Started during visionary Patrick Devedjian‘s presidency of the department of Hauts de Seine, the renovation of Musée Albert Kahn in Boulogne was conducted over ten years by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma & associates and it reopened this week end. It is the perfect time to visit the 3,9 ha (9 acres) garden, with large white and pink camellias in full bloom … Read More
In London, great excitement makes up for train disruptions
Spending the week end in London was utterly exciting after a three year gap and I was lucky to see both Beatrix Potter‘s show at the V&A and “The Collaboration“, a play featuring Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat at the Young Vic, the best of English acting! I also loved going to Dulwich to visit my goddaughter’s new house … Read More
What’s new this week? Eric Fischl, Bente Skjøttgaard, the Al Thani treasures…
Thanksgiving was great fun in Paris with lovely faithful American friends visiting and they took me to see the new Skarstedt gallery on 2 avenue Matignon where Eric Fischl, their neighbor in North Haven, is having a show. The large space decorated by Jacques Grange is stupendous with a view of the Elysées gardens and the Eiffel Tower and just … Read More
Tree houses for rent what fun!
I had wanted to go for many years to Raray, the spectacular property owned by the La Bédoyère family near Senlis and stay in one of their tree huts. But I only went last week, and have to admit I did not spend the night because it was fully booked. Emmanuel de La Bédoyère, who started this adventure six years … Read More
Giuseppe Penone brings trees to Bibliothèque Nationale
Walking into the main room of the exhibition, “Giuseppe Penone, Sève et Pensée” (Lymph and thought) at BnF is a moment of pure happiness and ecstasy. The show, curated by Marie Minssieux-Chamonard and Cécile Pocheau-Lesteven, focuses on links between man and nature and starts with early drawings and photographs from the 1970’s, continues with sculptures and ends with finger prints … Read More
At Château de Chantilly and at Abbaye de Chaalis, Primatice reigns
It has become a huge effort to visit Château de Chantilly and its wonderful collections. This Saturday, the electric gates to enter the parking lot were not working properly and everyone was enraged. I could not find anyone to help my friend Garance, who walks poorly, and reaching the drawing galleries through the main court is an ordeal. The usual … Read More
Morvan, Aveyron, Berry, a precious trip through la France profonde
There is nothing I love most than getting into my small car and driving away from Paris. This time, I got really lucky and managed to see areas totally unknown to me like the Morvan (South of Vézelay) in Burgundy, and the north of Aveyron, along the Lot valley. I had a chance to compare Charolaises and Aubrac cows, the … 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