Category Archives: Paris history

Mary Callery, sculptor and collector

Last February, I wrote a blog about the Villa d’Alesia, a small street of artists’ studios in the 14th arrondissement. In my research, I came across a photograph of Henri Matisse taken by Brassaï in 1939. The title was “Matisse … Continue reading

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Tracing the tracks of Paris chimneys

As we walk past the restaurant Monsieur Lapin on the rue Raymond Losserand in the 14th, my eyes are drawn upwards to a ladder of iron steps embedded in the wall. We are looking at the other half of a … Continue reading

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Tall tales and some Paris-Marseille rivalry

Tall tales abound in every culture. When Philippa and I set out to explore our new neighbourhood in May, we never suspected that we would learn more about tall tales in France. On the nearby Rond-Point des Champs Elysées, a … Continue reading

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The collectors

Before our last trip to Paris, a friend and fellow Francophile lent me a book to read on the plane: The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. I highly recommend this absorbing family saga, imaginatively told through … Continue reading

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A palace of commerce and a 1904 rendez-vous

“Dimanche soir – reçu lettre ce matin. Compte sur toi pour mercredi. Embrasse tous. Jean.” Sunday night – received letter this morning. [I] count on you [to come] on Wednesday. Love to all, Jean. The date on the postmark is … Continue reading

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Traces of tragedy on a quiet street

Not many people walk the length of the rue Jean Goujon in the 8th arrondissement. Either they are strolling along the river, or gazing at the likes of the Christian Dior boutique on avenue Montaigne (fashion central), the next street … Continue reading

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Signs of Paris

On the first day of our first shared trip to Paris, signs such as this made me realize we were walking through history. We had bought the makings of a picnic lunch, which we ate on a park bench. We … Continue reading

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The photograph I didn’t take

It was winter and we were walking back to our rented apartment in the 14th arrondissement from Monoprix, with a borrowed buggy filled with basics – toilet paper, dried pasta, yogurt. We traipsed down a road called rue Campagne Première. … Continue reading

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Jules Verne in the Métro

As a young boy, I longed to live in the fantastic worlds of Jules Verne, to explore the depths of the ocean in the Nautilus with Captain Nemo. I had not told Philippa this, but as we set off to … Continue reading

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Nine minutes, twenty-one seconds

A recent New York Times article pointed out that the traditional division of Paris into Left Bank / Right Bank might be giving way to a more East-West distinction. (Some people will say that has long been the case.) And … Continue reading

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