Rather than let this precious (to me) blog seem abandoned, I want to alert everyone who stops by here to read my ramblings that I’m making the move to Medium, as I am excited about the opportunity to build an audience there and to enjoy camaraderie with other writers. I want to thank everyone who […]
Tag: France
France is one of my favorite countries to visit and not just the city of Paris, which often wins hands down to any other destination, but points far and wide.
Cannes is on my bucket list so when I received photography of the updated interiors of the Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic designed by Kirei Studio, I decided to transport myself there by way of a fictive vacation for two of my favorite writers—Edith Wharton and Henry James. I chose the Christian Dior Suite for their literary design adventure. Not only would they enjoy the 180-degree views from the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean and the storied location in the heart of the French Riviera, I reasoned; they’d adore the comfortably elegant furnishings and the airy sophistication achieved by the Parisian-based design firm.
It would simply be a bonus that they are staying in the only suite in Europe infused with the famous Parisian label’s panache. He was in his fifties and she was in her thirties when they wrote their first letters to each other. Once they met, it was a May/December affair of the intellectual kind, a bond the two passionate writers treasured. Their correspondence was filled with explorations of literature, as well as advice, support and excitement concerning each other’s work. I used these letters to create dialogue between the two and had a blast doing it! I have a number of posts under this tag so I if you enjoy stories set in France, both real and fictive, I hope you’ll stop by and read a few.
Café Society as Cultural Interpreter
What do the Paris and New York City cafés that served as historical backdrops for some of the world’s most brilliant creatives say about the differences in France and America? Quite a lot, actually. Since the fabric of New York is woven by revolving real estate, citizens of Gotham learn not to get too attached […]
The Tapestry of History
In just a few hours, the modern ideal of a fairy tale wedding will take place at Windsor Castle. A trip I took to the medieval palace several years ago had a legendary feel to it that may not rival the experience of a young American woman marrying her prince charming but it was […]
Echoes of History
Life is a paradoxical affair at the corner of Boulevards Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain. Uber drivers dressed in tailored suits whiz through the intersection in sleek Mercedes just yards away from an assemblage of ragged walls nearly 20 centuries old. Pocked with scraggy arches, they splay toward the streets—unapologetic in their dilapidation. The […]
The Fabric of Design
In their introduction to The Decoration of Houses, Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman, Jr., write, “In the middle ages, when warfare and brigandage shaped the conditions of life, and men camped in their castles much as they did in their tents, it was natural that decorations should be portable, and that the naked walls of […]
Eudora Welty Finds Her Voice
When a writer begins to grapple with how to mine the outside world for inspiration, the process can be challenging. In her memoir, One Writer’s Beginnings, Eudora Welty describes how travel helped her awaken to what it means to embrace a broader reality, writing about a train ride she took with her father when she […]
Exploring Frankfurt with Goethe
I am returning to Frankfurt am Main next week to attend Heimtextil for the second time, an experience I truly enjoyed last year for the breadth of textiles the show holds and the depth of the trend forecasting its organizers achieve. I look forward to seeing the new products that will debut, my favorites […]
Madame Récamier and the Art of Reclining
Jeanne-Françoise Julie Adélaïde Bernard, known after her marriage as Juliette Récamier, was born on December 4, 1777—240 years ago yesterday. Had she lived during modern times, I believe one of her favorite design events of the year would be The Salon Art + Design exhibition because it holds such exceptional furnishings by the world’s finest […]
My Porcelain Bucket List
When I am planning literary design adventures, I look for experiences that give me the feeling of transcendence—encounters during which I am conscious of having one foot in the past and one in the future. One of the strongest examples of this I have had to date took place during a trip to the […]
Earnest in Paris
This comparative look at Wes Anderson and Ernest Hemingway, Earnest in Paris, is a guest post by Miles Stephenson, a talented young writer whom I had the great pleasure of haunting locales touched by the Lost Generation during the trip to Paris he is presenting on The Modern Salonnière today, an earnest post I throughly […]