directions.

Yours truly,
Marcus

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a rare moment when you're actually in need of a geography major, but judging by your map up there, it looks like it happened at least once...

So what happened to "golb," Doktor Weingolb? Does that lack of updates mean you've given yourself over completely to wine now?

Marcus said...

No geography majors, but some friendly neighbourhood French meter maids who remembered the filming helped to keep morale up.

As for your query, nothing happened to golb. That's the main problem.

Collin said...

mmmm......Kylie Minogue.....*drool*

Marcus said...

Hey Collinator, I just put my Shop-Vac away, man.

Anonymous said...

I love Kylie! She is an inspiration.

Have you seen her exhibition at the V&A in London? it's great for Kylie fans:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/kylie/index.html

"Kylie - The Exhibition" runs until 10 June 2007 and it's free!