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Dreaming of a trip to Paris or just a lover of French cuisine, history, art, architecture and the list can go on and on, here is your one stop place for everything

Also born on April 26, Marie de Medici was the Florentine woman who would become Queen and regent. Born in 1575, she wou...
27/04/2026

Also born on April 26, Marie de Medici was the Florentine woman who would become Queen and regent. Born in 1575, she would be the second wife of King Henri IV, the ever-randy noble. Her coronation on May 13, 1610, the day before her husband’s death, when she would be named Regent for her young son Louis XIII.

The large portrait painting was done in 1718 by Frans Pourbus, who used the priceless lapis lazuli pigment to create her regal robe. This fantastic painting was once hung in what is now known as the Galerie d’Apollon of the Louvre, where Henri IV had hung his vast collection of royal portraits. A fire would rage through and destroy the Galerie in 1661 and all the portraits, except this one.

The life of Marie de Medicis is forever immortalized on the walls of the Louvre, well, the life she wanted us all to know. After the death of her husband, Henri IV, she had a palace built that would remind her of her family home in Florence.

The Palais du Luxembourg would be her oasis, where she could surround herself with all the things she loved, including art. In 1621, she commissioned Peter Paul Rubens to create four paintings telling the story of her life to fill the walls of her palace. She loved them so much that she asked him to create 19 more. Painting #5 of the series depicts her birth on April 26, 1575.

In the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg, la Fontaine Médicis is a peaceful spot just steps away from the busy boulevards. Marie created it to remind her of the grottos she grew up with in Florence; however, it is much different now than how it appeared in her day. First, it was not there; it was more in the middle of the street just behind it (Rue de Medici). It was moved when Haussmann restructured the streets of Paris.

The original fountain was just the structure itself, and the two lovely allegories at the top; all other statues were added over time. The center statues Polyphemus Surprising Acis and Galatea by Auguste Ottin were added in 1866. Anytime in Paris, a few hours are spent in one of the iconic green Luxembourg chairs with a good book and a small picnic.

Listen to the entire history of the fountain in ep 11 of Paris in Bleu Blonde Rouge

Marie de Medici, IM Pei, Jean II le Bon, a few others were also born on April 26, but a favorite is, of course, Eugene D...
26/04/2026

Marie de Medici, IM Pei, Jean II le Bon, a few others were also born on April 26, but a favorite is, of course, Eugene Delacroix.

Born in 1798 as the Revolution rolled through Paris it would be another Revolution 32 years later he would be rembered for.

As the most recognized painting by the Romantic master, is La Liberté Guidant le people le 28 Juillet 1830. Painted in 1830, it commemorates the Paris uprising of 1830, known as the Trois Glorieuses, that ousted Charles X.

Liberty in the center is wearing the Phrygian cap, worn by Marianne the symbol of the French Republic. With her right hand, she is holding the tricolor flag of France that is once again returned, and in her left a bayonetted gun. Her bare chest signifies the birth of democracy and her free-flowing dress conveys her movement as she climbs over the cobblestone barricades calling for all to stand up and fight.

Using the barricade as a pedestal, her movement evokes that of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, although discovered long after Delacroix painted this masterpiece. Surrounding her are the fighters from all corners of Paris. A man in a top hat from the upper crust fights alongside a young student in a bicorne hat and at the bottom of the painting a dead man in his nightshirt and a Swiss guard.

In the top right of the photo, the towers of Notre Dame rise from the smoke with a small tricolor flying in the wind. Exhibited at the Salon of 1831 it was purchased by the French state later in the year to be hung in the Musée du Luxembourg but was returned to Delacroix in 1839, as the theme was deemed too controversial.

By 1848, Louis-Philippe was the next to go and the painting returned, eventually making it to the Louvre in 1875 where it hangs to this day and has just returned from a 7-month restoration and the results are stunning!

Past restorations in 1921 & 1949 added touches the artist hadn’t intended and were removed along with many layers of varnish. For a painting almost 200 years old it was in remarkable condition.

Four years ago today, it was the one thing I knew I would have to face, but I never wanted that day to come. It would be...
24/04/2026

Four years ago today, it was the one thing I knew I would have to face, but I never wanted that day to come. It would be a life without my best friend, role model, and biggest supporter, my grandma. On April 24, 2022, at 99 years, 4 months, 19 days, she took her last breath.

