Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday

It seems as though only moments have passed since the starting gun for the 2024 Olympic Games was fired. But as tomorrow’s closing ceremony draws near, we find that there is still lots to say about the event and its host city. From the intriguingly unadorned bodies of athletes to the bistro culture that puts the French capital ahead of its nearest rivals, Paris 2024’s race is not run yet. We also try out some fruity leather accessories and proffer some tips for getting the best out of Brazil. Ready, set, go.

She has made this journey five times now. Two days in the car, a night on the ferry, just so her owners can always have her company. This time the adventure has had a couple of wrinkles but I am so pleased that she is here with us. The first wrinkle was one of timing. In simple terms, we missed the ferry. Day one went to plan: London to the city of Bourges, roughly halfway down the flapping paper map of France. Day two did not go to plan. It was the first weekend of August and the entire French nation seemed to be heading south, roof racks laden with canoes, bikes strapped to the rears of SUVs.

The hated sat nav soon began breaking the bad news. Instead of arriving in Barcelona at 18.00 for our 21.30 ferry, we would now be there at 18.45. Then more and more blood-red clots began to populate the digital highway on our screen. The arrival time leapt to 19.15, then 20.20. By the time it passed 21.00, we knew that the game was up. From my co-pilot seat, I secured a berth on a ship just 24 hours later and then set about finding a hotel in Barcelona that took dogs. After lots of resistance, we secured a place in the inn.

But the journey south was suddenly a day longer and tougher for Macy, now 12 years old. Yet, entering that hotel room, she did her usual dance of happiness, rubbing her face along the edge of the bed, bouncing for joy. We all went out for cocktails.

Finally, in the cabin on the ferry from Barcelona to Alcúdia, Macy wedged herself under my arm and slept the whole way, an occasional groan of contentment, a request for a tummy to be stroked. This is why I want her with us. Over 12 wonderful years, she has nestled her nose into every corner of our lives and become a part of who we are. We are a team. The connection you have with a dog is incredible, from the mere pattern of her breath, or how she stands, we know what she’s thinking, how she’s feeling.

The first few days in Palma see her acclimatise: walks are early or late to keep her cool; we take her to every bar and restaurant, where she lays on cold stone floors, often on her back, legs aloft. Just another summer, just another trip.

But. On Tuesday we wondered whether she was standing a little funnily. On Wednesday, all was normal again. But there was that strange gait again on Thursday. The vets. In less than an hour, with no appointment, we had been seen, Macy had given blood and had an X-ray. The vet calls us in. Macy just wants to be picked up and held. In my arms her panicked breathing subsides. The vet clips the X-ray onto the lightbox. Here’s her generous beating heart, the perfect curve of her spine – but look there on the shoulder. He takes his pen and points to a series of tiny holes. He starts saying things that I cannot absorb but the words “cancer” and “months” are hard to dodge. So more blood. A bone sample.

As I write the last sentences of this week’s column, she is on my lap, very happy, legs strong again today (perhaps the painkillers). And, in a few minutes, we are driving to one of the few beaches where you can take dogs in the summer. She has a thing for sand and paddling. Let’s start this bucket list.

Who knows what will happen? Let’s hope that those months are long ones, that perhaps a miracle lands, that the vet has made a mistake. But I thank god that she is with us, not in kennels, not left behind. We travel as a pack.

Phillips Idowu, who won triple-jump silver at the 2008 Olympics, was one of the few track-and-field athletes, outside the running events, to have widespread face-name recognition at the time (writes Alexis Self). This was in large part due to his face’s baroque adornments – hair bleached or dyed bright red, and a constellation of piercings meant that Idowu was an eccentric figure on the usually restrained athletics scene. But even he might have struggled to stand out among the bedizened cohort of Paris 2024.

Every Olympic event now seems to have its own Idowu; some have two or three. The amount of jewellery worn by the finalists in the men and women’s 100 metres races was surely enough to add a few split-seconds to their collective finishing times. And even in the pool, where swimmers are usually groomed to bottlenose levels of aerodynamism, there has been the frequent glint of pierced cartilage. This is not meant to sound polemical: Paris 2024’s scintillating levels of entertainment have been helped in no small part by the personality and appearance of its competitors.

But surely the ubiquity of tattoos and piercings among Olympians represents their final passage from the badass to the benign. Tattoos became widespread among sailors and criminals to signify in semiotic form the hardships and travails they had endured, the places they had been and the people they had seen. They were symbols of wild worldliness and savage experience. Olympic athletes spend their lives waking up very early to run, cycle or swim in the same location over and over again. They are exceptionally dedicated and talented but they are not, on the whole, worldly or experienced. Today’s Phillips Idowu hops, skips and jumps among us – but his body is a blank canvas.

Like, I’m sure, many readers of The Monocle Minute Weekend Edition, I much admired the French comedy series Call My Agent, set amid the thespian milieu of Paris (writes Andrew Mueller). My enjoyment was marred, however, by the characters recurrently repairing to a peaceful yet charming bar, bistro or boulangerie for a quiet drink by themselves or a genial conversation with friends and colleagues. That this made me seethe every time is no reflection on Call My Agent. My rage was provoked by the fact that doing anything of the sort has become more or less impossible in London.

