Category: Paris
Night at the Museum
June 14, 2019
After an interesting encounter last year with Napoleon the Strategist at the Musée de l’Armée in Paris, it seemed rude to miss an opportunity of making closer acquaintance. Talent or ambition – which is more important in the making of a genius? I wrote about it here: https://wp.me/p7AW4i-kE The museum was open free of charge […]
A croissant worth crossing Paris for
June 3, 2019
Word was circulating that a new bakery is producing the best croissants in Paris. On a visit to the city in May, naturally I went to investigate rue Oberkampf, looking for No 61. The 11th Arrondissement is roughly equivalent to London’s Shoreditch, with little independent shops, a market, and tattoo parlours. […]
Postcards from Paris; May 2018
July 6, 2018
Rue du Nil. Gregory Marchand was given the nickname “Frenchie” when he was cooking in the kitchen of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen. It stuck, and in 2009 he opened his first restaurant with the name in Paris. Since then he has opened a wine bar, a wine shop, and Frenchie to Go, all on Rue du […]
To Paris, in pursuit of genius
June 14, 2018
Talent or ambition – which is more important in the making of a genius? Tintoretto, Birth of a Genius. Delacroix Retrospective. Napoleon the Strategist. These three exhibitions in Paris this spring demonstrated that both are needed. Tintoretto – a precocious talent. My knowledge of Tintoretto was limited to his vast, decorative canvasses of figures […]
A taste of the 7th Arrondissement
June 1, 2018
A typical day in the 7eme…. ….starts with the view of Les Invalides (Napoleon’s tomb) from the balcony of “our” apartment (allow me a fantasy life). If we’re heading for the Metro at St François Xavier, we’ll have breakfast at La Boulangerie des Invalides on the corner opposite, where the croissants are in the oven. Returning […]
“Paris is always a good idea”
May 25, 2018
There are many reasons to travel: to explore new places, to search for novelty and new experiences; to tick a destination off a bucket list. There is also pleasure to be had from returning to somewhere familiar; a voyage of rediscovery, turning an unexpected corner. Cities especially are constantly changing and evolving, so to […]
“Something for the weekend?” – signs of the (Financial) Times
March 23, 2018
My preferred newspaper is the Weekend F.T. It doesn’t come in a plastic wrapper full of unwanted leaflets, advertising stair-lifts and elasticated trousers. More specifically, the Life & Arts section, and the magazine, which for nearly twenty years have prompted my travel plans, focus on restaurants reviewed by Nick Lander or exhibitions praised by Jackie Wullschlager; or, in an ideal world, […]
A street market on Avenue de Saxe
May 9, 2017
Street market on Avenue de Saxe, Paris 7eme arondissement. Saturday 5 November 2016 Les Invalides from the Avenue de Breteuil A bright clear morning, a ten minute stroll from our apartment on Avenue de Breteuil to pick up provisions, including an easy supper for the evening. We were catching a train to Vernon to […]
An apple festival in Vernon
February 8, 2017
The nearest station to Giverny, Vernon is 45 minutes from Gare Saint-Lazare in central Paris (46 miles, very roughly equivalent to travelling from London to Newbury) A prosperous market town, it supports a double fronted fishmonger’s shop, and a large choice of butchers, traiteurs and greengrocers, as well as a couple of supermarkets. There was […]