Museums and Such in Paris

Trip Date: Feb 2024

When I saw that the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris was putting on a retrospective of Mark Rothko I really wanted to go- I had never been to that venue and Rothko is one of my favorite American artists. The exhibit only went from the end of 2023 until April 2024 and I already had multiple trips booked during that time and the budget was drained. But then Air France had a sale on flights booked with mileage and then Chase had a 25% transfer bonus to Air France! I found a flight from Seattle to Paris in Business class for just 41,250 miles. So I transfered 33,000 points from Chase & was awarded 8,250 more and paid $202 in taxes and fees and viola! Booked to go see Rothko and the BFF! 

The day of my trip I had a text saying my flight would be delayed 6 hours!! Luckily I use TripIt for all my travels and it alerted me that I should be qualified for compensation on any delays on a European carrier of more than 3 hours. While I hung out in the Amex Centurion Lounge and then the Delta Lounge at SeaTac I filed my claims online and included my Lyft cost since originally a friend was going to drive me to the airport. $717 ($67 for Lyft and $650 for the delay) was deposited in my bank account about 2 weeks after I got home. 

As I had taken advantage of the same sale for my return and found a 30% transfer bonus with Amex, I booked Delta One (thru Air France) for 75,000 but only had to transfer 58,000 & pay $288 for taxes and fees. So with the flight delay compensation I actually made $160! Gotta love that!

Also if you are at SeaTac and have to choose between the Amex Centurion Lounge or the Delta Lounge I will tell you that Amex has much better drinks and bartenders while Delta has better food quality. IMO. 

My Air France flight was on an older Boeing 787-9 but biz class still had a semi-private "pod", especially as I had a window seat which is a solo seat. Pro tip, when choosing a window seat pay attention to if the seat is angled the aisle or the window, facing the window gives you the max privacy, in this case it was the odd numbered rows. 

Compared to other business class, this was pretty basic. No mattress, pj's or even slippers!! There was a small amenity kit handed out after we took off and of course it was a lie-flat seat. The best part of Air France is that the Champagne flows freely (real Champagne) and the food is always great! My meal consisted of scallop ceviche, lobster salad, prime rib with demi-glace and roasted mushrooms, and a lovely Opera cake for dessert. Oh and ABK6 VSOP Single Estate Cognac. Of course!

In Paris, Forest and I had timed tickets for the Mark Rothko exhibit and arrived out in the Bois du Boulogne just a bit before our entry. From what I understand, the show was completely sold out. It was the first dedicated exhibit in France since 1999. There were 115 works from the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection, both in WA DC, the Tate in London, and from private collections, including Rothko's private family collection. 

First off this building, instantly recognizable as a design by Frank Gehry, is stunning! 

The exhibit was spread throughout the LV building and was organized in chronological order, starting with paintings from the 1930's including a self-portrait and other portraits. I had never seen any of his very early art so it was surprising!

In the early 40's he decided to move to abstraction and surrealism because he thought he wasn't good at figures. 

By the mid to late 40's he was fully into the multi-forms of color he is known for. 

Over the course of the 11 galleries you could really see his progression through shapes and colors. I was excited to see the entire Tate Gallery collection from its dedicated "Rothko room". I've seen these in London multiple times and the deep reds are just so striking!

But I hadn't seen the Phillips Collection's pieces so to see that collection was awesome, especially as you could really compare the works with different years, etc. 

One of the last rooms had a selection of his very dark paintings paired with sculpturist Giacometti’s tall figures. Such a fantastic combination!

I find his work very powerful; the color always feels like it is saturating my eyes & filling my head. Rothko felt that color could communicate emotions like fear, joy, and depression and I'd add wonder to that list. That is what I felt the first time I saw one of his pieces and it's what I still generally feel. I was very happy to have made it to this. 

We also had a wonderful visit to the YSL museum one morning. From 1974 to 2002 this mansion was the fashion house of Yves Saint Laurent. In 2017 the haute couture HQ was reopened as a museum to give the public an opportunity to explore the designer's history and creations. 

