Ah, almost summer ! As the days here in Paris finally begin stretching out easily to ten p.m., on the sunniest early evenings, people everywhere are lounging on outdoor café patios or terrasses. In my ‘hood, we’re catching up on local gossip news, and just watching people go by as they leave the Père Lachaise cemetery. But some of us are taking advantage of what used to be called l’heure verte, or the green hour.

At the crossroads of four different arrondissements, Belleville is known among Parisians as a miniature Chinatown and for its rowdy bars. But who knew that the area’s history was so rich in entertainment ? Even before it was a part of Paris, Belleville was already the city’s most talked-about party district, beginning with the construction of a wall in 1785.

Who hasn’t ever dreamed of living in a penthouse apartment ? For the views alone, a flat on the top floor of a city building is tempting, even if the price is far less so. Penthouses are also known for their luxury appliances and frequently large outdoor terraces. But whoever invented the penthouse clearly never visited Paris, where life at the top takes on a whole different meaning.

Do you remember Tiki ? That slightly frightening carved-wood divinity from the 1960s ? Recently, I went to the quai Branly museum to see the exhibit Tiki Pop : America imagines its own Polynesian paradise, which is all about the American obsession for South Pacific culture from the 1940s to the 60s. I do personally own a muumuu dress, and I have a vague memory of tiki mugs and tiki torches. And the hut-like architecture styles displayed in the exhibit looked familiar to me once there. But how could I have known who Don the Beachcomber was before I was even born ?