Charles Baudelaire was the epitome of all French poets, past and present. Reading his poetry and prose leaves no doubt to the woundedness of his soul. His tortured emotions that brilliantly sculpted every word of his prose and poetry spewed from a gaping deep wound in his psyche. His words rip though your own illusions …
Catherine de Medici, who was married to King Henri II, was indeed one of the most shadowy and diabolic queens of France. She was implicated in murders, including a massacre, poisonings, child abuse, favouritism with her children, and last but not least ignoring an incestuous relationship amongst her children. Some recent historians have tried to write …
Catherine de Medici; A Most Ruthless and Cruel Queen Read More »
This is an incredible story of a woman who was born in the most unfortunate circumstances, yet whose fabulous destiny was to become the dearly beloved mistress/companion of Louis XIV and his hidden queen of France! This is a cinderella fairy tale that is rich in romanticism and the triumph of goodness. How a …
The Hidden Queen Of King Louis XIV, A True Cinderella Story Read More »
Charles Garnier’s professional destiny was to be as marvelously rich and world acclaimed as his opulent architectural masterpiece; the Paris Opera, rightfully named in his honor. This immensely talented man was unstoppable, yet his personal life was over shadowed with constant battles of severe bouts of depression, anxiety, doubts, hypochondria and grief. Last weekend, I …
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec was one of the most famous and prolific post-impressionistic painters, yet his life was chiseled with a disfiguring deformity and what proved to be a deadly addiction. His life started out with all the promises that good fortune and wealth could offer in so far as his family of origin. Henri Marie …
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, A Short and Painful Life Read More »
If there ever was a poet that I had almost a fetish admiration for , it would have to be Rainer Maria Rilke. His poems and writing touch a part of my psyche that no other writer/poet can. He is considered the most famous of German-speaking poets, and is known for his, …
One of the things I have always found intriguing and enjoyable, living in Paris, is to be able to walk on the same paths as those renown ones did from the past. I had known about Marie Curie, but had not realized she came to France as a young Polish student to live and even …
Marie Curie; Two Nobel Prizes Despite Grief and Depression Read More »
Diane de Poitier has been known throughout history primarily for being the beloved mistress of France’s King Henri II. Only in recent years, has it been discovered that her incessant search to remain beautiful became her demise. I wanted to write about her because even though her story happened many years ago, the basic underlying …
Some weekends in Paris, there is just too much to see and do! The Salon d’Agriculture is definitely one of my favorites salons and then this Sunday was free museum day. I look forward to this huge and most popular salon every year, where the country comes to Paris.! There you will find the most …
My Weekend With Piglets, Cows, Nudes and my Luscious Walnut Tart Read More »
It would be difficult to find another life as tortured and tragic as that of this woman. She was the brightest and most gifted of all women sculptors of her day. Her destiny and fate it seems was sealed not only on the date of her birth to a cold unloving mother, but the day …
Anais Nin is known as one of the earliest writers of female erotica, and had an almost cult worship by feminists of the 70’s. Frankly, I had not thought to write about her until I was looking at the history of one of her lovers Henry Miller, who lived several blocks from where I live …
This woman from the past, I would have literally loved to have had as a patient! She never would have given me a chance though because she only valued men above women. From cross dressing to multiple scandalous affairs , she was completely unconventional for her time. She is just an astonishing complex personality to …