And the Award goes to...

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) knows a thing or two about Awards

The Academy Awards are just around the corner. Perfect timing.

A few days ago, Natalie, from a Jewel Yet To Find, surprised me with the Liebster Blog Award.


Merci beaucoup, Natalie! 

The Liebster Blog Award recognizes up-and-coming bloggers with fewer than 200 Followers. I am happy and honored to receive this award from Natalie. She lives in Toronto and writes inspiring stories about her travels in France, always illustrated with beautiful photographs.


Once you receive the Liebster Award, you should:


1. Thank the person who sent the award your way by linking back to their website.


2. Copy and paste the Liebster Award Logo to your blog.


3. Choose five bloggers who, you feel, are deserving of more Followers.


4. Hope that your five "nominees" will accept the Liebster Award, and forward it to five bloggers of their choice, so it keeps going his merry way.


Since I started blogging in December 2010, I have enjoyed taking a few minutes each day to visit my favorite blogs, and leaving comments for their authors. Some of them are well recognized in "Blogland." Others are not... yet. I am hoping to change this by awarding them the Liebster Award and showcasing their work chez French Girl in Seattle today. Please visit their blogs when you get a chance. You will not regret it. 


Nominee #1: 


My friend Malyss, Chronicles from the Shore. Malyss takes surprising, unusual and often inspired photos of her city, Nice, on the beautiful Côte d'Azur. Malyss is also a bit of a poet. The captions or introductions she writes to introduce her daily posts often get me thinking. I appreciate the time, hard work and creativity involved in her daily posts. Bravo, Malyss. 


Nominee #2:


Katelyn, Pure Panache. Voilà a fun, creative, consistently entertaining blog. Katelyn is a francophile. On her blog, (I visit several times a week,) I find great tips about design, home decor, shopping, accessories, cooking and more. I always check out her links to favorite online boutiques, as I know she has a knack for digging up "cool" objects and ideas. 


Nominee #3:


Miss b, Bobochic. Miss b hails from the United Kingdom and is a versatile blogger. On her blog, I have found recipes for favorite cocktails, snapshots on stylish, sometimes unusual accessories and products, and - my personal favorite - reviews of trendy establishments when she takes her readers to Dubai, a place I have not visited yet.


Nominee #4: 


Aidan, Conjugating Irregular Verbs. Aidan is from Texas, but she lives in Southern France with her [French] husband and three lively children. I read several posts written by American expats in France. Aidan's is the one I keep coming back to. She excels at writing personal and entertaining stories about her family's daily life in my homeland. I like her sense of humor,  her curiosity, her resiliency, and most of all, her positive outlook on French idiosyncrasies (that Texan girl ain't no whiner!) 


Nominee  #5: 


MJ, Seattle Moxie. Now, here is a great story. For several years, American-born MJ blogged from Paris, France where she lived the expat life with her Canadian husband and two young children. MJ quickly built a strong following thanks to her witty and often hilarious posts. A few months ago, MJ's husband was transferred back to Seattle, WA. That's right, we are neighbors. MJ did not let minor details such as an international move, house hunting or her kids' school life slow her down. She immediately launched a new blog and is facing the transition head on. Bonne chance, MJ!


And here you have them: French Girl's five nominees for the Liebster Blog Award. Félicitations, Mesdames. There are other friends I could have mentioned, as this is hardly an exhaustive list. There are many talented, creative people in Blogland, folks. 


As for me, the new award recipient, I have found a way to reward myself for such an outstanding achievement (George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Jean Dujardin do not have a Liebster Award. They will die when they hear the prestigious recognition landed chez French Girl!) 


When you read this story, I will be en vacances (on vacation) in an exotic locale, lying in the sun, frolicking in the ocean, and sipping colorful cocktails.


"Where?," you ask.


I will give you three hints:


1. Forget evergreens, banana slugs, and grey skies. I give you palm trees, iguanas and sunny skies. 


2. I have packed this handy little tool in my suitcase:

3. The life of this [formerly] sleepy town was changed forever when a famous movie was shot in the area in the 1960s. 


Think you got it? Do tell, please.


Until next time, "La vie est belle, les amis!" -- Life is good!


A bientôt.

Un Dimanche à la Campagne (A Sunday in the Country)

Funny what happens when you let a story take you by the hand...

This little tale started with a photo I found online a few days ago.