Entering the mansion, we were invited up the beautiful staircase and into the designer's reception room where once clients were met; now filled with lots of his small sketches, photos, and paintings. From here we followed the progression into the special exhibit called Sheer: The diaphanous creations of Yves Saint Laurent which was a multi-space collection of his work exploring different ideas and examples of the theme.

The first gallery held the obvious; creations with lace, tuile, organza, and other sheer fabrics. Stunning and intricate work, also daring and revealing silhouettes including the first "see-through" blouse he created in 1968.

We continued upstairs to another gallery filled with beautiful dresses made of soft flowy fabrics. And into the dressmaking rooms where patterns were traced and transparency is showcased by the detailed stitching of these works of art.  

Pieces by other artists, such as Anne Bourse, Man Ray, and Picabia were also on exhibit throughout the mansion echoing the "sheer" theme. The final examples were some incredible wedding dresses. 

The museum, with it's collection of 5,000 garments and 15,000 accessories, most chosen personally by YSL for the museum, is meant to be mostly a rotating stage for special themed exhibits, which is great as you will always have something new to explore. There are some rooms in the mansion that seem to be permanent like the reception, a small room with a film about his life, and his studio, which was just amazing to walk through. 

The whole experience was highly enjoyable!

After all of that art, we needed culture of a different kind one afternoon. You might think that spending a day at the Hôtel de Crillon spa can't be compared to going to a museum, but this 18th-century palace, right across from the Place de la Concorde, has so much history that I beg to differ.  

While swimming in the beautiful indoor lap pool with its gold-tiled bottom you can think about how King Louis XV commissioned the building in 1758. And while relaxing is a cozy robe while sipping champagne you can image the finished palace being purchased by the Crillon family 1788. 

And while enjoying a decadent massage you can think about when the home was confiscated in 1791 during the French Revolution and was lived in by King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette! 

By the way if you are looking to treat yourself I highly recommend the spa at the Crillon, a stunning Rosewood property. 

All photos of this trip to Paris here. 

Other post from this trip:

36 Hours in Luxembourg

Paris For Free

Trip date: September 2022

Since Covid, I had only been back to Paris for a quick 24 hours in Dec 2021. This time I was looking forward to spending a full week in the city before venturing off to other French destinations. 

But France being obsessed with strikes, did not make it easy for me to get there! They were having a one-day air traffic control strike; guess which day! Originally I had booked a business class flight on Cordor which connected in Frankfurt on Lufthansa to CDG. Cancelled. 

I was automatically rebooked in business on Delta transferring in Amsterdam. Cancelled.

I am not exaggerating when I say I spent HOURS (6 to be exact) on the phone with all three airlines trying to get a flight. Each of course said only the other could do it. I ended up having to find my own flight (it had to be in air to CDG the day before to get around the strike rules) and finally got Delta to book it. 

Seattle to Minneapolis in a middle economy seat (grrr), then MSP to CDG in DeltaOne Business, which sounds great but it was an older plane and the layout was not very good. The tvs in each "pod" face almost face each other and there is no privacy partition. Oh well, any lie flat bed is better than no lie flat and the food and service were better than expected. And the Delta Lounge at SeaTac is huge and fantastic!

This new flight got in at 7am, much earlier than my planned arrival at my friend Forest's, so another friend invited me to come over for breakfast and to take a nap and a shower. Very nice of her and a great little visit with one of her daughters and her hubby. 

Forest had a lot planned for us and luckily much of it was going to be free because I was there during Les Journées Du Patrimoine. The 3rd weekend of each September is Paris' "Heritage Days" where the city gives access to buildings and monuments that are usually closed to the public; mark your calendars! Additionally many sites and museums grant free access during this time. And of course, Paris has a lot of museums and interesting sites that are always free. Here are all the places we were able to hit up:

Institute Giacometti- The artist's studio was relocated from its original location into this stunning art deco apartment in Montparnasse. The intimate space houses some of Giacometti's work including sculpture, sketches, and books. It's a lovely spot!

Fondation Cartier- Also in Montparnasse, but in a large modern building, we explored the works of Australian contemporary artist Sally Gabori. Neither of us were familiar with her but were wowed by the colorful, large format paintings. I found it fascinating that she only started painting in 2005, at the age of eighty, and passed away in 2015 having achieved international attention and respect for her artistic ability! 

