Out and About with Mary Kay

"Don't be like the rest of them, darling." - Wise words by StrengthsMentor Lisa Ferguson

It's Monday morning in Paris - a good time for musing about the valuable lessons that I learned from StrengthsMentor Lisa Ferguson during #EmbraceParis.

Admittedly, I wasn't the most willing student. When Lisa sent a gentle reminder saying that some of the #EmbraceParis ladies still needed to complete our Gallup's online StrengthsFinder online assessment, I momentarily thought about procrastinating until the next day ... or the day after. With blog posts to write and laundry piling up, the 30 minutes required to take the assessment felt like too big of a time commitment.

But after some internal coaxing and cajoling, I poured a glass of wine and got started. It was easy. All that I had to do to discover my top 5 strengths was choose between two statements, indicating that one or the other "strongly" or "moderately" described me. I could also select the "neutral" position by marking midway between the two. While I don't remember the specific phrasing of any of the180 paired statements, I do recall that one of the questions focused on my feelings about striking up conversations with strangers. Since it didn't mention that the exchange had to be in grammatically correct French, I indicated that it's something that I usually enjoy.

At the end of the assessment, I learned that my top five strengths out of 34 are achiever, learner, maximizer, ideation and relator. Since I'm happiest when I'm learning something new, I could immediately relate to number 2. To understand the rest of the descriptions, however, I needed more information than what was included in the "Signature Themes Report" from Gallup.

That's where Lisa, a fully trained Gallup Strengths Finder® coach, proved to be invaluable. Whether it was during our group work, when she encouraged us to discover how we can "work smarter not harder" by maximizing our innate talents, or during the private mentoring session, I had a couple of insightful "aha" moments.

On our last evening together, after we had already prepared and eaten an incredibly delicious gourmet dinner at Alain Ducasse's cooking school, the #EmbraceParis ladies gathered in Jennifer's room for an important midnight meeting. Lisa asked us to simply, yet very specifically, state what we needed from the group and what we could give to the group. As one woman after another offered to help a newfound friend connect with a publisher or learn how to monetize her website, I was awed by the enormous potential in the room. We were all working in our "sweet spot of unique strengths" and loving it.

If embracing, investing and leading with your strengths would benefit you on a professional or personal level, be sure to contact Lisa!

Lisa Ferguson, StrengthsMentor

From Gallup Strength Center: For decades, the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment has helped people excel. From top business executives and managers to salespeople, nurses, teachers, students, pastors, and others, more than 10 million people have realized the benefits of leading with their strengths.

Article about Gallup's Clifton StrenghtsFinder in Forbes magazine: Need a Career Tuneup? Gallup's Tom Rath Has a Quiz for You

"What if I fall? Oh my darling, What if you fly" - a tangible and intangible gift from Lisa Ferguson!

Chef William Groult of école de cuisine Alain Ducasse with Jennifer Brouwer and Lynne Knowlton

Most of the #EmbraceParis four-day itinerary was straightforward. The one intriguing exception was Tuesday, for which the program mysteriously read, "Our surprise dinner will be just that - a surprise!"

There was still some speculation about our precise destination when a couple of sleek, black cars whisked us away from Le Meurice on Tuesday evening. When they glided to a stop in front of a rather nondescript looking building in the 16th arrondissement, the sight of an "École de Cuisine Alain Ducasse" sign set my heart aflutter. Not only are the Michelin starred Restaurant le Meurice and Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée under Alain Ducasse's creative influence, the French chef has designed the menus of many prestigious establishments worldwide, from Monaco to New York and Tokyo to Doha.

Selection Alain Ducasse brut on ice

Chef William Groult welcomed the #EmbraceParis ladies to his state-of-the art kitchen with a glass of champagne (selection Alain Ducasse brut, bien sûr!) and explained the menu for the evening: cooked and raw asparagus salad with deviled eggs garnish, red mullet fillets gratinated with tomato and basil followed by a surprise dessert. Without further ado, teams of two started cutting tomatoes and peeling asparagus. If our asparagus looked a bit rough around the edges, we slyly exchanged it for our neighbor's perfectly trimmed spears. The same thing may, or may not, have happened after we used tweezers to pluck the fine bones out of the red mullet filets.

Ready for action - the #EmbraceParis ladies, Marie-Aude from Le Meurice and Solène from the Plaza Athénée

Just as families bond over shared meals, the animated Alain Ducasse cooking class inspired teamwork, collaboration and camaraderie. It was the perfect way for our group of ten international women to spend our last evening together in Paris. Plus, the three-course meal that we helped prepare was absolutely delicious!

If you would like to learn to cook like a Parisian chef, the École de Cuisine Alain Ducasse offers a wide range of cooking classes in English from "Bistro Cuisine" to "Macaron Madness". The Alain Ducasse Cooking School has recently opened a brand new space on the third floor of the BHV Marais. There are also cooking classes for mini-chefs and teens.

Alain Ducasse Cooking School

64 rue du Ranelagh

75016 Paris

and

Alain Ducasse Cooking School

Le BHV Marais, 3rd floor

52 rue de Rivoli

75004 Paris

Here's a video of the #EmbraceParis cooking class at the École de Cuisine Alain Ducasse made by the talented Andrea Claire:

École de cuisine Alain Ducasse - Cooked and raw asparagus salad, deviled eggs garnish

The Parisians who haven't already left the city are enjoying Paris Plages (Paris Beaches).

If you're not in the touristic center of Paris, the city feels rather deserted these days. "Closed for the month of August" signs decorate the doors of my bakery, butcher, cheesemonger and favorite neighborhood bistros. The majority of the people on the metro seem to be tourists studying dogeared guidebooks rather than locals on their way to work. It's undeniably August, the month when Parisians exchange their fast-paced lives for relaxing sojourns at the beach or bucolic villages in the French countryside.

In between packing my suitcase and preparing for our departure tomorrow, I've marked a couple of dates in red on my calendar. These events have me looking forward to la rentrée before I've even left home!

Love for Sale. A Night with Cole Porter

Love for Sale. A Night with Cole Porter - August 24 to September 9, 2014

Dive into the pleasures of Paris during the roaring 1920s when a singer, guitarist and two dancers retrace the important steps of American composer and songwriter Cole Porter's life on stage.

Cole Porter wrote songs as he lived his life: with levity and ease, but also with profound melancholy. A millionaire dandy, he was a prominent figure in Paris in the 1920s, and ended up a successful musical theater composer throughout the 30s and 40s. His whole life, Cole Porter lived with the obsession to please women in society, men in secret, and, above all else, to please the audience.

