Guillaume Cherel on the Road - San Diego day 1 and 2

Guillaume in Pacific Beach

Monday afternoon arrived French writer Guillaume Cherel on his way to Mexico City. I picked him up downtown on Broadway, at the Greyhound Station. I could not miss him: he was the only one on the side walk smoking a cigar at 2:oo pm! He is a friend of Ivan Sigg and in fact we have a lot of people we know and friends in common in Paris. He is doing Kerouac's road 50 years after, writes everyday in a blog for the French newspaper Liberation, and is re-writing "On the road" which should be published next year. He started his trip in New York and will end it there, in the middle of September.

He is very tall, very tan, has crazy hair and a striking blue look, talks a lot (more than me if it is possible!), likes to laugh, and of course, likes to talk about his beloved authors: Kerouac, London, Bukowski, Fante, Miller... He travels very light (just a few items and almost no money), writes from time to time in a small notebook with super heroes on the cover, likes to login on the computer to check his e-mail and to post on his Libe blog or on his Myspace page. He is a techno-beatnik!

He liked the house right away: the deck, the canyon...

We had a great time Monday night with a couple of american-French friends, talking about Guillaume's trip, Los Angeles, Hemingway, Jack London, Tarentino, art, Paris, Bruxelles, wine (we drunk a lot of wine too) and eating Kyle's good dinner on the deck, as we were warmed by the fireplace. After the dinner Guillaume and Kyle enjoyed a good cigar.


at "Be Curious" on Pacific Beach

Yesterday, while the boys were at their camp, I spent some time with Guillaume, taking him to Pacific Beach. We had a coffee at "Be Curious" where he wrote a postcard to his daughter. We walked along the Ocean and along the bay, talking about relationships, traveling alone, making choices. Some people say he is lucky to do what he does, but it has nothing to do with luck, it is a choice.


Oversized Pink Afro!


I know Kevin will not like this picture!


At Joe's Crab Shack

I took some pictures of Guillaume to send to the newspaper Liberation . We ate a salad at Joe's Crab Shack.


At Seminal Project, "Cocked!"





Then we went to Little Italy where we visited "Cocked!" at Seminal Projects and I took some more pictures. I left him in India Street and I went pick-up the boys.



Then we all met in Old Town where we had dinner.