She was there when we were little, when my mom needed to work, when we left our father, and I left my marriage; she was there with open arms. She has always been there, and it is a void I will never be able to fill.

We discussed the day and what life would be like after she passed. I hated to talk about it, but now I am so glad we did. She always told me I would be ok because she ensured I would be.

In the last few months, she has slept a lot and even stopped eating chocolate. I didn’t want to see her living like that, so before I left for Paris, I told her it was okay; she didn’t have to hang on anymore. A month later, she was gone.

I wasn’t with her when she left, at least not physically; I was in Paris, a place she also loved. We had talked about having some of her ashes brought with me to Paris, and I treasure the little bit of her I can have with me each day. Over the last four years, in some of the most trying of moments, I have held her in my hand.

Months of purging my former life, which was also in her house and surrounded me, were very hard. Letting go of things she wanted me to have was hard, and leaving her home to move across the world was the hardest.

On this day 4 years ago, when my mom asked me to call her, I knew she was gone, and I waited until I was back in my apartment to get the news. I just wanted a few more minutes to realize I still had her in this world.

A few hours later, I walked along the Seine with very dark glasses on. My grandpa always said he wanted to come back as a seagull, and just before me were two seagulls flying close together.

While I would give anything to have one more conversation with her, I can feel her with me every second of the day.

I remember hours spent in the car going to the beach house and her singing this song, and it always reminds me of her ❤️

The beautiful set of sapphires were just three of the pieces taken 6 months ago in the Louvre jewel theft. Here is a lit...
23/04/2026

The beautiful set of sapphires were just three of the pieces taken 6 months ago in the Louvre jewel theft. Here is a little more of the history behind the jewels.

Marie-Amélie de Bourbon-Siciles was born on April 26, 1782, in the Kingdom of Naples. She was one of the 18 children of King Ferdinand of Naples and Queen Marie-Caroline of Austria, sister of Marie Antoinette. On November 28, 1809, she married Louis-Philippe, duc d’Orleans and King of France from 1830-1848.

In 1821, Louis-Philippe purchased a set of sapphire jewelry from Hortense, daughter of Josephine de Beauharnais and Queen of Holland. Napoleon adopted Hortense and her brother and raised them as his own and gave her hand in marriage to his brother Louis Napoleon, she wasn’t so thrilled with this idea.

Hortense acquired many jewels through all branches of her family, which stayed in the family until purchased by Louis-Philippe for 160,000 francs. A gift to his wife, Queen Marie-Amélie, who had the settings changed, including reducing the size of the tiara. The jewels spent the next century in the Orleans family until 1985, when they were sold to the Louvre.

The French crown jewel collection has changed many times since in four hundred years. In 1525, François Ier began to add to it before heading to be imprisoned in Spain. During the Revolution in 1792, much of the collection was stolen, including the Hope diamond, and luckily, all were recovered. On May 12, 1887, an auction was held selling off thousands of gems to fund the country.

Forty-four sapphires surrounded by more than 2,500 diamonds in six pieces glisten in the light. The Ceylon sapphires were not heated, so the blue is a tad lighter than the deep sapphires you see in current jewelry.

That is until Sunday, October 19, 2025, the thieves took the tiara, necklace and earrings, but lef the three brooches behind and another set of earrings.

In 1836, artist Louis Hersent painted the queen wearing many pieces, including a tiara far larger than the one on display by her descendants.

On April 21, 1770, Marie Antoinette left her life behind in Austria and headed to France, leaving one aristocratic world...
22/04/2026

On April 21, 1770, Marie Antoinette left her life behind in Austria and headed to France, leaving one aristocratic world behind for another. Following the Seven Years’ War, Austria and France finally united to fight Great Britain and Prussia. To seal the deal, Empress Maria Theresa offered Louis XV her daughter’s hand in marriage to his grandson, the Dauphin, and future Louis XVI.