Audrey Tautou "Coco Before Chanel"

I looked at delightful Audrey, impersonating the great Coco Chanel, and I wondered how anyone could look this good, dressed as a man and wearing a black canotier (boater hat.) That got me thinking le canotier was the couvre-chef (headgear) of choice of many, starting in the late 19th century. The popular straw hat was most commonly seen in a much lighter-colored version, often adorned with a wide brim ribbon. Le canotier is a bit of a cheeky hat, and it tends to fight for attention with the person wearing it. Illustration:

French singing and acting legend: Maurice Chevalier

Daddy Long Legs: Fred Astaire

Lovely Audrey Hepburn

Coco Chanel knew she was on to something when she adopted the whimsical hat at the beginning of her career. All most women had known until then was the ornate, cumbersome, heavily decorated headgear de rigueur during la Belle Epoque.

From Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn)...

... to Coco Chanel,
(wearing one of her early creations in 1910)

Coco Before Chanel (the movie)
La Belle Epoque meets Chanel

Truth be told, Chanel adopted something that had been around for years, and made it her own. In the 1880s, le canotier became popular first with men, then with children and women. It was reserved for athletic activities: cycling, hunting, and horseback riding. In the early 19th century many indulged in a favorite summer pastime: le canotage (canoeing.) Boats - often handmade - were everywhere on the Seine river, in downtown Paris, and outside the city. I wrote a story about the illustrious river a few months ago, and I mentioned les Canotiers (the Canoeists) who discovered the joys of rowing and the world of boating. This was documented by artists, among them painters in the Impressionist movement.

Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894),
a good friend of the Impressionist crowd

Gustave Caillebotte

Canotiers in Chatou
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

It was important to look the part while rowing, and the straw boating hat, worn by the French navy crews, was adopted early on by all. This started among Parisians an enduring fascination with the nautical clothing style, in particular la Marinière (French sailor shirt.) 

A French girl all the way: Marion Cotillard

I could have stopped when I reached this point in my story. But there was more to tell. From the straw boating hat, to the Canoeists, I started thinking about how very few foreign visitors realize how beautiful the Seine river banks are outside of Paris. Most tourists will stay downtown - or take day trips to Versailles - but few will travel to the Western outskirts of the French capital and follow the river, as it heads towards Normandy and finally flows into the English Channel in le Havre. 

(photographer unknown)

La Seine near Chatou
(Y. Capelle)

Near Bougival
(flickr.com)

On the way, bucolic scenes await as the Seine meanders through small towns, Croissy, Chatou, Rueil-Malmaison, Bougival... This may not be the mighty Mississippi river, but I am guessing Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn would have enjoyed following the old Seine, and exploring some of the islands discovered on the way, l'Ile Fleurie, l'Ile des Impressionnistes...

La Seine in les Andelys (Upper Normandy)
(photographer unknown)

Bords de Seine (Seine riverbanks) near Chatou
(Jacques Souben)

While I lived in Paris, I was fortunate to work for many years in one of these small towns, Rueil Malmaison. American Express France was headquartered there. The building - and my office - overlooked the majestic and peaceful river. I am happy to go back today, and to take you with me.


This was the view from my office window for a while...

la Seine and la Maison Fournaise
panoramio.com
(Hebrard)

Très joli, non? Let's get closer, shall we?


We have arrived on a small island, l'Ile des Impressionnistes (Ile de Chatou,) connected to the towns of Rueil-Malmaison and Chatou by a bridge. There, time has stopped. 

The "old" Chatou bridge (1870s)

The most famous building on the island is an institution of sorts, the type of place where one often thinks: "If only these walls could talk..." As a history buff with a healthy respect for the past, you know how much I love these.

Ile des Impressionnistes, Chatou
La Maison Fournaise
(unknown photographer)

Bienvenue à La Maison Fournaise. This restaurant was a popular place in the 19th century. Remember our friends les Canotiers (the Canoeists)? This was one of their favorite destinations on Sunday afternoons. Every week, Parisians flocked to la Gare St Lazare and after a 20-minute train ride, arrived in Chatou, looking for a good time. La Seine provided affordable entertainment. Swimming and fishing were favored by all. Sunday boaters could also rent sailboats or canoes. 