Love for Sale. A Night with Cole Porter highlights the opposing facets of Cole Porter's life: the social facet, worldly and full of levity; and the intimate facet, dark, even tortured. In this show, the music, the lyrics, the choreography and the staging communicate and come together to draw the portrait of this star of Broadway musical theater, strangely still so unknown.

Théâtre de Belleville (Click here to purchase tickets)
94 Rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris

If you don't understand the French instructions on the theater's website, you may reserve tickets via email. Send your name, number of tickets and any information for discounts to unenuitaveccoleporter @ gmail.com.

Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion to perform at the American Church in Paris

A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor - September 5 and 6, 2014

Slow-talking, down-home Minnesota native Garrison Keillor will soon make his radio debut in Lac Wobegon, France.

The American Church in Paris is pleased to welcome Garrison Keillor for two shows of the Prairie Home Companion radio show on Friday, September 5 at 8:00 pm and on Saturday, September 6 at 4:00 pm.

A Prairie Home Companion, the radio show heard by over 4 million listeners weekly on hundreds of radio stations across the US.

Click here to reserve tickets. Proceeds will be donated to the church.

The American Church in Paris
65 quai d'Orsay
75007 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 40 62 05 00

Changing of the American flag over the Marquis de Lafayette's tomb at Picpus Cemetery in Paris on July 4, 2014.

Even though we're currently on vacation in Annapolis, Stéphane is already planning our next trip. The destination? Rochefort, France to see the tall ship L'Hermione before she sets sail for the East Coast of the United States in 2015. We're also contemplating a quick trip to Easton, Pennsylvania to visit Lafayette College.

The Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who supported the American colonies during their fight for independence from Great Britain, is the impetus behind these travel plans. It all started when I was finally able to pay my respects to Lafayette during the annual ceremony to replace the American flag flying over his tomb at Picpus Cemetery on July 4. Extremely moved by the reaffirmation of the historic bonds between the United States and France, I fortuitously stumbled across the "L'Hermione Project" while searching for information about the young Marquis de Lafayette's first voyage to America in 1777.

The American flag flying over the Marquis de Lafayette's tomb at Picpus Cemetery in Paris.

"L'Hermione Project" was established more than twenty years ago when a small group of enthusiasts had the idea to recreate the frigate that carried Lafayette to America in 1780. During the ensuing years, thousands of skilled craftsmen joined the project financed by more than three million people. On April 25, 2015, L'Hermione and her crew will embark on a 42 day trans-Atlantic crossing.

The provisional itinerary will take L'Hermione to Yorktown, Virginia, where she took part in the blockade which led to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his army. The French frigate will then sail up the East Coast with stopovers in Alexandria, Annapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Greenport, Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia before she returns to France.

Follow L'Hermione Project on Facebook and Twitter. For additional information about the itinerary and the history of the project, please visit Lafayette's Hermione Voyage 2015.

On October 14, 2014, the Friends of Hermione-Lafayette in America will host an inaugural NYC Gala with Honorary Chairman Dr. Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, and Charlie Rose, American television talk-show host and journalist.

An American couple told me that they were inspired to travel to Paris specifically for the annual 4th of July flag changing ceremony after watching France Revisited's 2009 video.

"Cheese and Wine Class in Paris" with Preston Mohr of Cook'n With Class

Perfection is a bottle of French wine paired with a selection of cheese and a crispy baguette.

But … if you're accustomed to buying wine in the United States or Australia, selecting a bottle of wine in France can be rather daunting. The reason? Wines in Europe are classified according to their appellation, basically the region where they're produced. In other parts of the world, grape names are the primary method for labeling wine. So, if you like Merlot, Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc, it’s helpful to know that you’ll probably enjoy wines labelled Bordeaux, Burgundy or Sancerre in France.

The cheese displays at your local cheese monger or grocery store may present even more of a conundrum. With more than 350 distinct types of French cheese grouped into eight categories, it's challenging for even the most savvy gourmet to pair wines with different types of cheese.

Preston selected some excellent wines and cheese!

To help demystify the process, I asked a friend who was visiting from Boston to join me for a "Cheese and Wine Master Class" with Preston Mohr. The evening started with a glass of sparkling champagne and a creamy Brillat Savarin served with artisanal bread. As we sipped our glasses of bubbly, Preston used an easily comprehensible pyramid chart to explain the differences between AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) and Vin de France (formerly vin de table). Once our international group of nine had mastered the classification of French wine, I had an “aha” moment when Preston showed us the correct way to open a bottle of wine. Gone are the days when half of the cork gets stuck in the neck of the bottle!

By the time that we were sipping glasses of an incredible St. Emilion Grand Cru, the fourth wine of the evening, we were pros at cutting even the oddest shaped French cheese (the trick is to preserve the original shape). We also had a good understanding of the meaning of terroir, the magical French word that describes the influence that geology, hydrology, soil, climate and human knowledge (savoir-faire) has on wine and some agricultural products, such as cheese.

Preston’s enthusiasm for his adopted homeland, insightful anecdotes and extensive knowledge of French gastronomy made for a delightful evening. If you would like to optimize your wine and cheese tasting in France, I highly recommend joining one of Preston’s classes at the start of your sojourn in Paris. They're also a great way for solo travelers to connect with other people.

In addition to the "Master Cheese and Wine Class", Preston is the resident wine specialist for "The Chef's Table" and "Champagne Day Trip in Reims" at Cook'n with Class. Preston also offers wine tastings in Paris and culinary walks through his own company, Paris by the Glass.

If Preston's name sounds familiar, you may recognize it from a recent Condé Nast Traveler article about the one wine to order in Paris or my post about independent winemaker Bonnevie-Bocart.

Wine always tastes best with good company. -- Preston Mohr

Cook'n with Class
6 rue Baudelique
75018 Paris

With over 1,000 reviews on Trip Advisor, Cook'n with Class has an excellent rating of 5 out of 5. For anyone with mobility issues, it's helpful to know that the wine tastings are held in the cellar at Cook'n with Class.

"Cheese and Wine Class in Paris" with Preston Mohr of Cook'n With Class

Vintage Moynat automobile trunks

Embrace Paris - July 2014

There was a lot of excited chatter as the Embrace Paris group left Le Meurice. The next stop on our itinerary? A behind-the-scenes tour of Moynat, a French luxury accessories brand, located a short distance away from our hotel on the rue Saint Honoré.