Although Louis XV had a few stipulations, she must speak French, and he was concerned about her style, teeth, and hair. Dispatching Father Vermond to Vienna to work with the 14-year-old future queen, it was announced in February that she would marry the heir to the French throne. On April 17, she renounced any ties to the Austrian throne, just two days before her marriage by proxy. In the early morning of April 21, she left her family, home, and the life she had behind and ventured towards France.

On May 7, after two weeks of traveling, Marie Antoinette and her procession arrived in the city of Kehl, Germany. Sitting opposite Strasbourg, separated by the Rhine, was the perfect place to mark the exchange. Dating back to the Ancien Régime of the 15th c, the surrender of the wife had to be a frightening moment for the teenager.

In the center of the Rhine, on the Ile aux Epis, a small wooden hut was built for the ceremony. As she stepped inside, she was leaving her former life behind. Once inside, she removed all her clothes, jewelry, and anything else she had brought with her, then redressed in a French gown and jewelry. Once she emerged through the door, she looked towards the future as a wife and future queen.

The fate of Marie Antoinette is well known, filled with facts and falsehoods. Beloved initially, she would become hated and a symbol of the Revolution. The very thing that Louis XV was concerned with and what the court transformed her into is also what took her down. Clothes, jewels, wigs, and the excess of her life. The Conciergerie held a fantastic exhibit years ago on the image of the fated queen whose influence can still be seen over 250 years later.

It was 6 months ago, on October 19, 2025, on a Sunday morning in Paris, that a brazen heist of the French Crown jewels s...
21/04/2026

It was 6 months ago, on October 19, 2025, on a Sunday morning in Paris, that a brazen heist of the French Crown jewels struck the Musée du Louvre.

In this week’s episode of the Paris in Bleu Blonde Rouge podcast, we go deep into the details of the theft, the history of the stolen jewels, where they are in the investigation, and what has changed at the Louvre.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and Buzzsprout, out now.

On April 18, 1946, Christian Dior was walking down the Rue Saint Honoré and stumbled upon a cast-iron star at the edge o...
17/04/2026

On April 18, 1946, Christian Dior was walking down the Rue Saint Honoré and stumbled upon a cast-iron star at the edge of the sidewalk.

During WWII, Dior worked for the Lucien Lelong fashion house alongside Pierre Balmain, negotiating the Occupation years in Paris. Coming out of the fog of war and at a crossroad, Dior ran into a childhood friend, Georges Vigouroux, who was working at the Philippe & Gaston fashion house.

Dior’s old chum told him they were looking for a new designer. Dior pushed it off. Over the next few weeks, there were two more chance encounters, and Dior finally opened to the idea of meeting with the owner, Marcel Boussac.

Christian Dior was very superstitious. In 1919, he was told by a fortune teller that “Women are lucky for you, and through them you will achieve success”.

On a lovely Thursday morning in Paris, Christian Dior walked along the Rue Saint-Honoré and came upon a star; he knew it was a sign. Dior didn’t want to work for another house; he wanted his own label under his name. Finding the star gave him the push he needed. Dior asked Boussac to back himself and his own label, and on October 8, 1946, the House of Dior was founded.

A few short months later, the New Look would take the fashion world by storm, and in just 11 short years, Dior would revolutionize fashion and build an empire.

Christian Dior would keep that cast-iron star in his pocket, along with other lucky charms, including two hearts, a gold medallion, and, always, a sprig of lily of the valley.

To this day, both the star and the lily remain essential elements in Dior’s collections.

When you visit the Galerie Dior museum in Paris, a replica of the star can be found at the start of the exhibition dedicated to his life.

Do you have a lucky charm? Or maybe it’s a seagull that pops up just when you need one and know that your precious guardian angels are nearby.

Seven years ago today, April 15, 2019, at 6:18 pm, a spark ignited and almost destroyed the Cathedral Notre Dame de Par...
15/04/2026

Seven years ago today, April 15, 2019, at 6:18 pm, a spark ignited and almost destroyed the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris.
Inside the cathedral, the Holy Monday mass had just begun when a fire broke out in the roof of Notre Dame de Paris. For the next 9 hours, the Paris firefighters fought to save the cathedral.
When the fire struck, the cathedral was just about to begin a restoration on the 19th-century spire. In a stroke of luck, the 16 statues lining the roof were removed on April 11 for restoration, and the scaffolding was built that would soon become a glowing web of melted metal.