Musee Zadkine- This was the home and workshop of Russian sculpture Ossip Zadkine until he passed away in 1967. It's near the Jardin du Luxembourg, tucked back off the main street. There are about 400 pieces of his work, both inside and out in the garden. This was also an artist I wasn't familiar with and it was really nice to explore his work.

Saint Sulpice Church- We joined a free lecture on the gnomon. Built in the early 1700s, this obelisk works like a sundial and indicates the date of Easter. There is a small hole in one of the stained glass windows that the sun streams through, a line of light is cast on the meridian running along the floor and then up to the brass ball on top. It's pretty interesting! And the church itself is lovely to stroll through. 

Museum of Pixie- In Saint-Germain-des-pres there is an adorable shop called Pixie & Cie. I had read about the "toy store" years ago in Vanity Fair but had never had a chance to check it out. Upstairs is a museum of thousands of hand-made toy figurines living their best lives. Tiny apartment windows give you glimpses of their home life, others are performing in the symphony, some in the circus. There is a whole wall of figures dressed in haute couture from YSL, Jean Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel, etc. Other vignettes display beloved Parisian character Tintin as well as Asterix, Babar, and the Smurfs. The figurines range in price from $60-1000 and are intended for collectors vs children. It's all charming!

While in this area we also stumbled upon Minima Gallery which had some incredible miniature books and artwork and also Gallery Seine 55 which just happened to have a Klee, which when we asked about the owner told us the story on how he came to acquire it. You never know what you'll see while wandering in the 6th; it's a gem!

Jardin du Luxembourg Greenhouses- We arrived quite early in the morning for this rare opportunity to explore the greenhouses of the city's famed park. So early in fact that it was hard to figure out where the line was as there were only a few other people queued. But that would change as the morning went on so we were very happy to be some of the first inside.

The greenhouses have many gorgeous plants from around the world but the piece des les resistance is a house just for the collection of over 13,000 orchid plants! The gardeners are known for their ancient hybrids that they have been growing for years; the oldest plant being from 1885. It's a 137 year old orchid! This plant has survived since before WWI! It's crazy!!

The greenhouses are also the site of a conservatory orchard of 100's of varieties of apples and pears, again some of them created 100+ years ago. 

Musee Carnavalet- The Museum of the History of Paris, originally opened in 1880, use to be only in French, no subtitles of any kind. Unfortunately my French is near nonexistent so I had never been. Then the city closed the museum for 5 years giving it a major overhaul and just reopened in May of 2021. It now has not only multiple language options on almost all the pieces, but modern digital displays as well. It's an incredible collection that takes you on a chronological tour of the artifacts, sculptures, paintings, and design of Paris from 9600 BCE to the 21st century. 

The two connected mansions that house the museum also have an absolutely charming terrace where we sat after with a glass of wine and discussed the collections. I'd add this to your do-not-miss list!

Maison de Victor Hugo- In a corner of the beautiful Place de Vosges, the French writer Victor Hugo lived for about 10 years. It was in this mansion where he wrote Les Misérables. It's a beautiful home, and an interesting peek around at the writer's furnishings. I just love touring through the old haunts of famous people. Especially when it's free!

That's a lot of free stuff to see in my opinion! And this is just a taste of what Paris has to offer gratuit, there are literally hundreds of things you can explore. The city website has some excellent information even if you aren't there during Heritage Days.

All Paris photos here.

Other posts from this trip:

Paris by the Numbers 

(Michelin) Stars in Paris

36 Hours in Marseille

Exploring Corsica

Last Call London!

Trip date: October 2016

My absolutely over-the-top awesome trip was coming to an end but not without one last fun-packed day. We had planned a group brunch at Mac & Wild with some local friends. This place is delicious! Forest described the concept as "gun to table" and that is spot on. In fact each day the menu clearly states who shot the game and from where, as well as which farms provided the beef and which breed it was.

The restaurant was really loud which made it difficult to catch up, but the food was excellent. We shared haggis mac and cheese for the table, and then while the others all ordered the famed burger (1 venison patty, 1 beef patty) I opted for the Sunday roast. The platter was amazing, with slices of rare venison nestled inside a huge popover, a boat of gravy, and roasted vegetables. The popover was bit drier than I like but overall it was a good roast!