While a couple of the women had their hearts set on a Moynat handbag like the one carried by the always-so-chic Norma of My Beautiful Paris, I hoped to get a glimpse of some of Moynat's bespoke items. A blue leather vanity case at the Orient Express exhibition had sparked my interest in this famous Parisian malletier (trunk maker), for it was symbolic of an era when the journey was as important as the destination.

After welcoming us to the boutique, Guillaume Davin, the president of the newly resurrected luxury brand, explained that Moynat was founded in 1849 by Pauline Moynat. The only female trunk maker in history, Pauline was as creative as she was progressive. Not only did she make specially shaped trunks to fit the contours of automobiles, Pauline was also the first trunk maker to produce women's handbags.

The Pauline, semi-soft city bags in Taurillon Gex leather with Perle calfskin lining.

Pauline even pioneered the now-common trend of naming handbags after celebrities. In honor of her friendship with legendary actress Gabrielle-Charlotte Réju of the Comédie-Française, she created the Réjane (Réju's stage name) at the beginning of the twentieth century. According to LVMH, "Réjane was the ultimate incarnation of the Parisienne—naturally beautiful and high-spirited. To give a more feminine touch to the handbags the actress carried on stage, Pauline invented her first 'handbags for ladies', which were smaller and lighter. Réjane wore them in her performance in Décoré by Henri Meilhac at the Théâtre des Variétés in 1888."

Personalizing a light tote bag. I love the discrete Moynat initial design.

Under Ramesh Nair, Moynat's new creative director, the Réjane has been revived as a structured city bag with a patented locking system and a clutch bag with a detachable shoulder strap. Nair, who previously worked alongside Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier during his stint at Hermès, told us that it takes an average of 24 hours to handcraft each Moynat bag. They are made from start to finish by a single artisan. The beautifully styled bags are priced in the €2,200 to €4,500 range.

The next time you're strolling down the rue Saint-Honoré, be sure to visit Moynat's boutique. There are currently only two locations in the world where you can admire their bags, briefcases, picnic baskets, champagne carriers and vanity cases:

Moynat
348 rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris

and

112 Mount Street
W1K 2TU London

Click here to view more photos of our visit on Facebook. Related posts and videos: traveling in style by My Paris Apartment and Embrace Paris Visits Moynat, a video by Andrea Claire.

Picnic in style with a Moynat picnic basket and champagne carrier

The beginnings of a handbag at Moynat's atelier.

Tita by Marie Houzelle, an acclaimed French author who writes in English

Book review by Lizzie Harwood

Houzelle’s debut novel, Tita, is the tale of a precocious child, the eponymous star of her narrative, living out the year that she is seven (“the age of reason” we are told) in a small Catholic town in the south of France. But there’s nothing reasonable or typically French about Tita: she despises food (when have we read a book about France that doesn’t exalt the food?), wants to be a nun, but aspires to producing several children fathered by an assortment of nationalities: “Tuareg, Nuer, Trobriander, Khoikhoi, Samoan, Kalahari, Iroquois, Dogon… I copy the names into my notebook, and look them up in the atlas.” Tita is so off the radar of ‘expected French heroine’ that stepping into her thoughts is like belly-flopping into compulsory school pool sessions. The nun teacher sets our teeth on edge and Mother’s so removed from her children they call her “Stepmother/Mother-in-Law” (“Belle-mère”) without so much as a reaction.

But once we get comfortable inside Tita’s brain, the world that opens up to us is very different to any French-setting I’ve encountered. Cugnac, her insular, Occitan-speaking town in the south is on the cusp of big change. This is ‘50s Catholic-ruled town, far from glitzy Paris and well-heeled Lyon. A decade from now, the student-worker riots in ’68 across France will cause a seismic shift, but here in Tita’s Cugnac the fundamentals are already quivering: Father’s failing wine business sees him selling off chunks of the estate (including the tennis courts, hélas!), the older half-siblings can’t complete high school due to the cost or expulsions or to save face, Mother’s ultimatum-style hints to Father that she wants a crocodile handbag for her birthday go unheard. But it’s all so funny when seen through a whip-smart kid like Tita’s eyes: “I don’t want to live off the sweat of anybody. Not that my parents sweat much, now that they no longer play tennis.”

The battle becomes one of words and slipping through the cracks. As Tita gases up her mental tank with her Robert – the dictionary that doubles as best friend, contemplating how words have evolved from the Latin to their current varied meanings – she starts to wriggle away from her mother’s domination. This is the great fun of Houzelle’s novel: the more time Tita spends with words, the more subversive she becomes. When a band of girls face the privations and humiliations of Camp Nun at Lourdes (which is pure dark comedy along the lines of Vonnegut or Monty Python), it’s Tita who squirrels herself away with a book and manages the starvation by passing out for half of it, and cleverly buying Vichy mineral water in the Virgin’s grotto. When the others attempt to write letters home mentioning a portion of their sufferings, they are caught and humiliated. So Tita writes nothing more than a scrawled signature below her little sister’s drawing of a squirrel. Luckily, the dramatic play she writes later allows the truth to surface.

Houzelle’s singular voice and deadpan prose left me utterly wowed. This is a “not for children” novel – like all the tomes Tita secretly reads – but it could crossover to younger readers as well as its adult fiction market. The complexity and grace that has gone into Tita’s creation gives us a protagonist who goes from being a saint-loving, misdiagnosed-ADHD phobic to a plucky, poignant individual who I can imagine pouring a can of highly flammables on the ’68 scene when she’s 17.

A remarkable novel from a seriously talented voice in literature. Thank God she writes in English for those of us who can’t read Latin.

Tita by Marie Houzelle available from Amazon and other booksellers on September 14, 2015. There will be a giveaway of Tita on Out and About in Paris'Facebook page in mid-September. Don't miss it!

Lizzie Harwood has been in Paris for 14 years and now lives outside the city, where Emile Zola called home. She writes and edits at editordeluxe.com, Lizzie Harwood Books on Facebook, and @lizziehbooks on Twitter.

Place Gordaine in Bourges, France

The lovely town of Bourges is located a mere two hours by train from Paris making it the ideal spot for a weekend getaway. Here are ten things to do once you get there:

1. Marvel at Saint-Etienne Cathedral, one of the great Gothic buildings of France and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Don't miss the "Last Judgement" above the central portal, the 13th century stained glass windows made by the same master artisans as those in Chartres and the impressive astronomical clock. Created in 1424 by Canon Jean Fusoris, the clock indicates the lunar cycles, the height of the sun and the signs of the zodiac.

