I was having coffee near the church of a very sad funeral when I met Olivier Rupé, a charming young man who studied finance and marketing and decided that he loved cheese. After training with a few star cheesemongers, he now runs the cheese shop of Monbleu, a restaurant on 37 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, a few blocks from Hôtel … Read More
At Bleu Bao, trendy and youth is the motto
I am very lucky to have nephews who feed me on trendy spots and when they give me a new address, I immediately obey. Lunch at Bleu Bao, the third restaurant opened in Paris by Celine Chung and Billy Pham, is pretty, fun, delicious for most dishes and definitely young. Their first successful spot, Gros Bao, is red and located … Read More
Gigi is very pretty and almost very good
I met a man on the elevator to Gigi, on the 6 th floor of Théâtre des Champs Elysées, who had been there before and he said that on a day like this the place would be spectacular but is a little noisy. He was right all the way and my excitement to discover the new Laurent Gourcuff Paris Society … 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
Cèna is my new canteen
In Italian and in Spanish, cena means dinner but don’t be misled, this new restaurant “Cèna” in the 8 th arrondissement has nothing Italian or Spanish about it. It is the pure produce of French cuisine with Pascal Barbot, the 49 year old chef of l’Astrance (closed for a few months), as head chef. An unpretentious bistrot for approximately 40 … Read More
At la Halle aux Grains, the decor tops the food
An American friend told he’d had a great lunch at La Halle aux Grains, Michel and Sébastien Bras’s new restaurant at la Bourse du Commerce. I had heard it took months to get a table, but I tried anyway, one morning last week, and got a reservation for 12.15 pm. A good surprise. When you enter the third floor of … 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
Ile de Ré is in top cultural form
The magical Ile de Ré acquired a bridge in 1988 and since then, it is easily linked to La Rochelle and even more popular than before. There is great social rivalry between Les Portes, at the extreme end of the island, and Ars five miles away, a bit like East Hampton and Southampton in the summer. But in the end, lunch … Read More