Forest and I said goodbye to our friends, grabbed an Uber and headed to the Bethnal Green area. It was the last day of London Cocktail Week and we were up for one last cocktail crawl. This neighborhood is out there a bit but it is kind of an up-and-coming area and fun to check out. Our first stop was the East London Liquor Company.

As the name implies, they are distilling their own spirits and serving up cocktails made with them. I wasn't interested in the LCW drink so I chose one with their gin, Lillet, and violet. The cocktail was ok, too heavy on the violet for me, but neither of us were blown away by the drinks or the service here. And when we stopped into the bottle shop to inquire about a few things on the shelves, the woman working knew absolutely nothing about the products.

We enjoyed a nice 20-minute walk to our next destination, Satan's Whiskers. This may have been one of my favorite bars on this trip! Our bartender Dan was excellent; he made fantastic drinks while chatting with us about our visit, and telling us a bit about the area, and his thoughts on other bars in London. The atmosphere is awesome, just big enough as not to be tiny, cool decor with requisite taxidermy, and super friendly staff. And delicious drinks! We started with their LCW daiquiri special which was delicious using Bacardi 8 yr rum.

This area probably isn't one that most people visiting London will be in, but if you find yourself near, do yourself a favor and get into this bar!

From here we headed a few blocks away towards the overhead train tracks and to the row of bars and restaurants housed underneath, known as Paradise Row. One of them is Sager & Wilde, a two-level bar with a cozy "living room" upstairs, that is dimly lit and very industrial feeling.

The cocktail menu here is quite unique; I started with a mezcal drink made with burnt and clarified milk, bay leaf, caramel, cinnamon, and lemon.

For round two we each ordered a different expression from their Old Fashioned menu; mine contained olive oil while Forest's had toasted coconut. Again, if you happen to be in this interesting area of London, I'd absolutely recommend checking out Sager & Wilde (they looked to have some tasty food as well).

We had our Uber drop us off back in our 'hood at Percy & Founders for one last martini. And with that our awesome time in London, partaking in both the World's 50 Best Bar awards and London Cocktail Week wrapped up.

The next morning I took an Uber to Paddington Station, just 10 minutes away,  where I boarded the Heathrow Express train to the airport. Nothing could have been easier or nicer than using this service. I just wish I would have done it on the way in also! I booked my ticket online, found the track easily at the station, and boarded the very nice train (they run every 15 minutes) for my 15-minute ride to Heathrow. No stops, no crowded tube, quiet and clean.

At Heathrow the train has a special platform with dedicated lifts up to the departure floor. Seriously, this is the only way to go!

I checked in for my flight, was invited to go through Fast Track security since I was flying business class, and as I was the only one in the queue was crazy quick and easy! After a little duty-free shopping, I checked into The Clubhouse that Delta shares with Virgin. Now this was a serious lounge. Table service, both a regular menu and also a deli with smoked salmon, sliced meats, cheeses, yogurts, etc. The lounge is one of the nicest I have been in with a spa, library, showers, quiet rooms, lovely bar, etc.

I chose a few things from the deli, ordered a mimosa, and some coffee, and caught up on some journaling. The only thing not great about The Clubhouse is that the location was a good 15+ minute walk to my gate, where I was the first to board. Gotta have time for a glass of Duetz before take off!

Shortly after take off, lunch was served and I was happy to see there was a choice of Indian food! Oh London! And unlike most airline meals, this one was really good!

Unfortunately the same could not be said for my seat whose lie-flat feature was broken which I found out when I went to take a nap. Fortunately the nice gentleman sitting behind me traded seats with me as he said he was going to work the entire time. Classy.

A few hours later I woke up to a snack service of salad and Cubano sandwich, also very good.

And then the sights of home came into view. Thank you London for such a super fun holiday!

All London photos here.

All posts from this trip:
World's 50 Best Bars 2016
Let's London Cocktail Week
London Delivers
From Brunch to Bed in Londontown

World's 50 Best Bars 2016

Trip date: October 2016

I've been on the voting panel for the World's 50 Best Bars for the last couple of years. They invite people who love cocktails and have the opportunity to travel internationally often, as the yearly vote must include at least two international bars. Seems I fit that bill.

