Traditionally every year in mid September, Les Journées du Patrimoine offer you the possibility of visiting public and private buildings which are not otherwise open to the public. The most coveted is the Elysée Palace for which long lines form early in the morning. This year they take place on 16 and 17 September and I visited an interesting Hotel … Read More
Brittany is still a winner, especially in the heat!
In the summer, I love to take my little car and drive west with a few friends to visit. This year I went to château de Lassay, in Mayenne, with Hugues de Montalembert whose young cousins still inhabit this mid 15 th century military castle. Aymeri, Cecilia and their three super talented children (two girls are classicists at Ecole Normale … Read More
In Bath, Renaissance power couples are exposed at the Holburne.
I had to attend my dear Nic Barlow’s memorial service in Gloucestershire and decided to make it a cultural day, stopping in the beautiful city of Bath. A whole page article in the Saturday edition of the Financial Times (I love its “How to spend it” section) alerted me to a small exhibition at the Holburne museum on “Painted Love, … Read More
On the Seine with Batobus, a thrilling experience!
I had to celebrate my godson’s thirteenth birthday and besides taking him to Hotel de la Marine in the gilded galleries overlooking Place de la Concorde, I thought of wandering around the Seine on a Batobus and it was a wonderful little adventure. We started in front of Musée d’Orsay but could of gone from the Tour Eiffel at 10 … Read More
From Santa Barbara to Cape Cod, a fabulous holiday
The two long weeks I spent in the US were the best holidays I’ve had in many years and flying from the Pacific in L.A. to the Atlantic in Boston, was a romantic experience. Both airports are on the water and I almost felt like I was sailing. My trip started in Santa Barbara where jacarandas were in bloom in … Read More
Bouguereau, the Academic painter, is the new star at Eglise Saint Vincent de Paul!
If you are early for your train at Gare du Nord, why don’t you stop by Eglise Saint Vincent de Paul (built in 1804), a five minute walk on rue la Fayette and admire the two newly restored frescoes (among 8) by William Bouguereau, a painter left aside at the time of the Impressionists and forgotten for most tof the … Read More
Sir Norman Foster is a true star at Centre Pompidou
When you walk into the 2 200 sq meter exhibition dedicated to Norman Foster on the 6 th floor of Centre Pompidou (until August 7), you feel completely lost at first. As if you had dived in a pool too large for you. Almost sixty years of drawings are exhibited in the first room, on the walls and in very pretty … Read More
In Le Havre, Marquet is staged at Musée André Malraux
Going to Normandy implies for me a visit to Musée André Malraux in le Havre, a little jewel built on the water with perfect proportions and a steady collection of Boudin, Dufy and other Impressionists. As Edouard Philippe, mayor of Le Havre, writes in his introduction to the catalog, “Guillaume Apollinaire describes Albert Marquet (1875-1947) as someone who watches nature with … Read More