L'Ile Fleurie, Chatou
(Musée Fournaise)

Fishing party, Chatou 
(Musée Fournaise)

Artists were attracted by the exceptional light and shadows they found by the river where ancient poplars, willow and chestnut trees provided shade on hot summer days. La Maison Fournaise's guest lists reads like the Who's Who of the Impressionist movement: Monet, Manet, Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Pissaro, and the painter and art patron Gustave Caillebotte were all regulars. Later on, Vlaminck and Derain, the founders of Fauvism, opened a workshop in Chatou. Matisse visited them on a regular basis.


There were politicians; there were intellectuals and writers, Guy de Maupassant, Guillaume Apollinaire. They ate and often stayed at La Maison Fournaise. 


"La Fournaise," as it is sometimes called, is a piece of property purchased in the 1850s by a river toll collector, Alphonse Fournaise. Capitalizing on the new tourist trade and the emerging canoeing craze, he promptly established a boat rental business on site, with the help of his son, Alphonse Jr. Meanwhile, his wife took care of the restaurant and the small hotel in the main building. The most famous person in the family was lovely Alphonsine, their daughter, who counted many admirers and friends among the customers. 


La Fournaise quickly established itself as the epicenter of the Impressionists' social life in Chatou. Through the 1870s and 1880s, the business prospered. The restaurant was knows for its terrace, overlooking the Seine river and surrounded by an ornate cast iron railing; its murals, painted on the building façade by visiting artists ; its food; and its clientèle.

La Maison Fournaise, late 19th century
(Maurice Leloir, 1851-1940)

Fournaise boat rental business, Chatou, early 20th century
(Musée Fournaise)

Maison Fournaise:
La terrasse (the terrace,)  today

Renoir, who stayed chez Fournaise on a regular basis between 1868 and 1884, felt inspired by the pastoral surroundings. He immortalized La Maison Fournaise in one of his most famous paintings, Le Déjeuner des Canotiers (Luncheon of the Boating Party.) 

(1880-1881) 

The scene depicts Renoir's friends and acquaintances on a hot summer day. Some noticeable characters are the Fournaise children, Alphonse Jr. and pretty Alphonsine, both wearing straw boater hats, on the left. The young woman kissing the dog is Renoir's future wife, Aline Charigot. On the right, also wearing a canotier, Gustave Caillebotte, painter, photographer, and art patron, straddles a chair. The painting captures the lively and relaxed atmosphere of the Impressionists' lazy Sunday afternoons in Chatou. 

Many years later, Alphonsine Fournaise took over the family business, but the restaurant closed down in 1906. A few years later, her father's old boat rental business followed suit. The world was changing fast and many deserted the area. The building and grounds fell in a bad state of disrepair until the property was purchased by the city of Chatou in 1977.

Maison Fournaise at the end of WW2
(courtesy of the City of Chatou)

In 1982, it was registered as a Historical monument of France. The city received subsidies from the state and from private organizations (including the Friends of French Art in Los Angeles who restored the beautiful iron railing.) A massive renovation effort was undertaken from 1984 to 1990. Today, the restaurant has reopened and a museum is located in Alphonse Fournaise's old boat workshop. 

The renovated façade 
(courtesy of the city of Chatou)

A message left by writer Guy de Maupassant,
restored to its former glory

I started working part-time for American Express in my early 20s as a customer service  representative, while I studied English at the Sorbonne university. I remember looking longingly at the old building across the Seine river - the restaurant had recently re-opened - knowing that I would be having lunch there sooner or later. After graduate school, I was hired full time by American Express, and there were many opportunities to follow in the Impressionists' footsteps. Birthdays, engagements, or just casual Fridays: My friends and I would head over chez Fournaise, a short car ride away. In the winter, we had lunch indoors, waiting for the weather to warm up so we could finally enjoy the renowned terrace. The food may not have always been up to old Madame Fournaise's standards, but the view and atmosphere were unmatched in the area. Ever since I moved to the United States, a reproduction of Renoir's masterpiece, Le Déjeuner des Canotiers (Luncheon of the Boating Party,) has been hanging on the wall above my desk, a reminder that I, too, got to sit on the renowned terrace chez Fournaise.

(unknown photographer)

Many years later, during our annual visit to Paris, it was time to christen American-born Junior. We booked a private room in the restaurant before going to church. I was really happy to go back to my old "hunting grounds" that day!

Memories, memories...

Like so many other [prestigious or anonymous] visitors before us,  we had a lovely time chez Fournaise; enjoying a stroll by the Seine after lunch as Junior and his cousin ran along the river banks; imagining the canoes, the sailboats, and the artists who had sat outside and painted in the shade of the ancient trees. 