2. Meander down the quaint cobblestoned streets lined by more than 440 half-timbered houses dating back to the 15th century. The most remarkable is the Three Flutes House (Maison des Trois-Flûtes) located at 13 rue Bourbonnoux.

3. Indulge in a luscious "chocolate to share" (chocolat à partager) shaped like a camembert cheese at Daniel Mercier on the Place Gordaine. A subtle fusion of flaky Breton pancakes, praline and chocolate, it's 200 grams of pure pleasure! Mercier also has a line of "Busy Women" (Femmes Pressés) chocolate bars inspired by the active women in his life.

Forestines, the world's first soft-centered sweet. Bourges, France.

4. Step back in time at Maison des Forestines, an art nouveau style candy shop with stucco flowers and a colorful Gien ceramic ceiling, at 3 Place Cujas. Invented in 1878 by confectioner Georges Forest, "Forestines" are the world's first soft-centered sweet. The pearly exterior enrobes a smooth almond and hazelnut praline.

5. Admire the Palace of Jacques Coeur, a wealthy and powerful French merchant who became one of the most influential men of his time. With his massive fortune, Coeur funded King Charles VII's reconquest of Normandy and made loans to many aristocrats. Falsely accused of poisoning the king's mistress and dishonest speculation, he was arrested in 1451 but escaped to Italy. He died while commanding a naval expedition against the Turks.

The façade of the palace, which was completed around 1450, is decorated with Jacques Coeur's royal emblem, along with a multitude of sculptures portraying religious themes, his travels and scenes of everyday life.

6. Taste some of the local specialities at Au Nez du Vin, 38 rue des Arenes. My lunch of Saint-Maure and Valençay goat cheese, potato cakes (galettes aux pommes de terre Berrichon), pâté and salad accompanied by a glass of crisp Sancerre wine was an exquisite representation of the flavors of the Berry region of France. Linger over a café gourmand on the terrace when the weather is pleasant or in the cozy dining room with wooden beams when it's cold outside.

7. Sip a cocktail or a non-alcoholic beverage at Monin syrup. Whether you prefer the flavor of pumpkin pie, cotton candy, green banana, cucumber, pina colada or even bubblegum, Monin has a syrup for you. The company was founded by the Monin brothers in 1912. Three generations later, Monin is the world's leading producer of the finest flavored syrups, gourmet sauces, smoothie mixes, fruit purees and fruit smoothie mixes.

8. Visit one of the town's five free-admission museums. Top on my list for the next time I travel to Bourges is the Museum of the Best Artisans of France located in the former Archbishop’s Palace.

Cake Thé, 74 bis rue Bourbonnoux, Bourges.

9. Relax over afternoon tea and a slice of homemade Jacques Coeur cake made from a recipe from the Middles Ages or tarte au citron at Cake Thé, 74 bis rue Bourbonnoux. This delightful tea room is remarkably located in a vaulted Roman tower. It was part of a Gallo-Roman rampart with 50 lookout towers that protected the town from invading tribes.

10. Breathe in the fresh air of the countryside while strolling through the marshlands of Bourges. You'll be surprised by this labyrinth of 1,000 gardens and meandering streams located an easy ten minute walk away from the Old Town.

How to get there: Bourges is two to three hours by train from Paris. Once you're there, you can easily rent a car from Avis, which is conveniently located near the train station, or use public transportation to explore other parts of the Loire Valley.

Where to stay: Best Western Hôtel d'Angleterre, Hôtel de Panette (a B&B with a lovely view of the cathedral) or Hôtel de Bourbon Mercure are all good options.

The Tourist Information Office of Bourges is an excellent source of information about special events, such as the "Illuminated Nights" and Le Printemps de Bourges. You'll find the office next to the cathedral.

Click here to view more photos taken during my trip to Bourges.

Palace of Jacques Coeur

♥ Le Meurice - my parting message on the ice wall

Paris is a fast-paced city. It seems that I'm frequently rushing from the latest exhibition to the newest show. One of the downsides is that I all-too-often miss some fascinating sights.

Take Le Meurice as an example. During the years that I've lived in Paris, I've visited this lovely palace hotel on the Rue de Rivoli for drinks at Bar 228 and afternoon tea at Le Dali on numerous occasions. That's why I was so surprised when the bellhop showed me the super cool ice wall, where guests are invited to etch comments, when I checked into the hotel for #EmbraceParis. "Is this new?" I queried. When he replied that it wasn't, I shook my head in wonder. How had I missed it?

"Le Baiser" by Zoulikha Bouabdellah was the first winner of the Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art.
(Photo credit: Le Meurice)

Something else that I learned during my three-night stay at Le Meurice is that Salvador Dali was a regular visitor of the 180 year old hotel, hence the restaurant that bears the name of the famous Spanish artist. To carry on its role as a patron of the arts, the palace hotel founded the Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art in 2008 under the impetus of general manager Franka Holtmann. In doing so, Le Meurice asserted its support of young artists.

The Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art is an international award with an endowment of €20,000. It concerns all disciplines in the visual and plastic arts (painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, etc.) and distinguishes a project of international stature, proposed by an artist and their gallery, two weeks before the FIAC contemporary art fair in Paris.

Lesson learned: I'm going to start dedicating more time to noticing my surroundings and less time to running from here to there. Maybe I'll even start hanging out at Le Meurice like Salvidor Dali. It will give me the opportunity to more fully appreciate the Dalinien chair with feet in the form of ladies shoes, a lamp with drawers and Le Meurice's recognizable lobster on a telephone in Le Dali.

Salvador Dali at Le Meurice (1974). ©Huper-International Press.

Château de Valençay in the Loire Valley, France

With 71 historical sites, it's difficult to know where to start when planning a trip to the Loire Valley. While many people concentrate on the "C" castles - Chambord, Chenonceau and Chaumont-sur-Loire - consider moving further along in the alphabet. Continue all the way to "V" for Château de Valençay, one of the most attractive Renaissance castles in the region.

Although it was built on the ruins of an old feudal castle in 1540, Valençay's claim to fame is that it was the home of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Napoleon Bonaparte's foreign minister, at the beginning of the 19th century. Talleyrand, whose club foot and political machinations earned him the nickname "the lame devil", was a man of many contradictions. During the time that he was the Abbot of the wealthy monastery of Saint-Rémi-de-Reims, he devoted most of his time to gambling and women, his two great passions. After his excommunication from the church, he switched careers from religion to diplomacy.

