I Prefer Paris

Trip to Houlgate in Normandy

We took a quick, two-day trip to Houlgate in Normandy last Thursday and Friday for Vincent’s birthday. Houlgate is a 23-minute train ride from the Deauville train station, heading southwest, facing the English Channel.

We arrived at about 11:30 and it was raining, so we walked around the village admiring the quaint, gingerbread, and Norman-style houses with white picket fences and lovely gardens. We liked the feel of Houlgate, a lovely cross between the bourgeoisie of Deauville and the funky, bohemian spirit of Trouville. After studying the typical menus of crepes and heavier Normandy dishes at most of the cafes, we lunched at Aux Bains Fleuris, which has a lighter menu of salads, avocado toast, seafood, and fresh juices. We liked it so much, we returned for dinner the next night and I had a killer burger on a brioche bun with fresh-cut fries. Vincent had seabream with vegetables and salad, and for dessert, a perfect cheesecake (not too dense and not too airy) with a Speculoos crust and a swirl of raspberry sauce. 

We checked into Les Cabines, a clean, modest three-star hotel, which was a seven-minute walk from the train station and a block away from the beach and had a quiet room on the second floor facing a courtyard with a rooftop view. 

The weather cleared by about 3 pm and we put on our shorts and t-shirts and headed to the beach. When we first peaked at the beach that morning, it was a long distance from the sand to the sea, probably a good quarter of a mile, but by the time we arrived, the tide had come in. One of the things I love most about some of the Normandy villages are the vividly colored tents/cabanas you can rent for the day (Trouville has wonderful, wide-striped tents https://www.ipreferparis.net/2018/08/a-day-at-the-beach-in-trouville.html) and Houlgate beach was lined with the deep blue umbrellas and Sunkist orange tents. The temperature was a pleasant 74 degrees and we sat for a few hours reading (I read The Seine by Elaine Scolino, and Vincent read Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic, a fascinating account of the cult film). I dipped my toes in the water, but it was way too cold to take the plunge for a swim. 

For the birthday dinner, we went to Les Passantes, which was recommended by a friend who had recently visited Houlgate. The ambiance was modern and low-key with contemporary artworks on the wall and soft, atmospheric lighting, and the young staff was amiable. We feasted on marinated mackerel, duck breast with roasted apricots and creamy polenta, roasted codfish with local carrots, and a yummy fig tart.  

The next day the weather was as clear as a bell, with an azure sky that almost looked like it had been Photoshopped to get such a brilliant shade. Although it was beautiful out, it was in the low 60s and very windy, so much so that it was too cold to sit on the beach without bundling up, instead, we took a long walk on the beach and the wind brought out dozens of kite flyers whose bold colored kites dotted the horizon. 

My niece recently turned me on to the Spelling Bee word game from the New York Times, and I have been hooked ever since. Somedays I obsessively try to get to Genius level and spend hours feverishly figuring out the words. I now turned Vincent on to Spelling Bee, and he’s just as obsessed as I am, and we played on the train going home. 

Les Cabines

17 rue de Bains

https://www.lescabineshoulgate.com/

Aux Bains Fleuris

29 rue des Bains

Les Passantes

41 rue des Bains

https://www.les-passantes.fr/

Doors of the Month, August 2023: Brussels

I took a quick, two-day trip last week to Brussels for an Art Nouveau celebration with exhibitions and events around the city.

In between exhibitions, I discovered a bounty of doors, and today’s series focuses specifically on Art Nouveau doors.

I’ll post more about the sights I saw later.

 

 

 

New Dries Van Noten Beauty and Accessories Boutique

One of my favorite fashion designers is Dries Van Noten, who, for more than 30 years, has consistently designed some of the most gorgeous, sumptuous, and luxurious garments. I especially love his unusual prints and his surprising color combinations. 

Van Noten’s two opulently decorated boutiques (men’s and women’s wear) on Quai Malaquais on the Left Bank, are two of the most beautiful shops in Paris. 

Van Noten’s new beauty and accessories boutique is just across the street from the other boutiques. In a word, it’s Fabulous. 

Stepping into the boutique with creamy, veined white marble floors and showcases, your eye is immediately drawn to the wall on the right lined with uniquely packaged perfume bottles in a rainbow of bright colors, some contrasted with prints on the bottom, along with a row of lipsticks in brilliant shades. 

The rest of the boutique has men’s and women’s bags, wallets, leather goods, gloves, sunglasses, jewelry, and scarves. The showcase on the back wall has a 17th-century tapestry (painstakingly restored by Dries Van Noten) and displays a range of soft cloth clutch bags in raised velvet fabric and handsome leather bags. 

