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 »
While meandering around Pigalle, in preparation for an upcoming post, I ran across this very interesting store window that captured my eye. Thought I would share it just for a fun peek into the many interesting finds awaiting discovery in every nook and cranny here. I wasn’t planning on writing much, but a sprained foot/ankle …
To me Easter isn’t just one day but a season of hope, resurrection, rebirth and renewal. Of all of these, hope is the most important aspect that provides the momentum to break through the barriers that lock us in sadness, grief, dismay, sickness, loneliness, heartbreak, or any other human bondage. Hope is like a beautiful …
Easter chocolates and cherry trees have little in common, except that they both appear in the spring. Nevertheless, in the past week, I have had long and fruitful walks discovering both again. The first one was a 14 kilometer walk through three of the prettiest parks south of Paris in the suburbs of Sceaux, …
When profound pain has been stored away in our psychic attic, we can become detached from the acute rawness of the feeling over time, which is protective in nature. Though we are always aware of this deep gnawing sorrow, we are never really able to fully unleash it, and therefore ours tears become “frozen” in …
Here I am again, in the middle of beautiful wines, that I can’t drink! I have to go armed with much restraint and discipline if I am going to get though my long list of wines that I want to taste at the spring Salon des Vignerons Independants. Tasting and drinking are two different things! …
Tasting Great Wines Requires Restraint and Discipline Read More »
I had been intrigued several times by this lovely château, having had only quick glimpses of part of her facade through the window of a suburban train heading south of Paris. From afar, the images were striking and searing, if only for a second in passing, and each time managed to aroused my imagination. It …
Waking up to a brilliant blue sky, especially on a warm sunny Sunday morning, I found myself longing for the sea; the smells of the salty air, the blue green hues of the ocean, and the squawking of the sea gulls. Since Paris is only about 2 hours away by car to the beautiful …
It was a quiet sunny Sunday morning, with a full roster of patients, when the charge nurse on the adult ward, told me that one of the patients was missing, and that had left a suicide note. Fearing the worse, I reporting her missing to the police and immediately ordered the locking down of the …
If avalanches weren’t bad enough, now you have to be on the lookout for drunk skiers! According to ski patrol monitors in Austria and in France, there is a growing problem of dodging inebriated skiers. We already know the dangers of driving a car , flying an airplane , or piloting a boat under the …
École Ferrandi de La Gastronomie Francaise puts out some of the most gifted and famous chefs here in France and throughout the world. Known as the Harvard of culinary schools, the name Ferrandi is well known and respected within the inner circle of restaurateurs worldwide. I have a special connection to Ferrandi, for it …
The Making of Professional Chefs At École Ferrandi Read More »
With all the baking and pastry making I have been doing these past several weeks, I ended up accumulating quite a large amount of egg whites. The first thing that comes to me, in so far as to what to do with all these unused egg whites is to make dacquoise! Dacquoise is a french …