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Hôtel de Soubise, June 2010

15 Jun

The beautiful Hôtel de Soubise at 60 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. It was built by the Prince and Princesse de Soubise, with work starting in 1704 after the Prince had bought the site of the former Hôtel de Guise in 1700, probably using money squirrelled away by Madame la Princesse during her tenure as mistress of Louis XIV.


The gorgeous Hôtel is a masterpiece of early eighteenth century architecture and is probably one of the most magnificent and beautiful buildings in Paris with a serene and balanced main building fronted by two semi circular wings lined with pillars. It doesn’t take much imagination to catch the shades of the beautiful Princesse riding through the huge gate in her carriage and alighting in front of her exquisite house.

Inside, the rooms remain much as they always were, complete with their original features and ornate gilt painted panelling. It really is heavenly to stroll through the airy, bright rooms and imagine them as they used to be in the eighteenth century.

I love the muted, tasteful grey of this room.

A beautiful view across the courtyard.

I love taking photographs from windows. You often get the most beautiful views – this one is from one of the tall windows of the Princesse de Soubise’s magnificent crimson and gold bedroom. A room that seems designed more for a King than his exquisite mistress.

Possibly the most gorgeous room is the Princesse’s lovely pale blue, white and gold boudoir, where she would have relaxed with friends, perused the latest fashions or even entertained lovers. It is said that the Princesse was one of the most beautiful women at Louis XIV’s court, famed for her pale complexion and lovely red ringletted hair. She was rumoured to maintain her looks and slim figure with a strict diet of chicken and salad, consumed with water or milk.

The story goes that the beautiful Princesse and Louis XIV became lovers at the Château de Chambord while he was wavering between Louise de la Vallière and Athénaïs de Montespan. The Princesse would put on a pair of emerald earrings as a signal to Louis that her husband was out of the way.

The Princesse’s private bedchamber, where she could retire on her own to rest during the day. Having two bedrooms was a common occurance in a period when the nobility were in the habit of having a ‘state’ going to bed and also receiving visitors in their official bedchambers, which were therefore decorated rather like drawing rooms in an uncomfortable and unrelaxing grandiose style.

Paris – Quatrième Journée

5 Jun

Had an even more lazy start to the day thanks to sleeping in again then having to get dressed and ready to go in a state of alarm and panic, which was increased by the knowledge that the temperature was due to hit 30C today. Eek. This necessitated several changes of clothes before we could leave so that I could make sure everyone was as comfortable as possible.

Had pain au chocolat and croissants for breakfast while sitting by the Louvre then got the boat to the Eiffel Tower, where we all split up as Dave and Felix were planning to go up the Tower while Oscar and I went to the Musée Rodin. It was a horribly hot day and we suffered a bit as we wandered past the Army School and the Invalides and strolled to the Hôtel Biron on the Rue de Varennes.

Oh okay, let’s have some pictures of the Eiffel Tower then!

Here she is in all her glory…

I wanted to take Oscar out of his buggy for this photograph, but the Champs de Mars are littered with rubbish so it didn’t seem like a great idea, alas. Still, Oscar looks happy enough!

The Dome of the Invalides – Napoleon’s tomb lies directly underneath this.

I’m not really a fan of Rodin, which is why I haven’t been to said museum before but as I have been reading so much about the Duc de Lauzun, it felt rude to come to Paris and not visit his beautiful house, the Hôtel Biron, which now houses the Rodin Museum.

The house itself did not disappoint and was truly gorgeous. I liked some of the sculpture inside but prefered wandering around admiring the original eighteenth century features and the beautiful views from the windows across the lovely gardens. It really is like a miniature chateau in the centre of Paris and I could really imagine Lauzun and his coterie of ladies – the Duchesse de Fleury, Marquise de Coigny and Madame Dillon strolling down the steps to the rose garden.

A view across to the gardens.

Although I am not a fan of Rodin, I quite liked some of the pieces there – this bust caught my eye.

I liked this statue as well.

Oscar had a nice time too – he wasn’t allowed to walk on the parquet in bare feet (what is it with the French and not letting people take their shoes off?!) but he enjoyed sliding up and down the sweeping marble staircase.

Hm, time to pose in front of some eighteenth century mirrors!

After this, we took a gentle stroll around the district, coming across the Rue Monsieur, where the Princesse Joseph de Monaco lived quite by accident. I don’t know which number she lived at but it was a beautiful, serene street lined with gracious tall eighteenth century houses and mansions hidden away behind large gates. It was a short stroll away from the Hôtel Matignon, where her father in law, the Prince de Monaco resided until his arrest and which is now the home of the French President.