Napoleon instructed Talleyrand, who was both admired and mistrusted by his peers, to acquire a beautiful estate that could be used for entertaining noteworthy foreigners and ambassadors. In 1803, Talleyrand purchased Valençay, which was partially funded by Napoleon, sight unseen. It turned out to be the perfect choice.

The Blue Salon at Château de Valençay in the Loire Valley

The elegant Empire-style furniture, paintings, sculptures and other precious objects give visitors a rare glimpse into life during the Napoleonic era. One of my favorite rooms was the surprisingly modern kitchen, the domain of Antonin Carême. Known today as the founder of Great French Cuisine, Carême created a year's worth of completely original menus using seasonal products for Talleyrand's illustrious guests. Not only did Carême invent thousands of recipes (including vol-au-vent), lighten dishes with sauces, use different herbs and lay the foundations of modern French cuisine, he also shared his expertise by writing several memoirs.

In keeping with the historical importance of French cuisine at Valençay, the châteaux features renowned chefs from theTables Gourmand de Berry. On the first Thursday of every month, one of the association's chefs reinterprets a traditional recipe and invites visitors to sample the finished dish.

The Theatre at Château de Valençay in the Loire Valley

If you have the good fortune to visit Valençay on a Wednesday afternoon (2:00 pm) or Sunday (11:00 am and 12:00 pm), be sure to join the guided tour of the theatre. This beautifully preserved jewel was built at the request of Napoleon for the Spanish princes who were imprisoned, albeit in a golden cage, at Château de Valençay. The well-preserved decor and backdrops are unique in France.

In more recent history, the château was spared by the occupying German forces during World War II because the owner at the time, the Duke of Valençay, managed to establish his neutrality as Prince de Sagan (duchy of Sagan in Prussian Silesia, now part of Poland). Thanks to this technicality, one of treasures of the Louvre Museum, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, was safely sheltered at Valençay and remained unscathed during the war.

The 53 hectare estate offers many surprises, including an outdoor ballroom and a Spanish tavern that were built to entertain the Princes during their long captivity, a pond where ice was collected during the winter, a bats' cave and the tuffeau caves left after the stone used to build the château was extracted. Four-seater electric golf carts are available for rent (30 minutes for €12.00).

Château de Valençay
2, rue de Blois
36600 Valençay

Click here to see additional photos of the château and estate taken during my visit.

Château de Valencay in the Loire Valley, France

Inside the Hôtel de Talleyrand, Paris

If you're in Paris during the European Cultural Days on September 20 and 21, be sure to add Hôtel de Talleyrand to your list of places to visit. This historic building, with a spectacular view of the Place de la Concorde, has played a significant role in numerous historical events. Of the time that this hôtel particulier (private residence) belonged to Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Victor Hugo famously wrote in Choses Vue:

In the Rue Saint-Florentin there are a palace and a sewer. The Palace, which is of a rich, handsome, and gloomy style of architecture, was long called "Hôtel de l'Infantado"; nowadays may be seen on the frontal of its principal doorway "Hôtel Talleyrand". During the forty years that he resided in this street, the last tenant of this palace never, perhaps, cast his eyes upon this sewer.

He was a strange, redoubtable, and important personage; his name was Charles Maurice de Périgord; he was of noble descent, like Machiavelli, a priest like Gondi, unfrocked like Fouché, witty like Voltaire, and lame like the devil. ...

During thirty years, from the interior of his palace, from the interior of his thoughts, he had almost controlled Europe. ... He had come in contact with, known, observed, penetrated, influenced, set in motion, fathomed, bantered, inspired all the men of his time, all the ideas of his time; and there had been moments in his life, when, holding in his hand the four or five great threads which moved the civilized universe, he had for his puppet Napoleon I ....

View of the Place de la Concorde from the Hôtel de Talleyrand

He did all this in his palace; and in this palace, like a spider in his web, he allured and caught in succession heroes, thinkers, great men, conquerors, kings, princes, emperors, Bonaparte, Sieyès, Madame de Staël, Châteaubriand, Benjamin Constant, Alexander of Russia, William of Prussia, Francis of Austria, Louix XVIII, Louis Phillippe, all the gilded and glittering flies who buzz through history of the last forty years. All this glistening throng, fascinated by the penetrating eye of this man, passed in turn under that gloomy entrance bearing the architrave the inscription HOTEL TALLEYRAND.

Well, the day before yesterday, May 17, 1838, this man died. Doctors came and embalmed the body. To do this, they, like the Egyptians, removed the bowels from the stomach and the brain from the skull. The work done, after having transformed the Prince de Talleyrand into a mummy, and nailed down this mummy in a coffin lined with white satin, they retired, leaving upon a table the brain,--that brain which had thought so many things, inspired so many men, erected so many buildings, led two revolutions, duped twenty kings, held the world. The doctors being gone, a servant entered: he saw what they had left: "Hulloa! they have forgotten this." What was to be done with it? It occured to him that there was a sewer in the street; he went there, and threw the brain into this sewer.

After Talleyrand's death, the hôtel particulier remained the property of the Rothschild family for over a hundred years. After World War II, it was rented and then purchased by the US Department of State. From 1947 until 1952, it was the headquarters of the Marshall Plan, the postwar American reconstruction plan for Western Europe.

In 2010, the Hôtel de Talleyrand re-opened its doors after a magnificent restoration that took nine years and cost approximately $5 million. A team of over 150 French artisans resurrected the original light-gray tone of the walls, gildings, wood panels and parquet floors, which are considered to be among the finest examples of 18th-century French decorative art. 100 private and corporate donors from both sides of Atlantic contributed to the project.

Click here to see the complete list (in French) of the buildings and monuments that will be open for European Heritage Days.

Hôtel de Talleyrand

Château de Vaux le Vicomte

On Saturday evening, Stéphane and I stood in the courtyard of Château de Vaux le Vicomte with a group of fifteen strangers. While we had only traveled from Paris, several of the guests had driven over 500 kilometers to attend a very special soirée. The occasion? Vaux le Vicomte's premiere evening dedicated entirely to its social media fans. As we gathered around Community Manager Juliette Dagois, she explained that it was their way of expressing Vaux le Vicomte's gratitude for our support on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

Social media table at Vaux le Vicomte invites you to share your #VauxExperience

The agenda included a private tour of the château with co-proprietor Alexandre de Vögué, a stroll through the gardens magically illuminated by more than 2,000 candles, a private dinner and a firework display for the grand finale.

