Societies of friends are the new (social) power…

parisdiaArt, Flowers and gardens, Happy moments, Performing arts, Photography7 Comments

Now that everyone spends their time sending text messages and posting on Instagram, physical social life has virtually disappeared from our lives. I find myself enjoying talking to my baker more and more while buying a baguette! But little by little, “the Friends of…” and “Cercle des Mécènes” have developed and created cultural salons focused on specific themes. In music, … Read More

Antony Gormley hits Musée Rodin like a storm

parisdiaArt, Flowers and gardens8 Comments

On this first day of cold autumn weather, British sculptor Antony Gormley could only be delighted to find all the roses of Musée Rodin still in full bloom. His exhibition of 75 sculptures and models in conversation with Rodin’s masterpieces is the event of the week, just before the openings of Paris + by Art Basel and Peter Doig at … Read More

Claire Bretécher, Prix Émile Perreau Saussine, Journée des Plantes in Chantilly and a novel on worms…

parisdiaArt, Books, Flowers and gardens1 Comment

The Autumn Journées des plantes in Chantilly were heavenly with perfect cool and sunny weather and newcomers such as Jean Marie Dheedene from the Clematis Foundation in Belgium. He develops new clematises which survive better the heat and need little watering and has classified them all according to the flowering period and the perfume. I visited Claire Le Meur who … Read More

Brittany is still a winner, especially in the heat!

parisdiaArchitecture, Art, Flowers and gardens, Happy moments, Movies6 Comments

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

Nic Barlow, a photographer at heart, has left us

parisdiaFlowers and gardens, Photography4 Comments

Nic Barlow was a very dear friend. But most importantly he was a fabulous photographer, a garden specialist and also a great portraitist. His warmth, extravagant tastes, unusual clothes brought him the sympathy of all sitters. He left us last Tuesday, August 1, at 72, peacefully in his sleep in his beautiful house of Stancombe Park, Gloucestershire. He liked to … Read More

An ideal outdoor cantina and a nostalgic show at the Saint Laurent museum

parisdiaFashion, Flowers and gardens, Restaurants & Hotels3 Comments

I went to see the new Yves Saint Laurent show on “Shapes” which reminded me of the glorious years when anyone could buy a Saint Laurent ready-to-wear outfit because they were cheap. The premises of the Foundation, decorated by Jacques Grange, are elegant and simple but not functional. The rooms are small and on three levels. The whole space will … Read More