I Prefer Paris

House of Cardin Gala Screening at Theatre Chatelet

Vincent and I were invited to the gala screening of the new documentary film, House of Cardin last Monday night by our friend Cori Coppola-photograph above- (former Parisian of the Month), who is a producer on the film. 

It was a suit and tie affair, and the first time in months or maybe even since 2019, that

1. 1. I wore a suit
2. 2. I wore actual shoes, not sneakers or slippers
3. 3. I wore pants since the end of June 

It was at the Chatelet theater (another first, going to an indoor theater since February) and when I arrived there was a well-dressed and heeled crowd clamoring to pass the red velvet ropes. 

But there was one peculiarity: the Red Carpet was now green, I guess for climate reasons, I’m not sure. A big Pierre Cardin logo imprinted on the carpet was the jumping off point beyond the ropes. 

I don’t know my French celebrities as well as my American ones, but I did recognize a few and will post their names and my comments about them in the photo captions below. 

After fighting through the red velvet ropes, and practically ruining my hair, I was seated in the first row of the mezzanine. I had a prime view of people entering the theater on the main floor. About 15 minutes before the screening started, there was a big ruckus and lots of applause, as Pierre Cardin was escorted to his seat. 

There was a bit of a pre-show on the stage, when Matthew Gonder, who is an executive producer and the American Brand Ambassador for Pierre Cardin, spoke about Cardin’s accomplishments with great fervor to invigorate the audience, and ending by performing a rap style song about Cardin. 

The lights dimmed, the film started and from beginning to end, I was enamored, entertained, educated, inspired, humored, impressed, and dazzled. Cardin not only changed the face and world of fashion forever, he was and still is devoted to the arts, and owned theaters, designed costumes, and supported artists for decades. He was also the first designer to use Asian models and models of color and was the first designer to bring his clothes and brand to Russia and China.  His biggest joy is his work and at age 97 he is still working every day to complete large -scale projects such as a modern, futuristic tower in Venice. 

The film has an all star cast including Jean Paul Gautier, Sharon Stone, Naomi Campbell, Kenzo, Philppe Starck, Alice Cooper, and Dionne Warwick. 

I won’t give away any more details or spoilers about the House of Cardin, but if you want to immerse yourself for 95 minutes in a world of beauty, glamour, hard work, and legend, please watch the film. 

House of Cardin is available on Canal + in France and in the U.S., you can rent on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=house+of+cardin&crid=2XN15ONVSZO6Z&sprefix=house+of+cardin%2Caps%2C204&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15

Directors of the film and married in real life- Todd Hughes and P. David Ebersole- with cool Cardin ties 

Glamourpuss 

Staff wearing Cardin outfits- Star Trek? 

Annabelle Belmondo- model and daughter of Jean Paul Belmondo 

Hey lady, in case you didn't realize it, but this is a tribute to Pierre Cardin, NOT Lanvin! Shame on you! 

Pretty in pink feathers 

Interior decorator and dandy Vincent Darré, on the right- love the coordinating mask and suit

Arielle Dombasle- eternal starlet at age 67, singer and actress married to Bernard Henri-Levy.

When do you think she last ate a morsel of food?

Not sure who this tall drink of water is

Pierre Cardin as a young boy

 

I am thrilled that my interview with Alan Cumming is in Passport Magazine- Click link below to read

https://passportmagazine.com/alan-cumming/

 

 

 

Literal Street Art

Back in late March I posted about my new Instagram account, @literal_street art. Here’s another group of photos, where I take photos of what literally I see on the street and sidewalks. Some of these I have not put on my Instagram account yet, so you are seeing them here first. 

Door(s) of the Month: Rue de Varenne

After my visit to the Rodin Museum a few weeks ago, I walked on the rue de Varenne toward rue du Bac. Along the street are numerous former palaces built in the 1700s, that are now government buildings and foreign embassies. The massive doors are spectacular. I visited the Italian Embassy in 2009 at rue de Varenne and wrote about it on Eye Prefer Paris.

Click Here to read and to view the special photos. 

Do you have some favorites here? 

Please check out the links below for the articles I wrote for Travel Awaits 

A Wine Expert Shares His Passion For Bordeaux Wine: A New Book, Tours, And Favorite Sips

https://www.travelawaits.com/2554254/a-wine-expert-shares-his-passion-for-bordeaux-wine/?pv=related_list

6 Quaint Villages In Provence, France You Must Visit

https://www.travelawaits.com/2552959/quaint-towns-in-france-to-visit/?pv=related_list

15 Beautiful Can’t-Miss Christmas Markets And Holiday Experiences In Vienna

https://www.travelawaits.com/2553461/best-christmas-markets-in-vienna/?pv=related_list

 

I am happy to have the prolific author John Baxter as my guest on A Bite of Paris. John has written many books about Paris including The Most Beautiful Walk in World, We’ll Always Have Paris, and books about the neighborhoods of Paris. Montmartre, Saint Germain des Pres, and Montmartre. John has also written two books about food in France, The Perfect Meal and Eating Eternity. 

John and I had coffee outdoors at the pastry shop and café, Gerard Mulot, in Saint Germain des Pres. 

Please watch the video at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPCLR-6ACg

For more about John and to purchase his books go to https://www.johnbaxterparis.com/

Please share this video and don’t forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel.