Next time you visit Paris, why don't you, too, follow la Seine all the way to Chatou? No need to wait until Sunday afternoon, or wear a canotier. The Canoeists and lovely Alphonsine may be long gone, but la Maison Fournaise is still there, by the river, waiting... 

La Maison Fournaise (Renoir)

Alphonsine Fournaise (Renoir)

Renoir

"I can't leave Chatou, because my painting is not finished yet. It would be nice of you to come down here and have lunch with me. You won't regret the trip, I assure you. There isn't a lovelier place in all of Paris surroundings."

-- From a letter Renoir sent a friend in 1880

A bientôt.

Afterword:


My brother, who is a good man, braved the cold on his bicycle this weekend to ride to the American Express building in Rueil Malmaison (he lives nearby with his family) and took several great shots for me. This one is my favorite. Merci, petit frère!

La Maison Fournaise while standing in front of American Express

Putting on the Ritz (French Icons series)

(American Frog Photography)

When I dream of an afterlife in Heaven, 

the action always takes place at the Ritz, Paris.

Ernest Hemingway

The legendary Ritz Paris, has been named "Europe's greatest hotel, and an enduring symbol of elegance," by Frommer's. It has collected awards and accolades for over 114 years and played a central role in Parisian culture since 1898. 

Founded by a former bellboy turned hotelier, César Ritz, and celebrated chef Auguste Escoffier, the Ritz remains one of the most prestigious addresses in the world. A timeless symbol of luxury, glamour and style, it has welcomed the world's royalty, politicians, writers, artists and celebrities. 

A prestigious address...

(American Frog Photography)

15, Place Vendôme, Paris
(G. Bizemont)

I have not stayed at the Ritz - yet - but I have enjoyed some of its amenities over the years. It remains one of the best places in Paris for brunch or for a Champagne celebration. The  Hemingway Bar is not to be missed. It is a delight to watch award-winning bartender Colin Field prepare his magical concoctions. 

"Papa Hemingway," once a regular, is prominently featured at the Ritz
(courtesy of the Ritz Paris)

Some of you may remember I wrote a story about the Ritz last year, when I followed in Coco Chanel's footsteps. Madame Chanel lived at the Ritz Paris for over thirty years and was even allowed to keep her apartment when the German troops occupied Paris - and the hotel - during WWII. She died in her suite a few days before she launched her final collection, in 1971. Among the hotel's handful of Prestige suites, a coveted one is "the Chanel Suite," but it will cost you your life savings to spend one night there. Let's not talk about money, shall we? C'est si vulgaire! Today, for the purpose of this story, I invite you to join me and pretend we all have unlimited means, so we can fully enjoy our visit. 

Coco, enjoying the view
(courtesy of the Ritz Paris)

Madame Chanel in her suite

What is it about the Ritz that continues to attract so many people; generate so much press; inspire so many dreams? After all, there are other palaces in Paris (the George V; the Crillon; the Plaza-Athénée; the Meurice or the Bristol to name a few.) There are newcomers too, so luxurious and modern, it is a wonder anyone would consider staying anywhere else.

The Ritz Paris regulars will tell you that there is no other place in the world quite like it. 

First, what an incredible location! How many hotels stand on a mythical square (la Place Vendôme,) in a mythical city (Paris,) a short walk away from a mythical museum (le Louvre)? 

(American Frog Photography)

How many hotels boast a limestone façade designed by royal architect Mansart in the late 17th century; or furnish their rooms and suites with museum-worthy antiques, marble fireplaces, tapestries, brass beds; or own a suite listed as a National Monument of France in its own right?

The Imperial Suite
(courtesy of the Ritz Paris)

How many hotels insist on welcoming guests without a formal lobby, but somehow turn their arrival into an elegant and altogether satisfying experience? 

(unknown photographer)

(American Frog Photography)

To many visitors, the Ritz is unmistakably Parisian. It provides the ultimate luxury: a safe haven, refined and quiet, in the heart of a busy city. After walking all day exploring the French capital, what a delight it must be to approach the four elegant arches, step onto the crimson carpet, and walk through the doors, all the way to your room; unless you decide to sit down for a while in the lush, peaceful courtyard garden...