The outside of the museum is so beautiful – a real gem of eighteenth century architecture.

Thoroughly tired out by this point, Oscar and I wandered back in the vague direction of the Eiffel Tower, stopping for an amazing lunch near the Rue de Babylone on the way. This, in case you were wondering, is what an ‘assiette de vegetarianne’ looks like. It was amazing and smelled wonderful too.

We thought we were close to the Eiffel Tower, but were further away than we realised, which meant that Dave and Felix had a bit of a wait for us as we made our way to them. Got there in the end though and heard all about Felix’s adventures! Dave wasn’t sure that he really wanted to go all the way to the top of the tower, but decided to take a chance on it only for Felix to declare that it wasn’t high enough and he wanted to go up even higher!

Had sandwiches in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and then caught a boat to the Musée d’Orsay, which was shut but no matter, we just walked along the Pont des Arts instead, admiring the really sweet Parisian tradition of writing your name along with a loved ones on a padlock and fastening it to the side of the bridge.

Decided that we really, really needed air conditioning so descended into the Louvre to have some food and peruse the shops, while cooling off a bit!

Back at the apartment now and looking forward to some wine, sleep and then an early start tomorrow as we are having a picnic at the Buttes de Chaumont with the lovely Karin of An Alien Parisienne and then going to St Denis so I can take photographs of tombs. Naturally.

I’m currently planning a guide of sorts to visiting Paris with small children in tow as so many people have said that they would like to do this but find the idea of visiting Paris with small children really offputting.

Also, and you may need to sit down for this, I won’t be visiting Versailles this time around. It’s too hot and Dave hates it there and it’s a nightmare trying to navigate the buggy on trains so I’m going to come back later on in the year and do it then instead.

Paris – Deuxième Journée

3 Jun

We didn’t do much better at getting up this morning, in fact we were, if anything, even worse and didn’t get out of the flat until quite late. It was very sunny and swelteringly hot by the time we got out as well, which made the whole process even more miserable as we tramped the streets in search of breakfast via a brief stop in the Palais Royale so that the boys could have a little dance together.

Had a bit of a diversion and went to Monoprix on the Avenue de l’Opéra, which I think is my favourite shop in the world. Actually ANY Monoprix is my favourite shop in the whole world. I’m in love with their cheap but gorgeously French bath products and interesting food, especially the violette et figue and petale de rose jams. I was there to buy pants and a toothbrush though, alas.

We think that Felix is going to run away to Paris when he is eighteen and spend his summer spraying himself silver and standing on columns for money.

Boulevard de l’Opéra, which we know and love oh so well.

After this we wandered to the Madeleine, which seems to be a favourite lunching spot for everyone in Paris. I loved the rows of flowers that sat on the steps leading up to the church. It was much gloomier inside than I had anticipated but still very lovely and very austere.

It’s a short stroll from the Madeleine to the Chapelle Expiatoire on the Rue Pasquier, which is a very small but lovely chapel that marks the spot where Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI’s bodies were found after the restoration of the monarchy in France. The small park that surrounds it is also a favourite spot to have a lunch!

I had been there once before, when I was writing my dissertation about representations of Marie Antoinette before, during and after the Terror. What, you aren’t really surprised that that is what I decided to write my dissertation about are you? I remember going there with my camera and taking photos of the beautiful statues of the unfortunate King and Queen.

After this it was time for lunch, which we ate in the gardens of the Palais Royale, which is one of my favourite spots in all Paris. You can really tell why everyone flocked there during the eighteenth century, even if it a lot more quiet and sedate these days than it was back then.

Felix with a giant bottle of milk – it was so thick and creamy and my poor semi skimmed drinking, deprived children guzzled it down. Note also that Felix is accidentally wearing a pair of Oscar’s trousers here as we thought they were his shorts. Hm.

After this we attempted to get a Metro to the Marais but there was some sort of accident on the line so we had to abandon this folly and instead walk across to the Conciergerie, which I have been to several times before (like everywhere else in Paris it would seem). This time, however, I had Felix with me to look impatiently at the cells and ask loudly what the point of it all is. I find it incredibly moving though to stand where so many people that I am interested in must have stood and pace the Ladies’ Courtyard just as they must have done.

Gothic archways. It really is a hugely impressive structure.

The ladies’ courtyard where the female prisoners, such as Lucile Desmoulins, Madame Roland and the Princess de Monaco could stroll in the afternoons.

