Art & Culture Colorado Denver Fashion & Style Paris: Art & Culture Colorado Denver Fashion & Style Paris
by maribeth
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Yves Saint Laurent Comes to Denver
One of Many YSL Creations to be Shown in Denver
So long cow town, hello haute couture. Maybe I was a bit ahead of my time moving to Telluride, Colorado from Paris, France. Well, there’s nothing like the combination of natural beauty and sophistication and clearly that dynamic duo is increasingly on the rise here in our magnificent Rocky Mountain state.
Mention of an Yves Saint Laurent exhibit in Denver popped out at me yesterday in a piece in the New York Times about Pierre Bergé. (Read Saint Laurent’s Other Half.) My excitement quickened as I discovered that Denver was selected as the only U.S. city to present the major Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective featuring forty years of this world-renowned designer’s creativity, organized by Monsieur Bergé. It came as no surprise that the show will be hosted by the Denver Art Museum (DAM), one of the most stunning showcases of art and history in our country. The show opens March 25, 2012 and will run through July 7, 2012.
French Life French Provinces Paris Podcasts: French Life French Provinces Paris Podcasts
by maribeth
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Bonjour Paris Talks with Bonjour Colorado
View from Pont Alexandre III in Paris
Ah, Paree. There’s nothing like Paris. And it’s true, the City of Light can be delightful in April.
Karen Fawcett
But where does one begin? There’s so much to see and do in the French capital. And how about gaining more insight into zee French? I lived there eleven years, have written four shopping and touring guides to Paris and the French provinces, and I’m still looking to inform myself about France and its countrymen. So where do I turn for lots of helpful information and insightful stories about Paris and the French provinces? Why, BonjourParis.com, bien sur.
I interviewed Karen Fawcett, the driving force behind Bonjour Paris, this past fall on my Travel Fun radio show. Listen to our chat below to hear how Bonjour Paris has been the definitive guide to Paris since 1995. And the range and depth of their reporting doesn’t stop with Paris. (Although every bon parisien has believed for centuries that their fair city is the center of the universe. In truth, moi aussi for a while!) Thankfully Bonjour Paris gives the rest of France its due, another reason why this informative Web site has earned a leading presence on the worldwide web for all things French.
Karen is funny and insightful, so don’t miss this opportunity to hear more about this much-loved land from someone truly in-the-know.
Click to play the Bonjour Paris program
Thank you to DaliParis and Karen Fawcett for the above images.
DC Hotels & Lodging Paris Restaurants Travel: cherry blossoms DC Hotels & Lodging luxury DC hotels Paris Restaurant Restaurants The Fairfax at Embassy row The Jockey Club Travel Washington DC
by maribeth
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The Elegance of Paris in Our Nation’s Capital: The Fairfax at Embassy Row
Cherry Blossoms at the Jefferson Memorial
It’s been over a week that the mountain closed here in Telluride and the town has already slowed down to its sleepy off-season mode. Many people have hit the road in search of warmer climates. Others (like me) are using this quiet time to catch up on work that had been shelved during the busy winter season. Fortunately there’s still fun to be had nearby since I just returned from a long weekend of skiing at Beaver Creek and Snowmass. My final spring ski fling will be in Aspen over Easter.
Still I’m feeling the itch to visit cities such as Paris or Washington D.C., two great capitals that are especially resplendent this time of year. I’ve often been to Washington in (late) spring since it’s an easier trip than crossing the Atlantic; and in Paris I’ve lived through nearly a dozen printemps. Flowers bloom bountifully in April in both cities, making spring the perfect season for strolling vast boulevards while crisscrossing in and out of world-renowned museums. This year, due to the disasters in Japan, there was more talk than ever about D.C.’s cherry blossoms, great puffs of beauty that surely provoked more emotion than usual. (I haven’t seen the cherry blossoms in D.C. but I did experience them in all their splendor nearly two decades ago in Kyoto, and I remember them as heartbreakingly beautiful then.)
