I have to admit, I did not remember anything about Charles VII before listening to Mathieu Deldicque and Maxence Hermant, at Musée de Cluny, telling us the story of this French king, 1422-1461. He is the 18 year old dauphin, whom Joan of Arc led to be crowned, remember? He inherited a messy kingdom from his father Charles VI, Le … Read More
Here and there, all the things you should know about
It’s always quite impressive and exciting to walk up the stairs of the French Académie to attend a conference in the Grand Salle des Séances. The conversation between Maryvonne de Saint Pulgent and Adrien Goetz, President of the Académie des Beaux Arts (of which she is a correspondent), was open to the public and the topic was the restoration of … Read More
Bayonne and Biarritz always win my heart
Starting the year in Bayonne with the discovery of the Collection Gramont, newly repatriated in the reserves of Musée Basque was a true emotion. The curator, Olivier Ribeton, President of Société des Amis de la Collection Gramont, and Sabine Cazenave director of the Musée Basque et de l’Histoire de Bayonne, have worked jointly for this resurrection of the collection which … Read More
Ted Morgan, Sanche de Gramont, has left us
Ted Morgan was a giant and he just died on December 13, at 91, after four years of illness, in a retirement home in New York. His wife Eileen Bresnahan and his daughter Amber were angels with him to the end. His son Gabriel is also a writer in New Mexico. A Pulitzer Prize winner, he wrote twenty books mostly … Read More
Prosper Mérimée, a multi faceted talent in Compiègne
Prosper Mérimée is best known around the world for the two operas “Carmen” by Georges Bizet (1875) and “La Périchole” by Jacques Offenbach (1868) which were based on the short stories he wrote. La “Périchole” was called “Le Carrosse du Saint Sacrement” and took place in Peru. “Carmen” is set in Andalusia, Spain, where he loved to go and where … Read More
Musée Hergé in Ottignies, at last!
Since I heard, that Christian de Portzamparc was the architect for this new Hergé museum built in 2009 in Ottignies/Louvain la Neuve, Belgium, I had wanted to visit it. And the occasion was given to me by a wonderful Franco-Belgium wedding nearby and my stay at Villa Monceau, a small family hotel five minutes away. It took us three hours from … Read More
Books, books, books, to read and to give
I had read only one book of short stories by Nina de Gramont, my talented American cousin, “Of Cats and Men” published in 2001. She has since published six more books and her latest one, “The Christie Affair” was for a long time on the New York Times best seller’s list and is translated into twenty languages. It is a … Read More
Villers Cotterêts, the new citadel of the French language, is open
I was totally excited to finally get to Villers Cotterêts after a series of mini disasters (the opening visit was cancelled) and an hour and a quarter of driving from Paris. The small town of 10 000 inhabitants, is pretty dreary and the castle which houses the new Cité Internationale de la Langue française stands out like a meringue among … Read More