Holly berries brighten a secluded corner beneath the watchful dome of Sacré Coeur.
- Christmas 2020 -
Fairytale artisan Christmas market on Square René-Viviani last year.
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For 2020 markets see Paris Christmas Markets
Though its beautiful tea room and pâtisserie on rue de Rivoli are closed for now, Angelina has a small boutique on the Left Bank that is, happily, open for takeaway.
Two bags from Christian Dior's uplifting spring collection.
Dior
A sign inside a Montmartre real estate agency reads, "The street artists are the new Impressionists."
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In the late 1800s, the official Paris Salon dominated the French art world, enforcing rigid academic standards for what qualified as acceptable "art." Works that didn't conform were often rejected, but in 1863, Emperor Napoleon III established the Salon des Refusés - an exhibition for these “rejects" - following widespread complaints about the Salon's overly strict jury. This alternative showcase highlighted innovative painters, including early figures like Édouard Manet, and helped legitimize avant-garde styles. It paved the way for independent exhibitions, weakening the Salon's monopoly. By 1874, a group of rebellious artists - including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and others - organized their own show outside the traditional system. Art critic Louis Leroy reviewed it mockingly in the newspaper Le Charivari, deriding Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise, as a mere “impression" - unfinished and sketchy, like wallpaper in its early stages. Intended as an insult, the term "Impressionists" stuck. The artists embraced it proudly, and their independent exhibitions continued, ultimately revolutionizing modern art as the once-dominant Paris Salon faded into obsolescence, much like the horse and buggy, in an era of change. - BPJ
In France, perfume is such an integral part of the culture that it’s a verb.
The offer for a light misting was coming from the exuberant Versailles-born Christian Louis, whose charming shop nestled under a Place des Vosges archway is my personal favorite small Paris parfumerie, worth a visit on its own. With its copper stills and colors of the Côte d'Azur it exudes a feel of bygone days mixed with a touch of a miniature Willy Wonka factory. It is, simply, a realm of beautiful scents, all created by Louis, holder of the prestigious title and position of one of France's rare Master Perfumers. Louis, whose workshop is in Grasse, will carefully scope a newcomer up and down and expertly match one of his creations to their "type" - reciting the ordained perfume's essential essences with passion (“orange peel, black pepper, wild rose, tuberose!”). And he's never wrong.
Palate (and palette) pleasing AOC cheeses from a local fromagerie enhance the stay-at-home experience.
Looking back....
There were spices destined for recipes handed down from grandmother to granddaughter, from generation to generation. There were spices for dishes yet to be conceived, and spices whose odors triggered memories buried for years... The sheer quantity and variety on offer were enough to make heads spin faster than a Whirling Dervish, and all the usual staples were present: coriander, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, flame red paprikas, cardamom, golden turmeric, saffron, green cumin, ground coconut, black, red, green and white peppercorns, curry mixtures, licorice, dangling strings of dried eggplants, peppers, dried fruits, dates, chilies and okra; pastries galore, boxes, bags, tins and bins of rose waters, rose buds, oils, henna, natural sponges, herbs, seeds, beans and nuts of every persuasion and hue, including Turkey’s famously flavorful pistachios.
From, "Turkish Delight on a Moonlit Night" © Barbara Pasquet James
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Adjectives describing the ancient Ottoman city straddling the Bosphorus are as plentiful as the vendors selling bright pomegranate juice on almost every corner. But due to political upheavals and other factors over recent years, tourism in what was one of the world's most vibrant destinations - just a 3-hour flight from Paris - has dwindled dramatically. And that is unfortunate. Having had family based in Beyoğlu, the district of narrow cobbled streets bulging with hip cafés, restaurants and tons of ambiance on the European side, we were able to enjoy this city like locals. Forever in search of a gastronomic discovery, I especially loved exploring the fish markets with their small tables set up under bridges, the wood-pit rotisseries and Turkish coffee enclaves but mostly, wandering through the spices and food markets on the Anatolian or Asian side, which exuded an entirely different feel. - BPJ
(click photos to enlarge)
The Eiffel Tower is scheduled to re-open Wednesday December 16, 2020.
Above: previously published photo w/a vintage postcard makeover
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Update: 12/16 re-opening cancelled until further notice
😢
Passing a small Montmartre librairie I was struck by the lineup of morose suggested book titles.