Both Paris and D.C. humble you year-round by their manicured landscapes and grand and glorious architecture. This stateliness may be considered distinctly Washingtonian or typiquement parisien. Or sometimes a little of both. (As most of us know, it was a Frenchman, Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, appointed by President George Washington in 1791, who designed our capital city.) The history and tradition of Washington D.C. may be more recent than that of Paris but a visit to this glistening beacon along the Potomac still imbues you with the spirit of the past as well as the omnipotent force of the present.
Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Paris Spas: Colorado Denver Denver spas Hotels & Lodging luxurious Paris spas Paris Spa George V Four Seasons Paris Spas The Oxford Club Spa The Oxford Hotel Spa
by maribeth
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Spa Going: The Perfect Antidote to the Winter Blues
The Sitting Room of the Spa George V at the Four Seasons in Paris
Ho hum. If you’re not an avid outdoor enthusiast, you might be growing tired of winter by now. The Northeast has been in the grip of mighty cold and snow for the past couple of months and as I write this, half the U.S. is bracing itself for another arctic wallop. Europe has experienced quite the winter as well, particularly in Paris where I hear many fashionistas have gone so far as to trade in their stylish châpeaux for more practical knit hats—mon dieu!
Aside from cozying up on my couch with my kitties, an excellent cup of tea and a good book, I’ve found a trip to a spa to be the best therapy for curing mid-winter doldrums. (That’s, of course, after I’ve had fun in the mountain air.) Pampering and intense relaxation always warm my body and soul, leaving me to feel newly restored and ready to affront the cold or whatever else is thrown my way.
I love how almost no matter where we find ourselves, we can chose a spa experience that will transport us to a new and different healing space sure to transform us on many levels. There’s a spa out there for seemingly every mood and budget; it’s just up to us to seek it out.
Art & Culture Paris Restaurants: Art & Culture Paris Restaurants
by maribeth
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Rubens, Poussin and Seventeenth Century Artists at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris
Louis Le Nain, Le Concert
Peter Paul Rubens, Le Bain de Diane
It promises to be a gem of a show in a jewel of a museum. And it’s opening very soon, September 24, to be exact. Thank goodness it runs through January 24, 2011. That still gives me time to figure out how to beam myself over to Paris for this most alluring exhibition. You see, along with eighteenth century France, I’m passionate about the seventeenth century, especially when it comes to Flemish Baroque and French Classical school paintings from that era. And that’s exactly the focus of this Rubens, Poussin and Seventeenth Century Artists exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris. Think fleshy figures by Rubens, dramatic displays by Poussin, pleasant scenes by Le Nain, all masterfully painted in the richest and most penetrating colors imaginable.
My first visit to Europe was to Antwerp, Belgium, home of Peter Paul Rubens, grand master of the Baroque. I visited The Rubens House, an impressive dwelling that looks like it’s just out of the film “The Girl with the Pearl Earring.” From there, I traveled to Paris and as they say, the rest is history.
The Pastry Selection of the Musée Jacquemart-André
This exhibition offers a unique view of these two great artistic movements of the seventeenth century. And best of all, these extraordinary works will be presented in one of the loveliest and most intimate museums of Paris. I can imagine no better setting. A visit to the Musée Jacquemart-André is a must, even if you can’t make this show. It is a glorious temple of art, originally a private home of notable art collectors, where you can admire significant pieces from the Italian Renaissance, eighteenth-century France and Flemish masters such as Rembrandt at any given time.
But here’s the pièce de résistance of the Jacquemart-André museum: They boast an exquisite café/tea salon that makes you feel as though you’re sitting in a painting while you enjoy your perfect respite within this most elegant museum. Mais attention! Too many gâteaux from the pastry cart are apt to leave you feeling decidedly Rubenesque. Only kidding, enjoy to your heart’s delight! Isn’t that sometimes what Paris is all about?
Musée Jacquemart-André, 158 boulevard Haussmann, eighth arrondissement, 33 (0)1.45.62.11.59, Musee-Jacquemart-Andre.com
The Café/Tea Salon of the Musée Jacquemart-André
Nicolas Poussin, Coriolan
Thank you to Sofiacome and FranceGuide for the above images.
