A new bilingual book “Paris Impressionniste” illustrated with 100 paintings brings together some of the images of this mythical city many of us carry in our head, such as Camille Pisarro’s “Le Pont Royal” or Caillebotte’s “Rue de Paris, temps de pluie,” or Edouard Manet’s legendary “un bar aux Folies Bergere” When Humphrey Bogart told Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca we’ll always have Paris. he wasn’t talking about the Paris of surly bureaucrats, strikes and traffic jams, but the Paris of Manet’s lovers in “Chez le pere Lathuille”… the romantic Paris.
Monet painted smoke clouding the Gare Saint-Lazare, Renoir captured the Pont Neuf’s reflections in the Seine, Pissarro portrayed Avenue de l’Opéra from his hotel room, Manet immortalized waitresses in a café at Pigalle… Between its river and its tall skies, the French capital lacked neither nature nor textures for artists intent on capturing the magic of light in an urban setting. Plus the city with its street life, workers, cafes and entertainment was an extremely happening fin de siecle place to paint. Continue reading “Paris Impressions”
Q Every year we spend our vacation “en famille,” with my French husband’s parents at their large “manoir” in Burgundy. Life there is pleasant but highly ritualized – meals at set times in a dark dining room – never outside, lots of “no-no’s” for our children and obligatory mass on Sundays. My husband doesn’t understand why I’m eager to find other solutions for our long vacation. He sees this place as hassle-free, ideal for our kids, a way to connect with his extended family and to save money. He says that his parents would be extremely hurt by our refusal of their hospitality. I’m starting to dread summer vacation already.. 