Oh look, it’s me again.

Felix admiring the trough where the prisoners could wash their clothes.

We then had a brief stop so that Oscar and I could have something to eat by Notre Dame, which is an excellent place to eat a late lunch.

Oscar tucking into a sandwich au jambon et fromage.

The view from where we had our lunch. It doesn’t get much better than this!

Such a beautiful day and yet, typically we complained and grizzled our way through it…

Time for another boat trip! This one was much shorter and therefore less annoying for all concerned!

The Hôtel de Ville!

We disembarked by the Hotel de Ville and walked to the Pompidou Centre, which was perplexing as ever. I seem to recall a trip there with my sixth form French class, but remain convinced that I’ve never actually seen any art in there.

We went from there to Les Halles via a sit down beside the Fountaine des Innocents, where Dave caught someone trying to steal his wallet and had to chase them away. Thankfully Les Halles itself was a lot less eventful, although FNAC closed and we all got chucked out just as I was a quarter of a way through the book that I want Dave to buy me as a souvenir of this holiday. HINT HINT.

They are filming by the Louvre at the moment – it all looks very exciting with lots of trucks and people and a huge crane and all sorts of fuss!

Crepes for dinner tonight and am now drinking red wine as I contemplate tomorrow’s adventures.

Paris – Prémier Journée

3 Jun

I wish that I could say that we were up bright and early in the morning, but alas I cannot. Oscar was up with the proverbial lark and I had to chivvy Dave and Felix into getting up. Once we were up though there was no stopping us! We breakfasted on pain au chocolat in the courtyard of the Louvre then headed into the museum to buy our Pass du Musée and show Felix the Mona Lisa, which he was incredibly excited about thanks to an episode of The Sarah Jane Chronicles.

Getting about the Louvre when one person is in a pushchair and another is terrified of lifts is fraught with difficulty and misadventure. I managed to lose my family several times after optimistically waving them off in a lift then rushing to where I fondly imagined they would be getting out!

Oh look, it’s Madame Récamier’s feet!

Anyway, Felix was beyond excited to see the Mona Lisa at long last and I think he is starting to really get into art and history now! He really liked David’s ‘Sacré de Napoléon’ too, which is brilliant. I enjoyed showing him the Mesopotamian lion gates too as I absolutely adore them. He was less keen on the sculpture galleries though – I think the statues reminded him of the creepy Weeping Angels in Doctor Who!

Felix posing with one of the big gates. I love them so much.

When we had had enough of art, I er went to look at more art and paid a visit to my favourite museum – the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where I ran amock taking loads of photographs of paintings, plates and beds. It was great.

Oh look, it’s me!

Look at these amazing beds – the bottom one belonged to a famous Parisian courtesan, who would appear to have slept on both her livelihood and profits all at the same time.

After this, we went for a walk that took in the church of Saint-Roch and the Place de Vendôme, where we went oooh at all the jewellery before taking a wander to Chanel to buy lipstick. We were much amused by the back room, where a sad faced man seemed to be discussing how he was going to pay for his wife’s handbag.

I fell in love with this necklace in the Boucheron window on the Place de Vendôme.

We stopped for lunch (sandwiches and salad) in the Tuileries gardens before walking down to the Champs Elysées so that I could go to Séphora and then the Arc de Triomphe, which Felix fearlessly went up with Dave. There was some sort of military ceremony going on, which was weird as there was one last time I was there too – maybe they saw me coming? I sat with Oscar and thought about Eugène de Beauharnais, after seeing his name inscribed inside the Arc.

Felix very happily eating a Cornetto in the doorway of Monoprix on the Champs Elysées.

After this we got the Metro from the Arc to the Eiffel Tower, which Felix was very keen to see. He managed to get two free mini Eiffel Towers from street vendors, which is a bit of a coup! The queues were ENORMOUS so no chance of his being able to go up, alas. I don’t think I have ever seen Paris so busy; it’s a bit shocking.

There’s no way that I am going up there!

The boys had a lovely run around the Champs de Mars before we decided that ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH and thought we might get a boat back to the Louvre. This involved an extremely long boat trip with Dave going ‘Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?’ every few minutes. I enjoyed it though!

Oscar fell asleep on the boat so we strolled gently back to our flat, stopping at a café (aptly named Le Thérmidor) on the way for salad and crepes, which was fab. I’d better lose some weight this week thanks to all this walking and salad!

I’ve taken hundreds of photographs but am saving most of them for more in depth blog posts later on!