Art & Culture French Life French Provinces Hotels & Lodging Paris Podcasts: Art & Culture French Life French Provinces Hotels & Lodging Paris Podcasts
by maribeth
Comments Off on Oh Château Life!
Oh Château Life!
A Perfect French Summer Scene: Colza Fields Blanketing the Château de la Motte d'Usseau Landscape
If you’ve caught any coverage of the Tour de France, you’ve seen some glorious shots of the French countryside dotted with fairy tale-looking castles and elegant manor houses. Families still live in most of these impressive dwellings, many of whom have lived there for centuries. And even better, some of these families of long lineage open up their stately residences to visitors on a nightly or even weekly basis. (Yes, you can easily rent your own château in France for your destination wedding, family reunion or other exciting event.)
Château du Fraisse, A Grand Property Near Limoges
But how do you go about connecting with these people, some of whom may be just familiarizing themselves with the Internet? Enter Diane Ohanian, French château expert par excellence. Diane created au Château some ten years ago, a company and e-newsletter that dials Americans into château life in France. In my Travel Fun interview with Diane (and through her au Château Web site and newsletter), I’ve found her to be an incredible resource on French châteaux and on French life in general. As an ardent Francophile for more than two decades, Diane has made it her mission to suss out some of the most glorious and welcoming abodes in the gallic land. Indeed au Château is a great English-language resource for travelers looking to stay in historic places.
Room with a View at Château Sallandrouze and Many Other Châteaux
Click on the play button below to hear what Diane has to say about château life in France, French hosts and what she appreciates most about life in France. Hint: it has nothing to do with traffic jams and fast food.
Three châteaux have been featured in the above images including Château de la Motte d’Usseau, Château du Fraisse and Château Sallandrouze. (For Château Sallandrouze, please check with Diane directly at inquiry@au-chateau.com for this property’s availability.) Note that au Château boasts nearly eighty members on their site, so you have a variety of experiences to chose from in every corner of France.
Diane (on the left) with One of Her Hosts
Diane on the French as Hosts
“They’re excellent hosts, warm and friendly. The nobility is nice, too. Not at all condescending. I hope it’s not a disappointment when they (travelers) find out that they (the noble families) are like everyone else.”
Book Pick
“The Paris Neighborhood Cookbook: Danyel Couet’s Guide to the City’s Ethnic Cuisines,” by Danyel Couet and David Loftus
Listen to what Diane has to say about this book in the above interview.
Being Green Cycling Paris Tours: Being Green Cycling Paris Tours
by maribeth
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Tour Mania Versus Zee Segway
The Segway Peloton of Paris
I’ve been thinking about whizzing around Paris these days.
It’s July and I’m consumed with The Tour. I’m referring to the Tour de France, as I’m sure you might have guessed.
I love watching the undulating ribbon of the peloton weave its way through France, but it’s in Paris on the last day of this epic bike race that this colorful procession mystifies me the most. I think it’s because Paris is so familiar to me: I’ve walked the great length of the Champs-Elysées countless times, wended my way around the expansive place de la Concorde, strolled beneath the arcades of the rue de Rivoli from Concorde to Palais Royal. Seeing the Tour de France posse (caravan, cyclists, team cars, press and officials) dominate this familiar terrain mesmerizes me the most. How incredibly fitting it is to have some of the world’s finest athletes power over the same routes reserved for royalty and heads of state.
If you’re not able to be in the City of Light on the final day of this great race, I encourage you to at least catch part of the last stage on T.V. Even the lively commentary of the sportscasters can’t drone out the pack’s thunderous rumble over the cobbles, the resounding swoosh and whir as they travel along Paris’s centuries-old streets.
If you’re at all like me, you’ll also be envious of the racers having the streets of Paris to themselves. Quel bonheur! Can you imagine how great that feels, pedaling through these historic streets at lightening speed?