A dimly lit room on the side features jewel-like vitrines showcasing a line of accessories Dries Van Noten designed in collaboration with Christian Lacroix in 2020. 

9 quai Malaquais, 75006

https://www.driesvannoten.com/

 

 

Café of the Month: Le Sully

I am excited to launch my new monthly series, Café of the Month. Every month I will visit a typical Paris café and work my way through every arrondissement. 

I was inspired to start this series when reading the book Café Society by Joanie Osburn, which richly explores and illustrates the essence of the Paris café with entertaining history and glorious photos. (CLICK HERE to know more about Café Society). 

For the debut of Café of the Month, I’ve chosen Le Sully, located on the corner of Boulevard Henri IV and Boulevard Morland, in the 4^th arrondissement by Pont Sully, which crosses over to Ile Saint Louis. 

Although Le Sully is a brasserie, from the outside it appears to be a café.  It opened in 1917 as Le Celestin, a simple tabac and café, owned by Emile, and later renamed Le Sully. After WWII, the café was taken over by Emile’s son in-law, and expanded by buying the storefronts on each side and converting it to a brasserie. In the 1990s, Le Sully was redesigned to enhance the original Art Deco design, and the architect was inspired by the old-time brasseries of the period. Today, Le Sully is maintained by the fourth generation of the original owner.  

The menu features traditional French dishes including eggs Mimosa, leeks vinaigrette, charcuterie platters, beef tartare, and foie de veau. 

It was a warm day, and I had been walking non-stop for hours, and finally parked myself on a rattan, café chair outside. I ordered a scoop of dark chocolate, Berthillon sorbet, which was perfect to cool off from the heat. Funnily enough, my waiter recognized me from years ago when he worked at another café on my corner.

Le Sully

6 Boulevard Henri IV, 75004

Open every day

https://www.lesully.com/

Window Boxes 2023- Series 3

Window boxes in every arrondissement are in bloom and I have been capturing their abundant growths in my third series this summer. Do you have some favorites here?

CLICK HERE  to view Window boxes series 1

CLICK HERE  to view Window boxes series 2

Please read my latest articles I wrote for Travel Agent Central

Two High Tea Experiences in Paris https://www.travelagentcentral.com/europe/two-high-tea-experiences-paris

Two Jewish Museums in Paris https://www.travelagentcentral.com/europe/paris-insider-two-jewish-museums-visit

 

 

Sarah Bernhardt

If you are in Paris before August 28, don’t miss the Sarah Bernhardt exhibition at the Petit Palais. 

The engrossing and expansive study of the first female superstar, the exhibition displays over 400 articles, including photos, portraits, paintings, costumes, stage props, objects, and sculptures. 

Her long, illustrious stage career began when she was studying at the Comedie Francaise and made her stage debut in 1862, at 18 years old. Unhappy with the limitations put upon her at Comedie Francaise and the low salary, she left the company and struck out on her own. Her breakout performance was in the 1868 revival of Kean by Alexandre Dumas and her career soared after that, creating mesmerizing characters in plays by Racine, Moliere, Shakespeare, George Sand, Alexander Dumas, and Victor Hugo, and one of her most successful collaborations was with playwright Victorien Sardou, who wrote La Tosca (a stage version of the opera), Theodora, Cleopatra, and Fedora.

Also, a smart businesswoman, she formed her own theater troupe, and later negotiated to license her image to appear on different commercial products, garnering large sums of money. 

Soon Bernhardt’s fame swept the world, as she toured extensively throughout Europe, Latin America, and the United States in the late 1800s, starring in her classic roles. 

Artists such as Gustave Doré, Georges Clairin, Louise Abbéma and Alphonse Mucha (Bernhardt met Mucha in an art store and commissioned him to design her theater posters, which brought him fame and fortune) practically worshiped her, embodying her image through paintings, sculptures, drawings, photos, and even caricatures, which are displayed throughout the exhibit. Writers were also enamored with her and were inspired to write plays and roles for her. 

Not only was Bernhardt prolific in her acting, she also pursued other art forms directing, painting, sculpting, writing (she wrote eight books), and drawing also with success. Late in her career in the early twentieth century, she acted in silent films. 

Until August 28, 2023

Sarah Bernhardt

Petit Palais

Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008

https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/products/exhibition-ticket-sarah-bernhardt-and-the-woman-created-the-star