History

Culture, Museums and Monuments, Shopping, Understand France and the French

Hôtel Drouot is pure theatre

May 9, 2010
The auction rooms at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris date to 1852. They’ve been modernized since then, but the general atmosphere probably hasn’t changed much. On any day of the week, a throng of characters straight out of a Maupassant novel can be found bidding for dusty treasures straight out of the proverbial Old Curiosity Shop. Annually, about 800,000 lots…read more
Culture, For tourists only, Museums and Monuments, Travel, Travel with Kids, Understand France and the French

France Miniature

September 4, 2009
Our friend Patrick Mikla always surprises us with 'inside' discoveries of Paris and France. From the time we met him some 15 year ago, I can remember each and every one of our adventures. The latest is France Miniature. He took the day off and took us Élancourt, a town about an hour drive outside of Paris, where this miniature…read more
Books, Food, Restaurants

First foray into cooking was through Silver Palate Cookbook

September 1, 2009
I read today that Sheila Lufkin, the author of "Silver Palate Cookbook 25th Anniversary Edition" (Julee Rosso, Sheila Lukins) had passed away. I was struck that her cookbook got me started cooking when i was just out of college, some 25 years ago. During my weekends to NYC from Boston where I attended college, many people were talking about her…read more
Books, Books on France, Culture, Museums and Monuments, Travel, Understand France and the French

Mona Lisa in Camelot

July 14, 2009
Two ladies in Camelot..... Who knew... Just read in the Vanity Fair article of how the 1963 American exhibition of the Mona Lisa in New York City and Washington, D.C., was America's first blockbuster art show. The writer Davids recounts in numbing detail the negotiations, preparations, flummoxes and successes of the exhibit. The exhibition was masterminded by the diplomatically savvy…read more
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