There’s nothing like experiencing a place from a bicycle or I suppose, even a Segway. I’m reminded of this every time I hop on a bike but it really hit home recently when a friend told me about how he breezed around Paris standing head and shoulders above the masses. He had taken a Segway tour and visited a good number of Paris’s best-loved sites and monuments in a flash, without the inconveniences of sore feet or having to get on and off a bus a ton of times.
Art & Culture Fashion & Style French Life French Provinces Paris Travel: Art & Culture Fashion & Style French Life French Provinces Paris Travel
by maribeth
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The French Will Always Have Monet and Much More
One of Monet's Views of Rouen
I’ve been thinking lately about a couple of major gatherings I attended for the tourism industry last fall. Both of my beloved lands were covered: France and Colorado. The French event, entitled French Affairs ’09, put on by Atout France (also known as the French Government Tourist Office and Maison de la France), took place in New York City. I attended one full day and evening of this grand gathering of largely travel suppliers and tourism representatives, many of whom had traveled from as far away as France and Tahiti to promote their products and destinations to some of the most attentive travel experts in the U.S. It was a whirlwind day, marked by fine wine and cuisine, tons of networking and colorful multi-media presentations of some of the most alluring regions of France and many other exotic French-y locales, such as Guadeloupe and Saint Bart’s. (Some of our favorite island get-ways also fall beneath the umbrella of the French Tourism Office, hence the name Atout France, which I interpreted as a play on words of sorts meaning all of France although the exact translation of atout is asset. Are you confused yet? )
Now that this year’s tourism season is well underway in France, I’m thinking about how it seems to be shaping up, especially in view of the somewhat jittery feelings that were echoed last fall as the French travel experts touted their products and services. The elephant in the room—the world’s bad economy—was not dwelled upon too much and instead most everyone projected a wistful c’est la vie attitude. Perhaps it was the copious amounts of French wine served at the luncheon, the farewell cocktail and the closing dinner, that contributed to such elevated spirits amid so much recessionary doom and gloom. But I think it had more to do with the fact that the French have seen hard times before and with such extraordinary tourism destinations as Paris, Burgundy, the Côte d’Azur, Saint-Martin and much more, worrying doesn’t make much sense anyway.
So here we are with the euro at a four-year low against the dollar. Who could think of a better time to visit France? Sure, there might be a few concerns about flight cancellations due to ongoing eruptions from Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland’s troublesome volcano. But at least lately glittering images from Cannes have overshadowed that news. No, it seems as though there are more reasons for going to France in these upcoming months than what we’ve registered in a while. Here are a few of my favorites:
Paris
Don’t miss the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition at the Petit Palais, the first-ever retrospective of this revolutionary French fashion designer. You have until 29 August to view this much-talked-about show.
Antibes Juan les Pins
The celebrated Jazz à Juan festival marks its 50th anniversary this July. As the longest running jazz festival in Europe, it promises to be steamy hot with a lineup that includes George Benson, Diana Krall and Maceo Parker. There’s nothing like being serenaded by world-class jazz as a cool breeze blows through the nearby palm trees.
Normandy
The Impressionists drew inspiration from the many varied subjects of this beloved region of France, including its verdant countryside, its ports and its major sites. (Claude Monet captured the many different allures of the Rouen Cathedral in more than thirty paintings.) This year the region of Normandy pays homage to the indelible mark left by the Impressionists by launching the Normandy Impressionist Festival that runs through September. Expect lots of culture, fun events and great restaurant and lodging packages both in Rouen and throughout the region.
These happenings and more were highlighted at this French travel industry event. Find out about others—islands included—at FranceGuide.com, the French Government Tourist Office’s official site. There you’ll also find links to some attractive travel deals.
We’re ramping up for the summer season in Colorado now. It’s still pretty bleak here in the mountains but that should all change by mid June. I’ll report on the Colorado tourism industry event and how the season is shaping up in an upcoming posting. As you know, spring is the time to be in France. Here, it’s still mud season and snow remains in the forecast for the mountains the next couple of days. Tant pis, c’est la vie.
Thank you to Catherine Lancien et Carole Loisel, the Musée des Beaux Arts de Rouen and Rouen Tourisme for the use of the above image.