Behind the Paris Street Signs-Series 2, 16th Arrondissment

Did you like the first series in July of Behind the Paris Street Signs? 

Here’s group two of the series. I’ve been spending time in the 16^th arrondissement and spotted many signs with musicians, composers, and singers, so that’s the theme for this series.

Alée Maria Callas

I’m sure you know who Maria Callas is, but if you don’t, she was one of the great opera singers of the mid-20^th century. Born Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos in New York City in 1923, of Greek immigrant parents and received her musical training in Greece when she was 13. She was a soprano and made her musical debut in 1938, singing a duet from Tosca.

She rose to fame in the 1950s and 1960s, singing some of the most demanding opera roles all over the world. Her personal life, filled with scandal and disappointment, could have been an opera itself. While married, she had an intense affair with Aristotle Onassis, and was devastated when he rejected her and married Jackie Kennedy. There were many scandals she was involved with in the opera world, which labeled her a “diva”. Callas spent the last few years of her life, mostly a recluse, living in the 16^th arrondissement on Ave. Georg Mandel, before she died at the age of 53. Alée Maria Callas runs down the Ave. George Mandel, as a tree lined divider for cars to park.

Rue Spontini 

Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini was an Italian opera composer and conductor who lived from 1774 to 1851. He was born in Italy but spent most of his time in Paris and Berlin. He studied at a conservatory in Naples and toured Italy until his big break came in Rome. His first successes were comedies and in 1804 Spontini moved to Paris. In 1807 Empress Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, encouraged him to write tragic operas, and went on to his most successful composition La Vestale.  Napoleon promoted Spontini’s operas and was made a chevalier of Napoleon's Legion of Honor.

Rue Verdi 

The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, 1813 –1901, wrote many of the most performed and popular operas including La Traviata, Rigoletto, Aida, Il Trovatore, Falstaff, Don Carlos, and Un Ballo in Maschera. In 1847 Verdi moved to Paris and lived here for two years until he returned to Italy. Verdi was awarded the Order of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government. 

Rue Gustave Naudad

Gustave Naudad (1820-1893) was a songwriter and singer. He was an accountant, and at age 28, started writing songs as a hobby.  Naudad was prolific and wrote over 300 songs, many of them political, which were banned under the Second French Empire.

Ave. Mozart 

Mozart came to Paris at the incredible age of seven years old. His father, Leopold, supported his family, by making appointments with wealthy aristocrats and royalty to have his son Wolfgang and daughter, Maria Anna, a harpsichordist, play for them. In 1763 Leopold, booked a three year “tour”, traveling all over Europe promoting the talents of his children and they played in Paris, the Imperial courts of Prague and Vienna, Amsterdam, London, Dover, Zurich, and Munich. 

When I give my Marais tour, I show clients an historic former mansion/hotel particulier, Hotel de Beauvais, just down the street from me, where Mozart and his sister played for the owner, a wealthy aristocrat, in 1763. Mozart later returned to Paris in 1778 for six months with his mother but had much disdain for the city. He complained Paris was a dump, the streets filthy and muddy, the people rude and obnoxious, and about the treatment of musicians, who were considered servants. Mozart was also disillusioned as he was broke, and the French court was not very receptive to his talents. 

I am happy to have the prolific author John Baxter as my guest on A Bite of Paris. John has written many books about Paris including The Most Beautiful Walk in World, We’ll Always Have Paris, and books about the neighborhoods of Paris. Montmartre, Saint Germain des Pres, and Montmartre. John has also written two books about food in France, The Perfect Meal and Eating Eternity. 

John and I had coffee outdoors at the pastry shop and café, Gerard Mulot, in Saint Germain des Pres. 

Please watch the video at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPCLR-6ACg

For more about John and to purchase his books go to https://www.johnbaxterparis.com/

Please share this video and don’t forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel.

 

Paris Trash Cans

You are probably scratching your head and possibly saying the following things about the above blog title, photo, and post below.

1. Has Richard lost his mind, flipped his wig, gone insane, lost his marbles, gone off his rocker, gone mad, gone bonkers, went mental, or went bananas? Poor thing, the lockdown really must have gotten to him. 

2. Why is Eye Prefer Paris posting about trash cans? Is that the only thing going on in Paris right now? 

3. I know Richard has posted wacky things in the past, but photos of trash, really? 

4. How interesting, I’m intrigued. 

5. I love Paris so much and so blindly, even their trash is chic and beautiful. 

6. These are the most genius and brilliant photos I’ve ever seen. 

7. None of the above, I’m just going to put this trash in my computer trash.  

Alright, here’s the scoop on these photos. As many of you know and I wrote about it a few months ago, I started a new Instagram account @literal_streetart, where I post photos of what I see on the sidewalks and streets below me. I was out one day trying to shoot new photos of the street for my new account. I walked and walked and wasn’t finding anything new or interesting to shoot. Suddenly, I passed a trash can, and it visually and graphically appealed to me. So, I started walking up to trash cans, peering inside, and taking photos. You could imagine the strange looks I got from people while doing this. 

Let me know what you think of these photos and if you would like to see more. Are they just trash or art? As they say, one man’s trash can be another man’s artistic inspiration. 

I want to thank everyone for their feedback and comments about the black and white photos versus the color photos of the 16th arr. from last week.  It turns out you voted almost equally between the two formats, so I will continue with both. I purposely chose different photos for the color version, which showed off the colors of the window boxes and greenery.