While the evening was remarkable from start to finish, I was most impressed by the fact that several of the fans were visiting Vaux le Vicomte for the very first time. They were active supporters of the château without ever having seen the harmony and elegance of its French formal garden or the grand ceiling with its eight muses in the Salon des Muses. That's the power of social media!

Whether you live 5 or 500 kilometers from Château de Vaux le Vicomte, you can be a #FanVLV by liking it on Facebook and/or following it on Twitter. Share your photos and participate in the discussion. If you would like to help preserve this masterpiece of French architecture in a more substantial fashion, join the Friends of Vaux le Vicomte Association.

Upcoming events at Château de Vaux le Vicomte include European Heritage Days on September 20 and 21, Chocolate Palace late October/early November and Christmas at Vaux le Vicomte.

Château de Vaux le Vicomte
77950 Maincy
France

Dessert, a sweet tweet (treat) for Vaux le Vicomte's social media fans!

Bar of gold at the Banque de France. Each bar weighs between 10.88 and 13.37 kilos.

I wrote the following post about visiting the Banque de France during European Cultural Days before I learned that it's not open to the public this year. Keep it in mind for 2015!

Gold bars and ingots aren't all that glisten at the Banque de France. The Central Bank of France, created on January 18, 1800 by Napoléon Bonaparte, is partially located in the luxurious Hôtel de Toulouse in the first arrondissement. Formerly a private residence, it was built between 1635 and 1640 by French architect François Mansart (famous for popularizing the Mansard roof) for King Louis XIII's Secretary of State, Louis Phélypeaux.

During the French Revolution, the residence was confiscated as national property and used as the French National Printing Office. Printing machines were installed in the historic building and the sumptuous Golden Gallery, built to expose Phélypeaux's works of art, was used as a store room for paper.

The Hôtel de Toulouse was purchased by the Banque de France in 1808. The Golden Gallery, which was in a state of disrepair, was used solely for the annual stockholder's meeting and the launch of government bonds.

In the 1870s, the building was totally dismantled room by room before being meticulously restored. Missing architectural elements, paintings, frescoes and statues were replaced by replicas.

La Tasse de chocolat (The Cup of Chocolate) by Achille Leboucher and Charles Rauch.

If you visit the Banque de France during European Heritage Days, be sure to look at The Cup of Chocolate located in the antechamber. Ever since I first saw this painting in 2012, I've wondered why the painters, or perhaps the Duc de Penthièvre, decided to portray the family with cups and saucers of chocolate in their hands. It almost looks as if it could be an advertisement: "Chocolate, the treat for the elite".

The courtyard garden of the Banque de France

In addition to seeing the interior of the Hôtel de Toulouse (with the exception of the Golden Gallery because it's currently closed for restoration), you'll learn about the history of the Banque de France and how to identify counterfeit bills. A gold bar and ingot are the glittering finale.

Interesting fact: In response to counterfeit photographed bills, the Banque de France issued the first colored notes in 1862. They were blue.

The Golden Gallery at the Bangue National de France is closed for restoration in 2014.

The world's oldest basketball court.
The poles in the center of the court must have added an interesting dimension to the game!

If you would have asked me the whereabouts of the world's oldest basketball court, I would have never guessed that it's in Paris. Not only does the YMCA court on rue de Trevis hold the distinction of being the world's oldest, it's also where the first basketball game in Europe was played.

The court is an exact replica of the one in Springfield, Massachusetts where the game was played for the very first time. On January 20, 1892, Canadian doctor James Naismith introduced basketball, a game intended to keep the students of the International YMCA Training School active during the winter months. Two peach baskets nailed to the lower rail of the gymnasium balcony were used as hoops. The 13 rules were simple. Ball bouncing was prohibited, perhaps because the original basketball was a soccer ball. Whenever a point was scored, the school's janitor had to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball from the peach basket. Fortunately for the custodian, the score of the first basketball game ever played was a surprisingly low 1-0.

In this gymnasium in 1893, "basket ball" was played for the first time in Europe.
This game was created at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield (U.S.A.).

After a fire destroyed the basketball court in Springfield, the YMCA Paris Union court became the oldest in the world. The property, which is classified as an historic monument, was designed by architect Bénard, a student of Gustave Eiffel. It was financed by donors from around the world, most notably American James Stokes who wished to show his appreciation of General Lafayette's contribution to his country's independence. The YMCA Paris Union is now a student residence. For 160 years, it has housed thousands of young people from different countries and backgrounds.

The basketball court was exceptionally open to the public during European Heritage Days.

YMCA Paris Union
14 rue de Trévise
75009 Paris

The world's oldest basketball court is located in Paris, France.

Caffè Stern in the passage des Panoramas

"Mmm, this burrata is amazing! It's so incredibly creamy," I exclaimed as a sigh of delight escaped my lips. "Are you going to write a post about this place?" queried Donna in her charming Southern accent. "Nope, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it."

When Donna suggested that we meet for lunch at what was previously the Stern engraving boutique, I didn't have a clue that the Caffè Stern is the hot new address in the passage des Panoramas. As I snapped a couple of photos of the Mad Hatter coat rack complete with felted top hats and a winged white rabbit checking his pocket watch, I overheard a stylish Parisian woman tell her companion that the restaurant's interior was typically Starck. She was referring to Philippe Starck, the innovative French designer whose whimsical decor paired perfectly with the carved wood panelling, delicate twisted pillars and patinated drawers of the historically listed monument.

Selection of Venetian starters and burrata with juicy tomatoes at Caffè Stern

The menu composed by Massimiliano Alajmo, the youngest chef to ever receive three Michelin stars, offers such an intriguing array of options that Donna and I had a hard time choosing between the steamed margherita pizza, poached lobster with bread crumbs and curry sauce, Venetian cichetti and fried jumbo shrimp involtini with botargo. After much deliberating, I finally settled on the lunch menu with a selection of Venetian tapas as a starter followed by a creamy risotto drizzled with truffle oil.

My enthusiastic comments as I took pictures of the sleek open kitchen and the table for two with a view of the covered passageway prompted Donna to reiterate that I should share this place with you. So, I am.

