With la Grande Halle de la Villette, a gigantic cultural space set in the former meat market, in the North of Paris, Emperor Napoléon has found a perfect celebration spot two hundred years after he died on the island of Sainte Hélène 2 600 kms west of Angola… The exhibition which is just opening there instead of at the Grand … Read More
Musée Carnavalet has great surprises after a four year renovation.
Musée Carnavalet has been closed for four years but it was worth waiting and spending 58 million € under the supervision of Chatillon architects. Nathalie Crinière was in charge of the museography. Valérie Guillaume, its director since 2013, introduced our visit with a very politically correct speech on the importance of caring to young visitors and on the increase of exhibition … Read More
Champagne sales have gone up on Saturday!
Is this a good sign for French American future trade relations? I have received so many messages from American friends drinking champagne on Saturday at 6 pm French time, that I hope wine will not be taxed anymore when entering the US. To celebrate the President Elect Joe Biden, my friends have all opened a bottle of Pol Roger, Veuve … Read More
In Compiègne, Eugénie is the topic of a new book and a costume show
Château de Compiègne is a sleeping beauty which is slowly being awakened by the senior curator Rodolphe Rapetti and at the moment, a modest exhibition of costumes worn by Empress Eugénie, Napoléon III’s wife, is matched by a brilliant book written by Laure Chabanne with photographs by Gustave Le Gray, paintings and watercolors by Eugène Lami, and numerous artifacts which give … Read More
Who was Henri II? an ambitious warrior now at Vincennes.
I had barely ever heard of our king Henri II (1519-1559), whose father François I and wife Catherine de Médicis, mistress Diane de Poitiers and cousin Henri IV, completely eclipsed him. He reigned for twelve years, ten of which were at war, trying to expand the Kingdom of France. And he should at least be remembered for taking back in 1558, … Read More
The Musée de la Poste is full of surprises!
If you arrive early for your train at Gare Montparnasse or if you have a half hour to spare upon arrival, cross the street and walk into the super modern Musée de la Poste. It is a curiosity in Montparnasse and there are some fun surprises. From the beginning of the telephone system which used to be part of the … Read More
Hélène Rodocanachi has left us in style
You might remember my mentioning Hélène Rodocanachi’s 105 th birthday in March, which she spent alone in a retirement home at the Trocadero during confinement, and again my lunch with her three weeks ago in Perros-Guirec, Brittany. She was in full intellectual form and only had some difficulties walking around the garden of her childhood house, Rochefontaine, bought by her … Read More
Marie Antoinette at the Conciergerie, last chance…
There is something positive about the transports strike in Paris, everyone is out walking and the streets are it is incredibly lively and fun to watch. I recently went to see the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the Conciergerie “Metamorphoses of an image” (until January 26), and walked on to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants Le Hangar, across … Read More