(Pierre-Georges Jeanniot 1848-1934)

(Parisenimages.fr)

You can also decide to relax at the Ritz Health Club introduced after the Al Fayed family successfully took over the Ritz Paris in 1978. There, the state-of-the-art spa and the grand indoor swimming pool, inspired by the baths or Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, greet you. It is the finest of its kind in Paris, as could be expected.

(courtesy of the Ritz Paris)

Are you a "foodie?" How about a cooking workshop at the Ritz Paris' renowned cooking school, the Ritz-Escoffier school? 


Feeling lazy? Have lunch or dinner at the Michelin-rated L'Espadon restaurant where chef Michel Roth works his magic.

L'Espadon
(courtesy of the Ritz Paris) 

L'Espadon: la terrasse
(courtesy of the Ritz Paris) 

After all these years, few palaces can rival the Ritz Paris' guestbook. The Parisian hotel has always attracted and seduced the world's high society. Famous guests have come and gone, but legends endure. Several habitués (patrons) have suites named after them, and in spite of their exorbitant prices, the rich and [sometimes] famous vie for the privilege of staying in the "Chanel," "Elton John," or "Windsor" apartments. After all, as the Ritz Paris demonstrates every day, one can be old school but still have a head for marketing!

Dinner was an elegant affair in the 1930s

High tea at the Ritz Paris (1957)

Francis Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were regulars. The Ritz Paris famously inspired his novella The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and is featured in Tender is the Night. Their friend Ernest Hemingway loved the Ritz so much that he and a group of armed French resistants rushed Place Vendôme and "freed" the Hôtel when Paris was liberated in August 1944! German troops were on the run, and Ernest and his friends raided the hotel bar, welcomed with open arms by the hotel manager who promptly uncovered several cases of  rare Bordeaux wine he had kept away from the Germans. The event is documented on the hotel website. This is the stuff legends are made of. 

Scott and Zelda: the original party animals

Ernest Hemingway, 
author, war correspondent, "Ritz Paris liberator"

There were many other distinguished guests over the years...

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor
"Wallis and Edward"

The Windsor Suite (in "Wallis blue")
(courtesy of the Ritz Paris)

The Great Marlene Dietrich and French acting legend Jean Gabin

Charlie Chaplin

Great Garbo (1920s)

It is said that the Ritz Paris was always a hit with women. From the unique golden swan taps in the luxurious bathrooms, to the peach-colored towels and robes (because peach is more flattering to a woman's complexion than white,) no effort was spared to pamper the hotel's beautiful guests. Lovely Audrey Hepburn shot two movies at the Ritz Paris.

Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957)

[Modern] Princesses came and left...

The Devil Wears Prada: Only the best for Miranda Priestly

Princess Diana enjoyed one last meal at the Ritz Paris
before the fatal car crash

The Ritz Paris, 114 years old, is heading into the 21st century, with renewed energy and a willingness to adapt to a fast-moving world where technology reigns supreme. Maybe the old lady feels she is not "à la mode" anymore, a capital sin in a city like Paris. It would be easy to forget that this was the first hotel in Europe to provide a bathroom ensuite, and a telephone and electricity for each room. This was then. This is now. There are a lot of newcomers on the cut-throat luxury hotel scene, where most properties are owned by international chains and undergoing expensive remodels. 


It still came as a surprise when the Al Fayed family announced that the Ritz Paris would close for 27 months during the summer of 2012 for an "unprecedented renovation." Some argue that this decision was unavoidable after the Ritz Paris was passed over by the French Tourism Ministry's coveted "Palace" designation in 2011. Maybe so. 


I know I am not the only one hoping that the Ritz Paris still captures guests' imaginations when it reopens. I am planning to stay there one day. Pourquoi pas ? One must dream... I want to wear one of the peach colored robes; wash my hands using the kitschy gold swan bathroom fixtures; play with the key-shaped light switches; and browse the 361-foot long gallery lined with retail vitrines. While sipping a glass of wine in the garden, I will close my eyes, and think, once again: "Ah... si ces murs pouvaient parler!" (if these walls could talk.) 


Like author Marcel Proust, a famed guest, I will go A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time.) Alors, if I am lucky, I might hear their laughter, Scott, Zelda, Ernest, while jazz music plays in the background. 


A bientôt.

Whose suite?
(unknown photographer)

Old School...
(unknown photographer)

One last look at a legendary façade...
(courtesy of the Ritz Paris)