Packing for light

A hand-made cashmere shawl, bags, and scarves inspire an escape to the French Riviera.

Going vegan

French cuisine is endlessly varied and this airy place at the foot of the Montmartre butte offers great value and healthy choices.

Above: creative veggie sharing planche for two; side salad of fennel, chick peas, walnuts and blue cheese

Below: mango dessert

Abattoir Végétal
61 rue Ramey 75018

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May newsletter
Nouveautés

Market muguets

May 1st is La Fête du Travail, Labor Day, when muguets or lilies of the valley are given to loved ones.

Above: a forest of muguets for sale at an open-air market

Below: blooms for the lunch table; bright gariguette strawberries, back in season 

3 hours (or less) from Paris: Amsterdam #2

Above: a floating tulip garden; an early café créme on a quiet square; anyone for chess?

Below: no visit to Amsterdam is complete without feasting on rijsttafel (traditional Indonesian multi-dish "rice table"), sampling Dutch cheeses at a street market or hopping on a bicycle....

 

 

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PARIS - AMSTERDAM  

 

Several direct flights daily

Total flight time: 1 hour 20 minutes

By train: Thalys from Paris Gare du Nord - 27 trains per day

[shortest travel time: 3 hours 17 minutes direct into Amsterdam Centraal]

More in May newsletter

3 hours (or less) from Paris: Amsterdam #1

Going Dutch.

 Though I'd been to "The Venice of the North" several times over the years, this visit was particularly magnifique.

 

 Invited to join a dear friend and with the weather on our side, we hit some of the best spots in the city, and revisited old ones, from museums and art exhibitions to restaurants, bars, markets, and more.

Below: canal and bridges from a boat

An April lunch

 

Lunch on an elegant terrace overlooking Le Petit Palais.

Below: two courses from our formule déjeuner
1) velouté starters (cold cauliflower soup w/fresh green peas purée; cucumber soup w/crab)
2) panna cotta w/raspberries

 

Mini-Palais Restaurant

3 Avenue Winston Churchill 75008

(click photos to enlarge)

 

Music and gardens

2019 marks the 40th Anniversary of magnificent Les Arts Florissants, an extraordinary musical ensemble led by William Christie and Paul Agnew, and dedicated to baroque in all its forms, but not only...

Above: spring and summer festivals in The Gardens of William Christie

Featuring talented young musicians from the world over and in liaison with the Juilliard School of Music in New York, more than 20 programs of operas and concerts are held in France and throughout Europe - and there's much more.

- See website for this year's programs -
Les Arts Florissants
 Twitter: @lesartsflo

Above photos: Les Arts Florissants

 

William Christie - Musical Director, Founder
Paul Agnew - Associate Musical Director

Below: from press reception held at L'Académie des Beaux-Arts inside the glorious Institut de France

(click photos to enlarge)