Adventures in the Louvre part 2

 

All week I’ve been immersed in finishing the Louvre map

Remember the rough pencil ✏️ sketch?

Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino, Couture Exhibit

 

I went to the Louvre on Wednesday to gather more research for Elaine Sciolino’s new book map for ‘Adventures in The Louvre’.

And to see the new Couture exhibit. 

Figures du fou, du Moyen Âge aux Romantiques, musée du Louvre

 

Foolishly I went Sunday afternoon to the Louvre 

When it is crowded like a madhouse.

Galerie Roger-Viollet, La Seine, Le Grand Colbert

 

On weekends, just like every tourist who crosses my bridge, Pont de Sully, 

I stop & take pictures of Parisians relaxing along the Seine. It’s addictive, especially in Summer 

Elaine Sciolino’s, The Seine, the River that made Paris

 

I visited Paris many times before moving here, but the Seine was not on my to-do list. 

I’d rush around from one museum, restaurant, monument to another, checking them off as I went. 

Not till I moved next to the Seine 6 years ago did I come to see what an integral part it plays in Parisians’ lives. Its the lifeblood of the city. 

Parisians sit in cafes and watch the world go by. And they sit along the Seine and do the same thing. 

Is it because its so accessible? Walking over a bridge on the Seine takes a few minutes unlike crossing the Thames of London. 

The banks/les Berges along the Seine are a designated historic monument and car-free. Life is teaming along the Seine year-round but especially in Spring, Summer,Fall. As goal-oriented tourists often we miss out. Are we like Emily in Paris, who can’t slow down, stop working or talking and just chill? 

That’s why you need to read Elaine Sciolino’s book, The Seine The river that made Paris  now out in paperback. Better yet, let Elaine tell her stories out loud on the audio version. She has so many wondrous stories to tell. 

Among them how Paris fireman pumped water from the Seine to put out burning Notre Dame. 

There used to be swim clubs 🏊‍♀️ along the Seine. Now there are Salsa clubs. Why didn't I move here 30 years ago? I created a map and bookplate for Elaine’s book tour last year, but its taken me awhile to figure out what my own relationship is to the Seine. I’m still working on it.

 I do know, after 6 years of living together, I never take a route home that isn’t beside the Seinr, crossing over 1 or 2 bridges on the way. You will definitely enjoy The Seine. Happy dreams of Paris PBers ❤️🥂🐻

The et Chocolat

Bonjour PBers from Irene City.

I thought I'd post today because:

A. There could be a power outage at any moment. What would you read on Monday?

And...

B. NY Time's Elaine Sciolino of the divinely informative La Seduction emailed me this week seeking info on Paris' salons des thes. Don't miss her article ! Besides she gave PB a nice mention.

Big merci Elaine

Bet you think you're in a Paris tea shop.


Looking at banks...

And gorgeous banks of tea tins

WRONG! You're in a chocolate shop (Duo Trio on 88 rue de Rennes, La Bonbonnière de la Trinité in the 9ème, Les Bonbons).

Bet you think you're at a tea festival here.

Don't you love how the French make fun of themselves showing elegant frogs delicately sipping tea? Thank you NestleT.

Kusmi tea creates a maze of tins for sniffing

(clue: U R not at a tea tasting).

Chloe Doutre-Roussel, famous chocolate connoisseure now has her own tea. Chloe filled me in. Thé/tea is a gourmet's drink in Europe and has been for 5-10 years now. More gourmets are choosing tea over coffee. We're talking really good teas, not flavored teas. Coffee bean aromas are too strong for chocolate. You will not find coffee beans in a Parisian chocolate shop. et voila

That's why all these tea tastings at the Salon du Chocolat. If you're going to Paris this Fall don't miss it.

Plan accordingly - it's a chocolate lover and tea tasters ball.

Jugetsudo had this elegant booth at last year's chocolate salon.

Elaine mentions them in her article - why didn't I visit? I loved the design of their map enough to shoot it..

