Passports, Paris and Picasso

In yesterday's Guardian, there was a double page spread in the center of G2 with a huge picture of the HUGE artwork 'Women at thier Toilette.' If you search this title on the Internet, you will find other pictures by the same name, but not that one. It's political and pretty ugly (in my humble opinion). You can read the article, 'Can you tell what it is yet?' for the description. Apparently, it belongs to the French state and is in the current rehang at the Musee Picasso (The art is on rotation). Sol and I stood before it for a while commenting on it's disturbingness. It is a kind of wallpaper collage and is very (did I mention?) huge and prominently displayed.

When we were in the museum, Sol commented (in her usual way of identifying and articulating something niggling at my consciousness that I can't put my finger on) that many of Picasso's paintings needed to be three dimensional.... like the sculpture above (Tete de femme)... and in fact she likes the sculptures, all but those of guitars! (And ironically, if you click on the link pasted above, you will see a pictures NOT of 'Women at their Toilette' but of one of his many 3D guitar studies!) Hmmm... These 'guitar' studies are disturbing for Sol, who practices Spanish classical and loves the guitar. The one in the picture is one of the less masculine/less violent looking ones.

Anyway, this becoming a long and windy (as in 'wind'-up, not weather 'wind') story - sorry! Let me get move on from Picasso and get to Paris and my passport... So today I received email from Sol. Samir is staying at her place now and he bought a million of those French yogurts I love so much. (Chestnut is GREAT!) And Sol and Samir are practicing (duet style) a little bossa nova on their guitars for tomorrow (when Raphael will go teach some musical tricks and Fousti will make the crepes). This is like my university life - the grown-up version. And the point is, I want to go... but I am stuck in London- I mean REALLY stuck! Yesterday I sent in my passport for an extension to my limited validity passport. SIGH.