Pack up the thermal undies and cross the Atlantic… just to go skiing in France? With all that tempting Colorado and Canadian powder so close at hand? Plus Vermont? And [...]
Food is just as susceptible to trends as fashion and some tried-and-true dishes that have been mainstays on Parisian restaurant menus have worn out their welcome with fickle French diners.
Languedoc Backroads from Béziers to Toulouse: There’s more to the South of France than Provence and the Côte d’Azur. In the Languedoc, you get just as much sunlight, great food, [...]
Paintings and sculpture by free-spirit Robert Raushenberg light up the Gagosian Gallery (4 rue de Ponthieu; www.gagosian.com) in the 8th arrondissement from September
In our June issue, we explore Arles… Arles is 80 kilometers – and 80 light-years — from Aix-en-Provence. These two irresistible towns incarnate the polar opposites of Provence. Aix has [...]
Left your heart in San Francisco? Find it at the Duke’s Bar in the Westminster Hotel (13 rue de la Paix) on Feb 2, 9, 16 and 23 when NY/SF crooner Terrance Gelenter brings a little Tony Bennet/Bobby Short to the Place Vendôme at 9 pm.
What’s three-star Yannick Alléno got on the Valentine menu in the glamourous Dali salon at Le Meurice? A “mosaïque” of scallops and lobster, filets de rouget barbet with confit tomatos and black truffles, a delicate “Froment du Léon” veal blanquette and a sabayon au vin de paille, garniture maraîchère plus a mandarin vacherin from the Pyrénées for dessert. 210€/person. Reservations and information: www.lemeurice.com
On January 29th, the pictures on the wall come to life as a troupe of dancers interpret “les muses” of artist Antoine Bourdelle at the Bourdelle Museum in Montparnasse. Free preformances at 2, 3 and 4 pm. Through March 12th, there’s “Que du Dessin” (drawings by Bourdelle) in the galleries. For more information: www.bourdelle.paris.com Corinne LaBalme
We’re coming up on Carnaval in Nice. Here’s a repost from our time at Carnaval last year…
The Nice Carnival has two major components: the fairy tale Batailles de Fleurs (which take place along the Promenade des Anglais in the daytime) and the rambunctious Corso Carnavalesque (in the Place Masséna both in the afternoons and at night). Every event doesn’t take place every day so it’s vital to check the schedules for the three-week party.
The Bataille de Fleurs, a tradition dating from 1876, is pure charm. Regional florists compete to make the prettiest and most impressive floats. Carnival “princesses” ride atop these floral creations, tossing bouquets of lilies and mimosas to the crowds and to the dancers and majorettes who round out the parade. At the end of the afternoon, tourists and locals head back to their homes and hotels, covered with confetti, and holding armfuls of fresh flowers.
Carnival experts in Nice evoke the modern event’s 127-year-old history but the key to enjoying the party requires more historical distance. A 13th century letter mentions Nice’s Mardi Gras party as a “must” and the rowdy, medieval origins come through loud and clear at a Corso Carnavalesque parade – especially on Saturday night – which can look like something dreamed up by the Phi Delta frat house and the Girls Gone Wild cast. Loudspeakers blast dance music which the brass bands and folk orchestras on the parade grounds try their best to drown out.
This year’s theme was “Mediterranean” and the “Dolce Vita” float consisted of Pinocchio on a pizza cart with a buxom balloon girlfriend, Cupid with an arrow, a giant duck, a suggestively thrusting Tower of Pisa, a (live) caveman dragging a (blow-up) balloon woman by her hair, a group of bemused schoolchildren tossing confetti, canned samba music, and a dozen men in drag (with watermelon breasts and blonde wigs) flashing their garter belts at the crowd.
According to Nice Matin newspaper the next day: “Finally a float that really captures the spirit of Carnival!”
Not to be missed!
Get a side-trip to Bavaria via metro on March 15, 16, and 17 when German-born Werner Küchler, director of the Relais Plaza, hosts home-town chef Walter Leufen for a menu that includes Geräuchentes Forellenfilet von Tegernsee, mit Gurken in Meerrettichcreme (Tegernsee Lake smoked trout with cucumber/horse-radish cream), Schweinshaxe mit Bierjus und Speckwirsing (pork knuckle cooked in beer with cabbage and bacon) or apple streudl with vanilla sauce. The wait-staff will wear dirndls and lederhosen (but you don’t) and live bavarian folk music is promised as well. www.plaza-athenee-paris.com — Corinne LaBalme
Up, Up and Away…! Get a bird’s eye-view of Paris (with a helium assist) from the Ballon Air de Paris that rises above the modernist Parc André Citroen in southwest edge of town. Available daily (weather permitting) from 9am to the park’s closing hour, this delightful montgolfière ride costs only 10-12€ for adults. www.ballondeparis.com Corinne LaBalme
In our latest issue, we explore the many worlds of Chantilly… from large mega resort, to small, family-run inn. Just 30 minutes from Paris, Chantilly offers history, sport, and, as described in our latest issue, great food.
Want to suffer? Want to fast?
Want to sweat your body back into shape?
Then by all means, AVOID signing up for a 5 day/4 night boot-camp session at La Réserve, the snazzy new five-star hotel in the Saint-Tropez ‘bedroom community’ of Ramatuelle.
Your tiring day will begin with a healthy breakfast, and an hour-long yoga session followed by a (brisk or leisurely) stroll on one of the Riviera’s prettiest beaches.
Then you have the rest of the day to “recover” from all that effort with body wraps, spa treatments, ‘relaxation sessions’, a dip or two in the swimming pool… and of course, lunch and dinner in the hotel’s stylish restaurant.
The next session is October 10 to 15 (4,950€ per person for full board).
La Réserve – Ramatuelle. Chemin de la Quessine, 83350. Tel: 04.94.44.94.44. www.lareserve-ramatuelle.com
Corinne LaBalme
An American in Paris. From September 28 to November 12, Paris’s Gagosian Gallery (4 rue de Ponthieu, 75008) presents sculpture and paintings by Robert Rauschenberg. Corinne LaBalme
DIM-SUM… DELUXE! The Shang Palace — the Cantonese-ish Chinese Restaurant in Paris’s brand-new and super-elegant Shangri-La Hotel — opened its decorative laquered doors on September 8th. In a stylish Mandarin dining room with hand-carved green onyx columns, thrill to culinary specialties like fragrant, herb-laced conch soup (‘Buddha jumping over the wall’) and ‘Lion’s head’ pork… accompanied by a Château Latour or super-exotic Mou-Tai rice brandy. www.shangri-la.com or shangpalace.slpr@shangri-la.com Corinne LaBalme