What’s up girlfriend?

9 May

So, what have I been up to lately?

Unfortunately, after almost getting rid of a prolonged bout of sinusitis, I promptly came down with the flu, which I probably picked up at my doctor’s surgery last week. What a bore. I’ve been ill for four days now and am slowly on the mend, but there’s been a lot of lazing around in bed with Vogue and a mug of Lemsip involved.

Luckily, I managed to vote in the General Election last Thursday before becoming ill. I’ve already talked about becoming a fully paid up member of the Liberal Democrat party, so the way that I voted probably wouldn’t be a huge surprise to anyone. It was an emotional night – Oscar and I were both horribly ill and couldn’t sleep at all so we stayed up and watched a lot of the results coming in. I became very tearful when the news arrived that my home town, Colchester was still Lib Dem – I can’t really explain why it means so much to me, but I guess my Liberal Democrat leanings first began while I was at Sixth Form there so it’s an entirely sentimental thing.

Anyway, in other news, there are just three weeks to go before we head off to Paris – if the stupid volcano in Iceland doesn’t dictate otherwise! I’ve started seriously thinking about where I want to go (in terms of researching some fabulous blog posts on art, architecture and French history) and also what to wear. I’ve just cheered myself up buying some new bits and pieces for my week away:

Pewter sandals, Warehouse.

Lace camisole, Warehouse.

La Catrina vest top, All Saints.

Besides visits to Chanel, Louboutin, Sephora and Ladurée, I am planning trips to the Conciergerie, Versailles, the Louvre (probably more than once as usual), Carnavalet, Hôtel de Soubise, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Musée d’Orsay and Saint Denis amongst lots of other things. I’ll be armed with my Carte de Musée and camera as usual and as we are staying a few minutes walk away from the Louvre, everything I need will be pretty much on our doorstep! Felix is very excited about seeing the Eiffel Tower at last.

It won’t all be shopping and art though! I’m also planning to sneak out one night on my own and see Sex and the City 2 while I am there. What could be better than seeing it for the first time in Paris?

Another fun thing that we are planning to do while we are there is to take my wedding dress with us and ‘re-take’ our wedding photos, only this time we will be posing in front of the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Pyramid, Notre Dame and at the spot on the Pont des Arts where Big and Carrie had that kiss.

In other news, we are looking forward to Camp Bestival at the end of July, my Arvon Foundation course in August, a trip to Birmingham in October for Oscar and I to see the live show of In The Night Garden with the lovely Meg and family and considering booking a week at a Featherdown Farm camp site as well. It’s not strictly camping as the tents are more like Napoleonic military bivouacs to my mind, with old fashioned cooking stoves and all sorts of homely comforts. It looks utterly idyllic though and I’m sure we’d all appreciate a bit of chilling out time after what has been quite a hectic and draining year! Best of all, you can hire a pet rabbit or  your own chicken coop for your stay for £10 a week so that you can feed your own chickens and collect eggs – how Marie Antoinette is that? I can’t wait.

We are thinking about going in the Autumn sometime, possibly to one in Dorset or Devon so that we can take the boys to a castle or stately home maybe, if they start getting a bit restless but otherwise we plan to spend the week cooking slow food, chilling out, reading books and playing board games by lantern light while enjoying the peace and stillness.

I think this would be a perfect purchase therefore, so have just pre-ordered it along with Sherlock Holmes on Blu-Ray. It might be useful in Paris too actually, as we have rented an apartment for the week and I’ll be cooking there for the first time ever, which I am feeling a bit nervous about! I’ve also pre-ordered this as well:

I know it’s a bit sad, but I absolutely adore the companion book to the first film (and it comes in pretty useful for work too when people ask ‘where does that dress come from?’ or ‘where was that scene filmed?’ questions so this one should be MEGA handy). Yes, I am a SATC addict. And proud of it.

Christ Church, Spitalfields

27 Mar

I’ve written about Christ Church, Spitalfields before but couldn’t resist writing about it again, especially as I took a clutch of new photographs when I was there yesterday and also managed to go inside for the first time ever.

Christ Church was built between 1714 and 1729 by Nicholas Hawksmoor and I think displays his genius more than any of his other constructions. It looms ominously over the dark Victorian buildings that surround it and dominates the Spitalfields area.

It is of course well known as a central location from the infamous Ripper murders of Autumn 1888, which, bar one, took place in the streets around the church. Fans of the book and film From Hell will recognise it as the classically austere white church beside the Ten Bells pub, where the victims allegedly drank and tried to attract punters. In those days it was a magnet for the prostitutes, dispossessed and hopeless of the area, who congregated on its white steps, which overlook Commercial Street.