Each October, the awards are handed out in London. I hadn't had a chance to go in the past so this year I made plans to attend the event with my bff Forest who is also on the panel. I hadn't been to London since 2011, and somehow she and I had never been there together.

I cashed in some miles and booked a nonstop, business class ticket. At SeaTac I stopped in the Butter Salon (edited to add that this is a Seattle-based company with a British owner, so very fitting!) and had my nails done before checking into Delta's Lounge. This lounge is fine -complimentary cocktails and wine, a small buffet of salads, soups, and Beecher's mac and cheese- but nothing like I would experience on my way home from London.

Once onboard, I settled in with a glass of Deutz Champagne. Soon after takeoff I enjoyed a very good three-course dinner of smoked salmon with farro served with a Mâcon Chardonnay, lamb pavé with roasted mushrooms served with a Medoc, and a nice little cheese plate served with Cognac.

After dinner I put my seat in the lay-flat position and went to bed. I slept so well that I missed the morning breakfast service and woke up to the site of Windsor Castle outside my window!

I was able to use the priority customs line at Heathrow and soon had my bag and was on the train into town and to meet Forest. We had rented this Airbnb in the awesome area of Fitzrovia. We were steps from Oxford Street, Soho, Picadilly, etc.

Besides being in town for the awards, London Cocktail Week was also happening (more on that here). It was going to be a boozy and fun filled week for sure!

The awards were the very next evening; that day we started at The Marylebone Bar. Their Cocktail Week drink, the Marmagrita with orange infused tequila, triple sec, pink grapefruit, and marmalade sounded like a good eyeopener! It was in fact a tad too tart but the bar was super cute and their drink menu featuring all house infusions sounded great!

We had reservations for lunch at Trishna, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, which was just a short walk away. The restaurant is quite small and the service was absolutely stellar. We were thrilled to see Spanish style gintonics on their menu and promptly ordered one each; Gin Mare gin, green olives, and rosemary for me, Forest's with West Winds Cutlass gin and green pepper slices.

We decided to go with the lunch tasting menu which is £35.00 for 4-courses. We skipped the wine pairings but ordered a glass of white half way through. The food was delicious and SPICY; chat with potato, chickpea, tamarind and yogurt then quail pepper fry, followed by lamb with curry and coconut served with potatoes, dahl, flat bread, and rice. This was after addictive papadums served with chutney and before a lovely bread pudding! There was entirely too much food, we were absolutely stuffed when we left.

We walked off about two bites by heading to Selfridge's for a little shopping. As we were browsing we saw signs for Forest on the Roof. After some confusion on how to get there, we finally found the elevator that went straight up and grabbed a seat outside for some lovely views of the city and a glass of wine.

It was a quick walk home and the weather was just perfectly autumnal! We got ready for the big event and grabbed an uber to the award's venue Christ Church Spitalfields.

The awards party was an absolute blast! There were incredibly good cocktails being made, delicious little bites of food being passed, and a huge room of some of the most talented bartenders in the world! It was so nice running into folks I have met in the past from Toronto, Copenhagen, Paris, San Francisco, and New York! And of course there was the big countdown of the 50 Best Bars, many of them I have been lucky enough to drink at.

In the end, New York's Dead Rabbit came in 1st, a result I absolutely agree with! Big congrats to everyone who made the list; it's an impressive one. Full results are here.

Cheers!

All London photos here.

Other posts from this trip:
Let's London Cocktail Week
London Delivers
From Brunch to Bed in Londontown
Last Call London

Intro to Rio

Trip date: December 2015

Everyone is talking about Rio de Janeiro and the Olympics. Not all of it is good. But I found it to be an amazingly beautiful city when I was there during my 12th annual New Year's Eve trip.

My official hashtag last year was #FuckOff2015, life had been a bit of a bitch, and I was looking forward to my vacation. I decided to splurge and bought a business class roundtrip ticket, I'm a fan of the lay flat bed! This was my "Happy Birthday!", "Merry Christmas!", "Happy New Year!", #FuckOff2015!,  present to myself. I'm a good shopper if I do say so.

