The Louvre takes a new direction

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Louis Antoine Prat is the new President of Amis du Louvre

Louis Antoine Prat is the new President of Amis du Louvre

After being vice president of Amis du Louvre for twenty years, Louis Antoine Prat, an art historian and drawings collector, has replaced Marc Fumaroli as President. He now reigns over 60 000 members of this active association, which raises 3 to 4 million euros every year for the collections. He has curated many exhibitions of Chassériau, Ingres and Poussin, and is one of the rare collectors, whose drawings have been exhibited everywhere including the US and Canada.Read More

Musée Guimet is full of surprises

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At Musée Guimet you are welcomed by a giant from Angkor Wat

At Musée Guimet you are welcomed by a giant from Angkor What

Visiting Musée Guimet is like traveling to Cambodia, China, Japan and India the same morning. It is a fabulous adventure of the mind and of the senses. And it is a five minute walk from place de l’Alma.

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The place to be in… ARCACHON

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Kraken is a monster from the North with many (culinary) arms and… a restaurant

I met Laetitia Natali when she was a little girl refusing to play golf, then studying law at Assas university and refusing to become a lawyer. And later, blooming in the hard and demanding work of an apprentice chef. I had lunch at Hotel Vendôme where she was in charge of desserts and then at her restaurant in Pigalle, where she cooked everything. And now I am happy to let you know she has just opened, Kraken, the « it » restaurant in Arcachon with her partner Samuel Villa.Read More

Rungis, a (food) world to itself

parisdiaFlowers and gardens, Restaurants & Hotels6 Comments

Têtes de veau are one of the attractions of Rungis, the largest wholesale market in the world

Têtes de veau are one of the attractions of Rungis, the largest wholesale market in the world

The hardest thing about visiting the wholesale market of Rungis is to get up at 3.30 am in order to see the fish market « La Marée », before it closes at 5 am. Stéphane Layani, the flamboyant President of this huge 500 acre large market, is a fascinating character who remembers you first name!Read More

Annabelle d’Huart, a persistent and eclectic artist

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Annabelle d'Huart's necklace Protozoaires, in ceramic, silver and silk, 2008 ( 8 000€)

Annabelle d’Huart’s necklace “Protozoaires”, in ceramic, silver and silk, 2008 (8 000€)

When she was 18 she could be seen at auctions, buying hyperrealist artists with her sister Lorraine. The vision of the two beautiful sisters, one dark and one blond, was striking, and this is the image I always kept of Annabelle d’Huart. After being an arts photographer in New York and a collaborator of architect Ricardo Bofill in the 1980’s, she is now a full time artist with an overwhelming variety of supports.Read More

New york City ballet is back in Paris after eight years

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Amar Ramasar, a Trinidad -Indian dancer form the Bronx galvanised the Châtelet

Amar Ramasar, a Trinidad -Indian dancer form the Bronx galvanised the Châtelet

I had booked tickets in memory of the fabulous years in New York when Violette Verdy and Peter Martins were dancing under Balanchine’s eye. But this evening at the Châtelet, with the New York City ballet and its young dancers, was so strong and fabulous that I decided I had to let you know.Read More

Le Muselet, a French Japanese treat

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Grilled octopus, asparagus and bacon

Grilled octopus, asparagus and bacon

It is rare even for my lazy friends who are free all afternoon and I to sip champagne over lunch. But at le Muselet, it is traditional, for this restaurant  run by a Japanese chef is entirely devoted to independent champagne growers. And it is a delight. Its name comes from the iron wire that keeps champagne corks on the bottle.Read More