The town of Saint Quentin, an hour and a half North East of Paris (70 minutes by train), is one of the places that I had wanted to visit for many years and I never managed the time to do so. It is famous for two things: the Musée Antoine Lécuyer with pastels by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, 1704-1788, and … Read More
Tuscany wins on every count!
How perfect can a week in Tuscany be? Far from the book “A Summer’s lease” by John Mortimer where everything goes wrong for the poor British tenants of a villa, my week in Fiesole and San Giovanni d’Asso near Pienza, were perfect from beginning to end, with a variety of activities from chamber music at “Incontri in Terra di Siena” … Read More
In Brittany, Henry Moret is rediscovered and weddings are in vogue
I had a spell of Brittany for my first week of vacation and once again adored every minute of it. Pont Aven, Quimper, Beg-Meil, Sainte Marine, Pont l’Abbé, all magical names with poetry and dream attached to them. I was there for a wedding on the Odet, which was successful beyond words in terms of friendship, love, beauty and even … Read More
Damien Hirst’s Cherry Blossoms bring pink to Fondation Cartier
Damien Hirst has accustomed his public to surprises over the years ever since Charles Saatchi discovered his work at Freeze which he organized in a disused Port of London warehouse with sixteen of his classmates from Goldsmiths College of Art in 1988. He was 23 and had lived in Leeds until then. The exhibition “Cherry Blossoms” at Fondation Cartier … Read More
Book your tickets for Christo now!
I know that many of you will be coming to Paris for the wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe. Sales for the tickets to have access inside the Arc de Triomphe and on the terraces have started and even though the wrapping of the Arc will be visible from the Champs Elysées and all the avenues around, it is a … Read More
Barthélémy Toguo is beautiful at Musée du Quai Branly!
It’s a good idea to have opened the Galerie Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, at Musée du quai Branly Jacques Chirac, to the brilliant artist Barthélémy Toguo, who was born near Yaoundé in Cameroon and lives between Paris and there. His colorful and meaningful paintings and installations give extra life to the collection of African statues, recently acquired by the businessman, … Read More
Victor Hugo and Azzedine Alaïa share the bill in the Marais
Since the Marais has become inaccessible except by tube, you might as well group your visits in the area and this is what I did with great success this morning: I visited first Victor Hugo’s house on place des Vosges which has at the moment an interesting exhibition of his drawings recommended to me by Richard Berman, the New York … Read More
Vaux le Vicomte, Versailles, Paris, music at candlelight is everywhere.
One of the advantages of the summer is that you can wander around castles near Paris and have dinner outside in grand decors. At Vaux le Vicomte, lights illuminate the park and there are fireworks organized every Saturday night until October 2. You can have dinner in the restaurant facing the castle and visit the grand salons painted by Charles … Read More