Japan exudes poetry and mystery (largely due to the language) like no other country I know and when I received the invitation to discover the Ryokan Collection a sort of Japanese Small luxury hotels group, I rushed to a funny little house on avenue George Mandel where four Ryokan owners had gathered. There are 39 members of this very exclusive … Read More
Kent Monkman inaugurates Canada’s cultural center
The inauguration of Canada’s new cultural center in Paris, within the Embassy which recently moved from avenue Montaigne to 130 Faubourg Saint Honoré, was a great evening full of surprises. Kent Monkman, the successful painter could not have been more charming and his huge painting “Miss Chief’s wet dream” a parody of the “Raft of the Medusa”, was made especially … Read More
Maria Yanouchevskaïa remembered in style
It was a unique moment of emotion and talent listening to Macha Yanouchevskaïa’s friends and former pupils at the conservatory of Issy les Moulineaux. Macha was a dedicated cello teacher and taught chamber music to young teen agers who were all there to pay their respects to the musician they adored. She died in December 2015 and all the pieces … Read More
Happy Premier Mai
I am so happy to wish you a beautiful May 1st with this huge bunch of muguet (lily of the valley) which I picked especially for you yesterday. This year the lily of the valley came later but bloomed in one week with the hot weather and now the rain. Everyone in France is celebrating our “labor” day and I … Read More
Jacques Genin, a chocolate genius!
His reputation is that one has to eat his chocolates the day they are made and his metal boxes are devised to keep them fresh for a fortnight… Jacques Genin has a corner chocolate store on rue du Bac and rue de Varenne and it is hard to resist his lovely Easter bunnies and hens. He was recommended to … Read More
Joyeux, there are many reasons to love this place!
Yann Bucaille Lanrezac is a dreamer. But before dreaming, he became a successful businessman in Brittany and in 2012, he bought a catamaran named Ephata. He used it to take autistic children and/or with drown syndrome for a day’s sail. Six thousand so far have been on the boat. One day, a young woman told him: “I don’t need a … Read More
Happy New Year to all of you faithful readers
I wish you all much love, beauty, happiness and glorious times in 2018!
Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, from Paris
I looked around Paris to find a pretty Christmas tree for you, all the hotels are lit in the most exquisite way but the most glamorous decor is certainly that of Opera Garnier where I heard a wonderful “Clemenzia de Tito” with Stéphanie d’Oustrac in Sesto and Ramon Vargas in Tito. The Foyer has never looked so good!