At 6:18 p.m., in the security office, the alarm rang with the code ZDA-110-3-15-1 and the message “fire roof nave sacristy”.

At 6:19 p.m., Security makes their way to the sacristy roof and reports back that they didn’t see any fire. The on-site manager visits the security room and asks the agent to contact his boss to find out what the alarm code means.

At 6:23 p.m., the fire alarm inside the cathedral sounded, prompting an evacuation. The agent tries to reach his manager, but there is no answer, and he left a message.

6:32 p.m. The manager calls his agent back and will look in the book to find out the meaning of the code.

Inside the cathedral, the crowd returns.

6:43 p.m., the security manager calls and tells the agent to go to the cathedral’s roof.

6:45 p.m., the alarm sounds once again inside, and the cathedral is evacuated for the last time.

6:48 p.m., Security climbs the 300 steps to reach the nave and finds the fire burning on the SE side of the transept.

6:51 p.m., the call finally went out to the fire department.

At 6:55 p.m., the first black smoke plumes could be seen from below the spire.

At 7:03 p.m., the first station is on site.

7:30 p.m. More than 200 firefighters & 30 machines on site, including the fire boats on the Seine.

At 7:40 p.m., the fire is now burning the spire from the inside.

Listen to this week’s newest episode of Paris in Blue Blonde Rouge for all the details and the possible causes and location of the fire.

And check out my newest YouTube video and visit the cathedral today.

It was exactly 54 years ago this week that my grandparents first visited Paris. Arriving on April 10, 1972, they spent f...
14/04/2026

It was exactly 54 years ago this week that my grandparents first visited Paris.

Arriving on April 10, 1972, they spent five very busy days seeing all the major sights. As my grandpa always did, he woke up very early and strolled the streets, camera in hand, looking for those hidden Paris treasures.

Each morning, he started at a cafe with a coffee and “very good French bread” and filled in his daily journals on what he saw and where they went.

Once he returned home, and after the photos were developed, he added a little note from that moment and the date, something I treasure to this day.

On the same day, 54 years later, and after both my grandparents had passed, I headed out early, just like he did. With a few of his photos in hand, I returned to the exact spot by the Louvre, in the Jardin des Tuileries, and below the Obelisk of the Place de la Concorde, and snapped my own photos with his.

Walking in the cool spring air, not another person in sight, I held the photos to my heart for a minute and walked the center of the grand alle of the Tuileries with him.

Opening Wednesday, April 15, at the Musée du Louvre is a fascinating exhibition that brings together two sculptors who l...
14/04/2026

Opening Wednesday, April 15, at the Musée du Louvre is a fascinating exhibition that brings together two sculptors who lived more than 350 years apart: Michelangelo & Rodin, Living Bodies.

I was able to get a sneak peek and visit the beauty before the crowds arrived.

The exhibit brings together more than 200 sculptures in marble, bronze & plaster as well as drawings, sketches, and reproductions. As soon as you enter, you are met by the two masters’ interpretation of the human form. The Rebel Slave and Dying Slave by Michelangelo, alongside Rodin’s Adam, The Age of Air, and Jean d’Aire. The twisted bodies of the Rebel Slave and Rodin’s Adam have a secret conversation, or maybe just dancing.

In March 1876, Rodin visited Florence and the funeral chapel of Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and was overwhelmed by the beauty he saw there.

Rodin wrote to his partner Rose Beuret: “All I have seen, photographed, or in plaster, gave no true impression of the San Lorenzo sacristy. The tombs must be seen in profile, in three-quarter view.” Rodin ceaselessly drew these works, seeking to divine the secrets of his predecessor, whom he called ‘the magician.

The exhibit places drawings by Michelangelo and Rodin side by side, along with Rodin’s sculptures and recreations of Michelangelo’s works by other artists. Make sure you look closely at each and every one.

Two artists who mastered every detail of the human body. One just has to see Michelangelo’s David in Florence and Rodin’s Hand of God to know that they were two truly gifted sculptors and men who saw the beauty in life.

Exhibit opens to the public on Wednesday, April 15, and runs to July 20 in the Hall Napoleon

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