More recently, the church has been the object of an amazing restoration project and has now been revealed in all of its glory. I was literally dumbstruck with admiration and awe when I stepped inside yesterday afternoon, the noise and bustle of busy Commercial Street fading away to a distant buzz as I walked around its light filled, luminous and serene space.

All of the photographs in this post were taken by myself yesterday afternoon. I hope you enjoy them!

A quick visit to Fontainebleau

6 Jan

I’ve already posted about the Queen’s boudoir at Fontainebleau so let’s have a look at a few other parts of the palace.

Doorway leading to the tribune gallery above the chapel. The rich carving was completed in around 1640.

Exquisite panelling in what used to be the King’s bedchamber, which is now on display as the throne room. It is typical of the very flamboyant style of the 1750s.

Beautiful gilded and painted plasterwork in the Renaissance part of the palace.

The theatre. It looks a lot like the one at Versailles but was actually built in 1854 by Hector Lefuel for Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie.

The private bedchamber of the Empress Josephine, which was decorated in 1808.

The Queen’s bedroom, which was used by Marie Antoinette, Josephine and later, the Empress Eugenie.

The ballroom, which was designed by Niccolo dell’Abbate in 1552.

A beautiful console table ordered by Napoleon, topped with a bust of his son, the King of Rome.

Ceiling of the council chamber. It looks like a Renaissance piece of work but actually dates to 1751. The paintings are by Boucher.

A pair of Jacob chairs from 1800.

A salon decorated by the Empress Eugenie in the Chinese style.

Entrance to the kitchen courtyard, 1609.

Ceiling of the Trinity Chapel.

The throne room.

Beautiful wooden panelling.

Some beautiful Parisian interiors…

4 Jan

Visitors to the Picasso Museum on the Rue de Thorigny the Marais district will recognise this as the beautiful staircase that rises through the centre of the mansion. Before it became a museum, the house was known variously as the Hôtel Aubert de Fontenay or the Hôtel de Salé and was built between 1656 and 1660 by the wealthy salt tax inspector Pierre Aubert in an attempt to impress his much younger new wife and her gentry parents.

His attempt to impress went in vain as although Madame Aubert must surely have loved her new home, she was far less enamoured with her elderly husband and took a series of lovers, becoming notorious for her bad behaviour in the meanwhile which, in the seventeenth century, must surely have taken some serious effort.

The bathroom of the Hôtel de Beauharnais at 78 Rue de Lille. This beautiful Hôtel, which looks so modest from outside was first built in 1713 and was enjoyed by many owners, such as the nephew of Colbert, Madame de Tencin and the Duc de Villeroy (guillotined in 1794) before eventually falling into the hands of Eugène de Beauharnais, the son of Empress Joséphine on 20th May 1803.

It’s clear from the exquisite modelling and beautiful paintwork within that Eugène allowed his mother to advise him about interior decoration and it is fortunate indeed that he did so as the result is a true masterpiece of Empire interior design. This bathroom is fashioned in what was called the ‘Pompeian’ style, fondly based on the ongoing excavations at Pompeii, with the marble floor depicting the legend of Europa and the Bull.

The Music Room at the Hôtel de Beauharnais. Thanks to his official duties as Viceroy of Italy, Eugène was rarely in Paris and eventually the house was to be inhabited by his sister, Hortense Bonaparte. Hortense is well known to have been an extremely talented musician and she must surely have spent many happy hours in this room.

The yellow salon at the Hôtel de Goyon-Matignon at 57 Rue de Varenne. This exquisite Hôtel is now the official residence of the Prime Minister of France but in the late eighteenth century it was the Paris home of Honoré III de Matignon, Prince de Monaco, the father in law to Marie-Thérese de Choiseul-Stainville, who must surely have known the house well.

The ceiling of the main bedroom in the Hôtel de Bourrienne at 58 Rue d’Hauteville. This lovely Hôtel was bought in March 1792 by a resourceful Créole heiress, Madame Lormier-Lagrave who lived there with her lovely daughter, Fortunée, until the latter married an immensely wealthy military supplier, Romain Hamelin in July of the same year and moved to the much more fashionable Boulevard des Italiennes.

Detail of the ceiling painting.

The Summer Room of the Hôtel de Seignelay at 80 rue de Lille, which was decorated in 1757 by Mouret.

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