Insider's tip: If you visit the passage des Panoramas in the morning or late afternoon, be sure to have a cappuccino or espresso at the Caffè Stern's cozy bar. After you enter the restaurant, turn to the left. Don't miss the miniature Murano chandelier encased in a glass bubble in the first room and the winged rabbit in the nook on your right.

Caffè Stern
47, passage des Panoramas
75002 Paris
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 am to midnight; service from 12:30-2:30 pm and 7:30-10:30 pm
Tel: +33 1 75 43 63 10
Metro: Richelieu-Drouot and Grands Boulevards (lines 8 and 9)

Please click here to see more photos.

A Jaguar at the Place Vendôme, the start of the annual Paris-Deauville Rally

The upcoming Chanel fashion show at the Grand Palais is creating a big buzz in Paris this week. Most of my friends are charging their camera batteries and strategizing about where to stand so that they can take the best photos of the fashionistas on Tuesday morning. Me? I'm looking forward to a different red letter day -- Thursday, the 2nd of October, to be precise. That's when the French Republican Guard will parade down the rue de Rivoli and arrive at the Place Vendôme at approximately 4:00 pm. The occasion is the free exhibition of the vintage automobiles participating in the 48th annual Paris-Deauville Rally.

French Republican Guard at the Place Vendôme for the Paris-Deauville Rally

In 2012, Jean-Pierre and Marie-Claire warmly welcomed me as a passenger in their Delage during the unforgettable trip from Versailles to Deauville. Luxuriating in the autumnal sunshine, I relaxed in the backseat, took photos and waved at the people we passed along the way.

My status took a unexpected turn in 2013 when I was promoted from passenger to navigator of Englishman James Ayres' 1964 Cadillac Coupé de Ville. With sweaty palms, I diligently studied the comprehensive route book that indicated every turn and curve in the road. It was going to be my job to get us from point A to point B, and I wasn't sure that I was up for the task. As James eased the blue car with its massive fins into the heavy morning traffic in front of the Château de Versailles, I felt a rush of adrenaline. We were on our way to Deauville!

A sweeping view of the Seine River - one of the highlights of the 2013 Paris-Deauville Rally

The old adage to focus on the journey and not the destination best describes the pleasures of participating in the Paris-Deauville Rally. Following little known byways, James and I passed Monet's house in Giverny and paused to admire sweeping vistas and historical sights along the way. By the time that we stopped for lunch at the Vaudreuil Golf Club restaurant, it seemed as if we were old friends. The silences in the car were companionable. James, an English "car guy" with a passion for Cadillacs, and I, an American who grew up traveling vast distances by car, both understood the intoxicating lure of the open road on a sublime fall day.

Don't miss the exhibition of the 2014 Paris-Deauville Rally automobiles at the Place Vendôme from 2:00-6:00 pm on Thursday, October 2. The rally, which is open to all pre-1945 automobiles and pre-1960 coupés et cabriolets, is one of the most well-known vintage car rallies in Europe. Organized by the French Automobile Club, the 2014 rally will feature Delage and Hotchkiss classic cars.

Please click on the highlighted words to see photos of the 2013 Paris-Deauville exhibition of vintage automobiles and the French Republican Guard at the Place Vendôme.

Leaving the Vaudreuil Golf Club during the Paris-Deauville Rally

Val d'Osne signpost (totem) at Saint-Paul metro station in Paris

The next time you're rushing out of the Saint-Paul métro station (Line 1) on your way to the Place des Vosges in the Marais, take a moment to admire the rare Val d'Osne signpost. The luminous opaline globe was created in the 1920s to better illuminate the metro entrance. An ornate cast-iron frieze frames the word MÉTRO. The font used for the abbreviated form of Métropolitain is remarkably different from Hector Guimard's Art Nouveau signage of the early 1900s.

Named after the iron foundry that manufactured them, the Val d'Osne totems were followed by the Art Deco Dervaux signposts in 1924. Those totems, created by architect Adolphe Dervaux, illustrate the trend away from elaborate decorative embellishments.

With more than 300 metro stations in Paris, spotting a Val d'Osne signpost is like finding a needle in a haystack. During the next couple of months, I'm going to see how many I can locate. If you come across one, please let me know!

While searching for additional information for this post, I came across the following:

Interesting tidbit via France.fr: The Paris metro is the only one to have offered a choice of two classes on its network. The "first class" service existed until 1982. After this date, the principal of first class was restricted to rush hours (from 9 am to 5 pm) and people with disabilities and pregnant women were allowed access to first class at all times. A single class system has been in place since 1991.

Click here to listen to a fascinating NPR podcast with Mark Ovenden, co-author of the book Paris Underground.

Quotation: The Metro furnishes the best opportunity for the foreigner to imagine that he has understood, quickly and correctly, the essence of Paris. - Franz Kafka

Val d'Osne signpost (totem) at Saint-Paul metro station in Paris

Information about the Val d'Osne signpost (totem) at Saint-Paul metro station in Paris

La Cristal Room Baccarat

Imagine a room with sparkling crystal chandeliers, white linen tablecloths, exposed brick walls, intimate lighting and a playful oversized chalkboard. French designer Philippe Starck has transformed the former dining room of art patron Marie-Laure de Noailles' sumptuous townhouse into one of the most romantic restaurants in Paris.

A table for two at La Cristal Room Baccarat

La Cristal Room Baccarat, located on the first floor of the Baccarat Museum in the 16th arrondissement, is also one of my favorite places to take friends for lunch. Heidi from Switzerland and Carolyn and Kathi from Boston have all succumbed to the charm of sipping wine out of iconic Harcourt 1841 stemware, the oldest in the Baccarat archives, while savoring the culinary stylings of Michelin-starred chef Guy Martin and Adrien Manac’h.

Enticed by the Cristal Room's new autumn menu, I was pleased when Élodie agreed to take a break from her busy job at the Paris Visitors Bureau to join me for a leisurely lunch. After careful deliberation and a couple of consultations with our charming waitress, I finally decided on the smoked eel with leek foam and a quail egg for my starter. From the moment that I took my first bite, Elodie's news about the Christmas illuminations on the Champs-Elysées and the ice-skating rink on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower during the holidays was eclipsed by the exquisite combination of flavors in my mouth.

My starter: smoked eel with leek foam and a quail egg

By the time that our main courses arrived, Élodie and I had abandoned any pretext of talking about upcoming events in Paris. The "City of Light" was overshadowed by my roasted pork loin and braised cheek served with mushrooms and Bak Choy and Élodie's saddle of lamb, carrots purée with cumin, dates and lime juice. Our desserts, pear soufflé with Williamine sorbet and Black Forest cream cake with Manjari chocolate sorbet, proved to be equally enticing.

