
REDISCOVERING THE PICTURESQUE IN PARIS


Surprising Stories: Monet's Water Lilies, from Giverny to the Musée de l'Orangerie
Art, History, History, History, History, History, Surprising StoriesWith the arrival of spring blossoms and warmer weather, it is all the more challenging to be confined to our homes. It was the goal of many Impressionist artists to capture this moment of nature’s splendor and few achieved this as gloriously…

Surprising Stories: Dining at Versailles: What happened to the Leftovers?
News, News, News, News, News, News, Versailles
Louis XIV was the most conspicuous diner at Versailles. His meals represented the bounty of France, and his appetite was considered a sign of his good health and the well-being of the nation. Dining was a ceremonial occasion and was regulated…

Surprising Stories: Joséphine’s Black Swans
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his pioneering book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2010), referred to the bird as a metaphor for understanding unpredictability, arguing that “black swans” are events that come as a surprise,…

A Romantic Tour Under the Arcades of Paris: Chocolate, Pastries, Perfume & More
Gardens, Gardens, Gardens, Gardens
The French do not unanimously celebrate Valentine’s Day, as they feel any day is the perfect occasion to celebrate love. No matter the day, when they want to commemorate love with a gift, they think of similar items as we do in North America:…

Nature into Art: Reversing the Picturesque
For every tourist, one of the many pleasures of traveling today is capturing a memorable picture: finding, framing, and composing the perfect view is so much a part of our travel experiences that we have forgotten how “making a picture”…