On Christmas Eve I checked in at SeaTac's Delta Lounge, grabbed an espresso and a bagel and ordered a mimosa, only to be told that they were $8. Not expensive mind you, but really? I just doled out $$$ on a business class ticket and you can't give me a complimentary mimosa made with prosecco? Lame.

I boarded the plane and got settled in my lay flat chair/bed complete with Westin down pillow and Heavenly comforter for my first leg to Atlanta. I ordered a glass of champagne only to be told that they don't stock bubbles on domestic flights. Really? It was Christmas Eve and I heard at least half of the cabin ask for a glass.

Bloody Mary in hand (made with gin please) I settled in to read my magazines only to find out that none of the overhead lights worked, not just mine- everyone's! So you don't always get what you pay for, and Delta I'm looking at you!

My next leg from Atlanta to Rio was much better with even bigger lay flat spaces, champagne, multi-course meal, Tumi bag filled with nice products, etc.

First world (and class) bitching over let's talk about Rio!!!

I went to bed after dinner and woke up at 9am on Christmas day to the plane landing amidst the sprawling city. My friend Kate had landed just a bit earlier from Geneva and was waiting for me in the terminal. We grabbed a cab to our hotel, The Sol Ipanema right on Ipanema beach, for R$76 or about $24. They had Kate and my large double room ready, so we dropped our bags, changed into swimsuits and headed upstairs to the rooftop bar and pool.

The rooftop area is very small but it has amazing views of the entire length of the beach as well as the hills of the Vidigal favela. Caipirinhas acquired, we soaked up the sun and snoozed off the jet lag. Forest and Thibault arrived not long after and the four of us spent an amazing day, never leaving the rooftop!

As it was Christmas, I had packed a special bottle of bubbles. We all brought little presents for each other and had a really wonderful time toasting and unwrapping gifts. We swam and drank and watched the beach fill up with people as the day went on. It was absolutely fantastic!

We witnessed our first Rio sunset, which is quite possibly the most stunning sunset I've ever seen. It was chased by a rising full moon under who's glow we continued to swim.

Finally we were spent! Tired from swimming and playing and drinking all day we had a not-so-memorable dinner in the hotel's restaurant, an Italian-themed place! Sometimes it just doesn't matter.

The next morning we had a very good breakfast which was included in our hotel price. We were introduced to delicious watermelon juice and Pão de queijo, which are basically the national snack of cheese balls similar to gougéres (but gluten free).

After breakfast we headed off to find a bank to get cash, it is very important to only use official bank machines that are inside of banks for cash withdrawls. There is the very real issue of ATM fraud and even being careful throughout my trip, my card was still compromised. Luckily my bank refunded me fully.

We would be flying to Argentina later that night so we packed up and stored our bags for the day with our hotel. They also outfitted us with beach chairs, towels, and umbrellas- again all included in the room rate. As we were getting settled on the beach at Post 9, a local man came over and showed us how to set up our umbrella through our beach bag handles, securing it against thieves. We thought he was doing this for tips but when Forest handed him a dollar he waived her off. Turns out he worked at the barracas (small stands that rent chairs and umbrellas as well as sell drinks and food) that ran the area we sat in.

Being on the beach in Ipanema was amazing. There was so much people watching that I couldn't get past the first page of the book I had brought. Young, old, fit, not-so-fit. Every woman, no matter what shape or age, wearing the famous "dental floss" thong bikini. That was not always so great to see, but everyone was having a ball so who gives a shit?

We ordered caipis and coconuts from our barracas. We watched the numerous walking venders who sold everything from bikins to mate. The people next to me were very excited about what they were getting to eat so I asked them what it was. Warm bread stuffed with ground beef and cheese, a snack called esfihas, and it was delicious!

After a few hours we headed back up to our rooftop pool for a swim and some shade. We got cleaned up and headed to dinner at Garota where we had incredible "grill it yourself" steak complete with the traditional Brazilian accompaniments of rice, french fries, farofa (toasted cassava flour), and molho à campanha which is a Brazilian salsa of sorts.

We caught the tail end of the sunset as we headed back to the hotel and grabbed a taxi to the airport for our flight to Iguazu. We'd be back in four days to explore the city more in-depth and I couldn't wait!

All Rio photos here