Spending a couple of weeks in Paris broadcasting for Monocle Radio during the Olympics has made me, on this front, even angrier. You cannot walk any few blocks of Paris without seeing dozens of inviting, intriguing – and independent – establishments of this sort. You can trudge despondently across London for an entire evening without finding one. Earlier this week, for example, the Monocle team descended upon Gros, a cheerful and unfussy wine bar and restaurant in the 10th arrondissement. We had two courses each and a couple of bottles of decent plonk. It was as fine a meal as might be imagined and we could all hear each other talk. The bill came to €251. In London, we’d have cleared that at an overlit chain pizza place, while being deafened by inane compulsory music.

It doesn’t seem much to ask of a city: a few places to dine in that aren’t noisy, depressing, generic, or expensive. The current disparity between Paris and London is sufficient to make one advocate a 24-hour Eurostar: the return fare would almost be worth factoring in for a civilised evening out.

The Monocle Concierge is our purveyor of top tips and delectable recommendations for your next trip. If you’re planning to go somewhere nice and would like some advice, clickhere. We will answer one question a week.

Dear Monocle Concierge,

We’re heading to Brazil for the first time and would love any tips that you might have about what to see and eat in Rio and São Paulo. Thank you!

Shane Clemans,
USA

Dear Shane,

Great choice to start your Brazilian experience with the country’s two largest cities, which have a bit of a friendly rivalry. If you’re looking for somewhere to stay in Rio, then we recommend the discreet Ipanema Inn, which has attentive service. You also can’t go wrong with the classic Copacabana Palace by Belmond (pictured, top), whose restaurant is known for having one of the best breakfasts in the city.

Once you have settled in, start exploring the city with a visit to Parque Lage. The park is located in the Jardim Botânico neighbourhood at the foot of the Corcovado mountain, where the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer stands. To get a real feel of the city, take a stroll through the upscale Urca district. While you are there, head to Bar Urca for ice-cold beers and coxinha, one of Brazil’s most delightful snacks. Finally, stop off at Arpoador Beach to join Rio residents as they clap the sunset.

São Paulo hosts some of the best restaurants in South America. Telma Shiraishi’s Aizomê is one of the finest Japanese restaurants in the city. There’s also A Casa do Porco by chef Janaina Torres Rueda, which has frequently been voted as one of the best restaurants in the world. When it comes to food, Brazil’s biggest city does classic dishes very well. Sample Lebanese food at Almanara, sandwiches at Frevo and pizza at Camelo, all of which have been mainstays on the city’s food scene for decades. Once you are ready for some culture, the São Paulo Museum of Art is a good place to start. From now until 15 September, you can also catch Aberto/03, a travelling exhibition that explores the artistic and architectural legacy of Asian-Brazilian women Tomie Ohtake and Chu Ming Silveira. Finish up with some local retail therapy at Misci by Airon Martin (pictured, bottom right) – a beautiful take on Brazilian luxury – Egrey, which has perfected the art of chic basics, and Handred, whose clothes are inspired by Brazilian modernist architecture. Bem vindo ao Brasil!

Paper magazine was launched 40 years ago in New York to chronicle the city’s cultural underground. While its memorable covers helped to cement its reputation as one of the world’s coolest journals, it had to surmount several hurdles along the way. Its print edition was drawn to a close in 2020, before shutting down entirely in April 2023. A few months later, however, the title was bought by Street Media, which owns magazines such as The Village Voice. The new owners invited Paper’s former digital director, Justin Moran, to take up the post of editor in chief. Here, he assesses the magazine’s current incarnation and ponders the form in which it might return to print.

How much of a difference is there between the ‘Paper’ of today and the publication that debuted in 1984?
The recent iteration of Paper is more digital. But the magazine itself has always focused on New York, supporting outside voices in queer culture, fashion nightlife and emerging music. This is still at the core of our work today.

Has the coverage shifted in any way?
People might recognise Paper for its iconic “Break the Internet” Kim Kardashian cover-shoot [photographed by Jean-Paul Goude]. Since then, there has been more of an overlap between outsider culture and celebrity culture. We try to bridge the gap between these worlds. Celebrities want to be next to the weirdos and the cool kids. Newcomers in music, art and fashion receive support when you put them next to celebrities.

What is your business strategy and why is it important?
Many media brands are bound by traditional advertising models. Ours is unconventional in many ways. Paper has a strong identity, which makes other brands want to collaborate with us. Whether it’s technology companies such as Google, Amazon and Spotify, or fashion brands such as Coach. They plug into a type of cultural legitimacy that they, as brands, might not otherwise have access to.

‘Paper’ print editions used to be collectable items. Would you like to return to print in the future?
There’s always demand from our fans to do so. One thing that we have started to do is to release our covers as posters. But we have also talked a lot about what a print publication should look like in 2024 and what that might mean for Paper. The new look could resemble a fold-out fanzine instead of a traditional magazine. People expect a certain level of innovation from Paper that goes beyond the creative aspect of photoshoots. That should be reflected in the product if we eventually make it to print again.

Hereu’s new collection of leather coin purses, which come in the shape of fruit, was designed to channel the sunny spirit of the Mediterranean – and add humour to any summer outfit. The purses are made using a soft, grainy calf leather in artisanal factories across Spain in line with the label’s commitment to offer limited editions of handcrafted products and support family-owned workshops.
hereustudio.com

For more fruity reporting, pick up a copy of Monocle’s latest issue or subscribe today. Have a great Saturday.