French Girl, like most French Girls, adores her tea. She insists I bring back fresh bags of Fortnum and Mason Breakfast tea from London to refill her precious tins on the shelf. And she's mad for her Japanese tetsubin cast iron tea pot.

 As soon as I got home I rushed down to the Bowery kitchen supply stores to buy one (they're way less expensive than in Paris). Naturally I have never used the darn thing :(

I told Elaine about Kusmi's adorable shopping bag. Whatever you do, DON'T put your Japanese teapot inside this bag or you'll be sporting a broken toe. My bag broke just outside customs at CDG :(

BONJOUR THE et CHOCOLAT PBers!

La Seduction (part deux)

La Seductive Croissant, "9"x 11" Just like the multi-layered French croissant, we return to the layers of French seduction PBers. Yesterday I watched again Eric Rohmer's L'Amour Apres Midi/Chloe in the Afternoon for a crash immersion into the seductive arts (highly reccommended in Elaine Sciolino La Seduction).

Then headed out to the Strand Bookstore to hear Sciolino do a reading.. In the book, turn to pages 117 - 21 for why we Americans go around smiling way too much in France. SVP PBers - restrain the toothy grins and don't fling it about so generously, at least over there!
A somewhat reserved half smile (like the Mona Lisa?) is prefered.

Use your eyes first and foremost to display 'La regarde' or The Look and you'll win far more love battles over there.

As a sidebar, dear Parisienne, French Girl, was in New York for a week of feasting on bagels and cupcakes.  Leave it to French Girl to nose out like radar a cardigan and T-shirt filled with enough Fr ruffles to sink a ship at Hollister Co. The French attention to ruffles is bred in the bones.

Elaine could not have been nicer last night. She's a terrific observer of the French and their covert ways (Elaine Sciolino covered the CIA for the Times) but she isn't about to give up her smile for French savoir faire, completement.

The French think so highly of Elaine, she's being awarded the Chevalier de Legion d'honneur this weekend. BRAVO Elaine!

Elaine Sciolino's book is a delight filled with endless insights into what makes the French tick, particularly in the romantic/political arena. Open it anywhere and plunge in. You'll be enthralled like a quick trip to Paris. A PBer commented on my marking up my copy. Didn't you mark up your college texts to highlight the bits you want to remember? Same thing here.

Bonjour LA SEDUCTION!

La Seduction

Gateau Chocolat, watercolor, 9" x 11"

An American friend, who worked at Restaurant Guy Savoy for 3 years, made an observation I've never forgotten - 'Everything in France is layered'. I think of this each time I cut into a piece of French pastry.Elaine Sciolino's new book (out today), La Seduction, cuts through the complexity of French culture, politics, mores and most of all the layers of 'La seduction'. My copy is a mess of yellow markings. You won't be able to put it down either.

You can 'bite' a chunk at Amazon.

Sciolino mentions those petite details of seduction in an interview with lingerie queen Chantal Thomass. As New York Times Paris bureau chief for 5+ years, no one is out of her reach including a gastronomic 3-star chef Guy Savoy - she even gets to have a meal with his mother in the country!

This little blurb in an old Elle magazine sums up the books premise, 'Sexy, mais pas trop' (Sexy, but not too much) Suggestion in seduction is everything.

Wear something you can take off. And take a class on exactly how to take it off seductively!

Perfume is an essential in the game of French seduction - but all the senses come into play.

Obvious makeup is a non, non.

But traitment/skin treatment of the peau? Absolutement oui!

Much is summed up at a dinner soiree given by a French friend, so Sciolino can ask questions (with the essential politesse) of French experts in all arenas of the arts of seduction.
You'll be enthralled.

Sciolino dissects the French seduction the way I cut into a piece of cake to know it and paint it, layer by layer. Her bibliography is a goldmine of essential Frenchness. Many books we've discussed here like: Deluxe, The Perfect Scent, What French Women Know, French Women Don't get Fat, Almost French, The Essence of Style, plus I've added others into the sidebar.

The only oversight was the seductive powers of the French dog.
woof

BONJOUR LA SEDUCTION!