Insider's tips: After lunch, be sure to visit the Baccarat Museum. The entrance price is waived when you dine at the Cristal Room. If you ask, they'll switch the language of the film shown in the first room of the museum to English. It showcases the steps involved in making Baccarat crystal.

Before you leave, take a look at the Baccarat boutique on the ground floor. It's magnificently decorated for the holiday season.

Baccarat is celebrating its 250th anniversary with Crystal Legend, an exhibition at the Petit Palais. Masterpieces of the world’s most celebrated crystal maker will be on display in the Grandes Galeries from October 15, 2014 until January 4, 2015.

Cristal Room Baccarat
11, place des Etats-Unis
75116 Paris
Métro Boissière
Tél : 01 40 22 11 10
Open from Monday to Saturday with valet parking for lunch (12:00 to 2:00 pm) and dinner (7:30-10:00 pm).

Please click here to see all of the photos from Élodie's and my lunch at the Cristal Room Baccarat.

Pear soufflé with Williamine sorbet

With its satin walls and black crystal chandelier, the private Salon Rose is much in demand.

Naomi Watts and Tommy Hilfiger for Breast Health International: Introducing the 2015 Limited Edition Handbag

This evening, for the very first time in history, the Eiffel Tower will be illuminated in pink lights. The reason? The city of Paris wants to show its support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Likewise, when I venture out to take photos of the rosy-hued monument, I'll be toting my new Tommy Hilfiger handbag with pride. For the past eight years, Tommy Hilfiger has designed a limited-edition handbag to build awareness, raise funds and make a positive impact on the lives of women around the world who are affected by breast cancer.

The bag retails for €299, with €100 of each sale going directly to Breast Health International's (BHI) Fund for Living, an initiative established to cover costs associated with a breast cancer diagnosis but not covered by insurance, like travel costs and child care. The bag, which is available in Tommy Hilfiger stores during the month of October, is also intended to bring awareness to breast health and breast check-ups.

Kelly Dailey Vinoche (front row) leading an energizing Dailey Method class

In collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger, the Dailey Method Paris is offering free "Dailey Donate" classes at their lovely exercise studio in the 16th arrondissement. The classes, which effectively strengthen, tone and lengthen the entire body, are a great way to stay in shape and support women in France who have breast cancer. 100% of the donations go to Breast Health International.

Dailey Donate Classes during Breast Health Awareness Month

After participating in an invigorating Dailey Method class with Susan Schwartz, Director of International Development & Communications of Breast Health International, on Sunday evening, I had the opportunity to learn more about BHI's Fund for Living. As Susan explained, "It can be exhausting for a patient to take two buses and a subway home after treatment or difficult to arrange care for a sick child – especially while the patient herself is going through chemotherapy. Costs of taxis, babysitters, etc., are not usually covered by health insurance, but access to these resources can make the difference between missing appointments and being treated appropriately."

Susan Schwartz of Breast Health International and Naomi Watts with Tommy Hilfiger's Limited Edition handbag.

Eiffel Tower illuminated in rosy hues with a pink ribbon projected on the first floor

For the first time in history, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated in pink. After the Grand Palais, Palais Garnier and the Conciergerie, it was the majestic "Iron Lady's" turn to shine a light on Breast Cancer Awareness.

(L-R) Pauline Delpech, Marie Gillain, Henk Van Der Mark, Anne Hidalgo, Elsa Zylberstein and Marielle Fournier attend the "Octobre Rose" Eiffel Tower illumination hosted by Estée Lauder

At approximately 8:30 pm, a hush fell over the crowd as the base of one of the world's most famous monuments turned a rosy hue last night. Within minutes, the color had spread upwards until it reached the very top. Not even the waxing moon could compete with the tower's glory.

Paris' mayor Anne Hidalgo was joined by Henk Van Der Mark, president of Estée Lauder France. The cosmetic company's Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Campaign, "Hear our stories. Share yours.," is designed to create a global community of strength and support through digital storytelling. The 2014 BCA Campaign comes to life through the inspirational stories of brave women and men who have faced breast cancer and the loved ones who supported them throughout the experience. People around the world are invited to visit BCAcampaign.com to hear these powerful stories, find strength in their common experiences, share their own stories and join the fight against breast cancer by making a donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

During the month of October, other notable landmarks including the Empire State Building, the Colosseum in Rome, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and The Peninsula in Hong Kong and Paris will be illuminated in pink.

Please click here to see more photos of the pink Eiffel Tower and The Peninsula Paris.

The Eiffel Tower illuminated in pink for Breast Health Awareness

Lead with your strengths. StrengthsMentor Lisa Ferguson introduces me to my "sweet spot"!

#EmbraceParis ladies learn to cook like Parisian chefs at the Alain Ducasse Cooking School (école de cuisine Alain Ducasse)

"Love for Sale. A Night with Cole Porter" and Garrison Keillor of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the American Church in Paris. Mark your calendars for la rentrée!

Future travel plans inspired by L'Hermione 2015 and the Marquise de Lafayette

Wine and cheese tasting in Paris with Preston Mohr of Cook'n with Class

Moynat: shopping for luxury handbags, travel trunks and champagne carriers in Paris

"Tita" by Marie Houzelle -- book review of a remarkable novel set in the south of France

10 reasons to visit the charming town of Bourges in the Loire Valley

The super cool ice wall and other contemporary art at Le Meurice in Paris

Add Château de Valençay, the former residence of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, to your Loire Valley itinerary!

Hôtel de Talleyrand (George C. Marshall Center): A "must-visit" for Americans in Paris during European Cultural Days (September 20 & 21)

Château de Vaux le Vicomte invites its social media fans for an unforgettable soirée! #FanVLV #VauxExperience

Visiting the Banque de France (National Bank of France)

The World's Oldest Basketball Court is in Paris!

Caffè Stern in the passage des Panoramas - plenty of reasons to go for lunch, dinner or coffee!

Paris-Deauville Rally -- Exhibition of vintage cars at the Place Vendôme on October 2, 2014!

Paris métro signposts -- "Val d'Osne" at Saint-Paul Station (Line 1)

La Cristal Room Baccarat - One of the most romantic restaurants in Paris

Tommy Hilfiger, Dailey Method Paris and Naomi Watts team up to support Breast Health International

Eiffel Tower illuminated in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness