No Speed Bumps

French Gay Magazines, Flyers and Guys

As I was sorting through stuff from a recent-ish long stay overseas, I found some magazines and advertising flyers that I picked up along the way, obviously cos of their gay images/content. The cover below was torn from a weekly French publication, a bit like 'Sydney Star Observer' here.

For months, this guy was on every billboard in Le Marais - obviously right on the French fag sensibility. And mine, big time. Square 'exotic' (whatever that means) face with high almost Slavic cheek bones. Glittering black eyes, framed with heavy definite brows. Full lips - very sexy but curiously shaped, and pushed forward. 'Delicious' colouring - pink high-lights on creamy white flesh. And a great trail, diffusing into a dark hairy-ish chest. Maybe the nipples are a bit 'discrete' (read 'small and non-descript') - fuck, I'm hard to please!

By the way, Le Marais is an old Jewish quarter on the right bank in the very centre of Paris, and an area which is very gay-oriented, like Paddington here in Sydney. It's full of hotels, clothing shops, snazzy gift stores, art galleries and tons of gay cafes and restaurents.

The best meeting place there is Open Cafe, 17 Rue des Archives, 4e, and 11 on the map below. It's on a corner and guys hang for the best tables, outside on the pavement - a major Paris perve zone. You can collect all the free gay mags here and immediately plug yourself into the gay scene. Most list all the daily parties for the week, from the afternoon tea parties thru to those that begin well after midnight and go on into the morning hours.