Paris Diary by Laure - A very personal and subjective view of Paris life for all of you who are curious of what's going on in France.

Five days in New York

Who would have thought that New York was in a turmoil all week? photo Colombe de Lastours

Comtesse Greffulhe wearing the embroidered cape given by the Czar of Russia and recreated by Worth, takes New York by storm

I did not understand why there were so many police cars arresting people on the way back from Newark airport where my Openskies perfect flight had landed. Traffic was unbearable on Sunday night and there could not have been any speeding ! Only the next day, did I read in the New York Times, that the New Jersey bomber had been arrested… thus the extra frantic activity around Jersey city.

The famous twin detectives Dupont and Dupont in their 2CV

The famous twin detectives Dupont and Dupond in their 2CV

When Georges Remi was a little boy in Brussels, his mother used to take him to the movies once a week. When he grew up, he created the famous character of Tintin, first published in the magazine « Le petit Vingtième » (The little twentieth) in 1929. And he went on to draw the very real adventures of Tintin around the world, with the most precise details and a genius at drawing. I spent my holidays, like millions of French and Belgian children, reading Tintin every summer, and it was as addictive as watching a well known movie again and again.Read More

Henri Fantin-Latour, full of charm

Self-Portrait, 1861 Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

« Painting is my only pleasure and my only goal » says Henri Fantin-Latour at 19. His retrospective at Musée du Luxembourg is a soothing moment of charm and beauty in anxious Paris. And what a surprise to discover his many flower paintings which came from all around the world.Read More

Noémie de Yturbe takes us on a bike ride

Who would think act New York was in a turmoil all week? photo Colombe de Lastours

L’histoire du vélo rouge

Pretty friends for a fun show

I am always amazed at young women with three children who have a life : artist Noémie de Yturbe is one of them, who juggles with being the PR of a golf club and creates, mostly at night, the most fun and entertaining drawings with ink and watercolor. The opening of her show at Arthème galerie in the heart of Faubourg St Germain, was a warm and happy occasion, with all her beautiful girlfriends laughing away at her success.Read More

Pantin, the new place to be

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A new office style conceived by ad agency BETC

A new office lifestyle conceived by ad agency BETC for its 900 employees

The new Pantin, a suburb north east of Paris, looks glamorous and slick. Some people compare it to what has become of Brooklyn in the last twenty years. The renovation of Magasins Géréraux, a huge warehouse located on the canal de l’Ourcq, by advertising agency BETC, is an event : the trendy 900 employees are creating a whole new cultural and gastronomic world around them, in this formerly poor banlieue.Read More

Toni Erdmann is not to be missed

Peter Simonischek is a hilarious father in Toni Erdmann

The film written and directed by Maren Ade, was a hit at the Cannes festival this spring but did not win any palm nor consolation prize. ” Toni Erdmann” came out at the end of August in Paris and is mostly a word of mouth success since. Its length, almost three hours, might be the cause for a relatively discreet career. But I loved it and cannot recommend it strongly enough.Read More

Sheila Hicks embroids Carnavalet

Sheila Hicks worked around the Angel statue of the Mansart designed courtyard at Carnavalet

There is something whimsical about Sheila Hicks’ woolen art “ApprenTissages” exhibited in the courtyard of Musée Carnavalet until October 2. At the inauguration, the boxwood and flower bushes gave a welcome freshness to an overheated Marais. Hôtel Carnavalet was designed in the Renaissance and finished in the 17 th century by Mansart, is closing for renovation soon and Festival d’Automne had the great idea of asking its curator, Valérie Guillaume to host an exhibition of the Nebraska born artist.Read More

At Galerie Kugel, excellence is the rule

Automate clocks from the renaissance in Germany

Automat clocks from the Renaissance in Germany at Galerie Kugel are still working and eyes are rolling

There is still a magical Ali Baba cave in Paris, and it is called Galerie Kugel ! Every year, Nicolas and Alexis Kugel, who represent the fifth generation of these Russian antique dealers, surprise us with yet another theme for their precious objects : this year it is automat clocks with animals, and suddenly, on the half hour, they were all ringing!Read More