Around Town - Moncler Comes To Rodeo Drive

Summer has finally arrived in Beverly Hills
but with a new neighbor like this next door
I feel as though I should be expecting arctic temperatures

 Moncler makes magnificent winter wear

but it is so strange to see such heavy parkas here in Beverly Hills in high summer

But Autumn is in the air at Beladora
and at ELLE and InStyle magazines

 I love this blue and green enamel flower brooch on this Mod patterned suit in this month's ELLE

 

Blue and Green Enamel Flower Brooch with Diamonds in 18K

and these antique diamond rings from Beladora 2

on Jessica Biel on the cover of this month's InStyle

Finally, I will have certainly Fall weather to deal with next week when I arrive in Dublin

Here is the weather forecast

Yikes...or rather Brrrrrr!

 Next summer I will plan my vacation in a country whose latitude isn't the same as southern Alaska.

Bringing Back the Savoir Fair of the Airlines

David posted this video ad on his Savoir Faire blog a while ago and I thought it was so cleverly art directed that I'm posting it here.
I've never flown Virgin Atlantic, but now I want to.
Be sure not to miss the ending.

Business As Usual In France

For a while now I've been thinking that I wanted to sneak in a little vacation this month, after all, I've only taken one week off during the last 12 months.  For some reason, this particular Autumn, I've been thinking of travelling to Paris for a little antique shopping and museum going.

But, Paris as the rest of France, is on strike.
This isn't a little greve where the metro shuts down for 6 hours, this is a major strike.

Don't the French do this about once every decade or so?
I understand that a big part what this is about is the raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62.
Yes, that is certainly devastating, for the French.
And as we all know France, the idea if not the actual country, is all about quality of life.
Who wouldn't want to retire to a life of pastis and tarot at their country house at the age of 60?

Last night I had dinner with a group of  friends who travel often.  One was just back from Paris, another from London, and another had just returned from two months in Australia. She raved about how wonderful the quality of life is there. 
So now I'm starting to think to myself, maybe that 20 hour plane ride over the Pacific wouldn't be so bad, if Australia was on the other side of it....
And on that topic, thank you to Faux Fuchsia my favorite Australian blogger for mentioning BHB on her blog. If you are not already reading her blog, you need to start reading it today. As she would say, run don't walk.

If Only - En Vacance à Villeneuve-les-Avignon

Something strange always happens at this time of year...my personal space-time continuum seems to go into warp speed.
I have so much to do to get ready for the Antique and Estate Jewelry Show in Las Vegas, which is coming up in a matter of days, yet my mind keeps lingering on the idea of getting away from it all and relaxing in a peaceful pretty place.

And then there is the matter of the Euro. Will it finally fall enough against the dollar so that I can start planning a summer vacation in France?


Because I would like to visit the Fort Saint Andre in Villeneuve-les-Avignon

Because the history of Avignon is fascinating

and because Vicky Archer posted these enticing photos on her beautiful blog French Essence

which of course I have shamelessly stolen and posted here

Yes I know that wisteria and iris season will be long over by summer, but the green in this garden will still evoke a serene oasis, the perfect antidote to a busy business life.

OK...enough of the dream...Vicky has already monopolized it at her Mas de Berard which I enjoy vicariously through her blog...and back to the reality of current projects at Beladora.

Happy To Be Home For The Holidays

Another reason why I'm happy to be home for the holidays

Thousands freed from Channel Tunnel after trains fail

Where to put this story? In the global warming department, in the French hospitality department, or in the let's-turn-everything-over-to-government-run-services department?
More than 2,000 people spent hours trapped inside the Channel Tunnel after five Eurostar trains broke down due to cold weather.

The trains failed as they left the cold air in northern France and entered the warmer tunnel.Some passengers were evacuated via service tunnels to car trains, while others were kept on their trains. Many have faced gruelling 15-hour journeys.

…Lee Godfree, a passenger evacuated from one of the stranded trains, said he and his family had arrived in Folkestone at 0500 GMT, having left Disneyland Paris at 1837 GMT.He said their journey had been a "complete nightmare"."We were without power. We ran out of water, we ran out of food and there was very, very poor communication from the staff," he told the BBC."We lost air conditioning when we lost the power. We had to open the emergency doors ourselves."The evacuation procedure we followed was one that we set down ourselves."

ht/no pasaran

Already Fall

Why is it that every year when the Fall arrives I am shocked, SHOCKED.
How can the Summer be over so soon?

I know that most people love the change of seasons and look forward to that crispness in the air.
But not me.
It is dark when I wake up in the morning, overcast, gray and often damp when I drive to work, heavily air conditioned and dark in my office, and dark when I leave in the evening to drive home.
And I do hate the cold and the overcast and the damp and the dark.

But the change of seasons does make me appreciate the sweet summer vacation that I had, sitting by the pool and reading books, sipping pastis, playing scrabble, admiring the view and chatting about all things great and small in Aix en Provence.

And here are the gratuitous pretty pictures from Provence.

I'm still trying to figure out how I ended up here and not there. A decision here and a decision there and your entire life changes.

Yeah, it's going to be a long winter....

Around Town - A Day At The Musée Granet

On my many trips to France over the last 30 or so years, I've always preferred wandering to shopping. I can find plenty of cute boutiques here in the States, but what I can't find is charming buildings like this and ivy draped gardens like this

But it was really too hot to do much wandering so I stopped into the Musée Granet

to see the Picasso Cezanne exhibit

which I didn't enjoy because I'm not a fan of Picasso.

OK, I think that he was a brilliant artist in terms of his technique

but overcome by his own ego and desire for crass commercialization.

Don't judge me.

So after all that Picasso nonsense I walked through the permanent painting collection.

Lot's of lovely landscapes and powerful portraits

and then I saw this

I hadn't realized that Mannerist masterpiece, Jupiter and Thetis

painted by Ingres when he was only 30 years old

is HUGE.

The canvas takes up an entire wall.

From William Feaver's article Why All Ingres Is Erotic in Art News

Bare-chested, his pink robe draped to one side like a furled curtain, the great big god sits with high, thick clouds wreathing his throne and cushioning his left elbow. He’s in one of his moods. How to arouse him? Thetis the sea nymph is sure she can manage it. Bare-breasted, her sage-green gown elegantly draped around buttock and thigh, she molds herself against the mighty knee and reaches up to twiddle his beard.

I didn't find it particularly erotic, but I did find it absolutely stunning.

Aix en Provence - At The Aquabella

My travel journal continues with my summer sojourn in Aix en Provence
where I stayed at the Aquabella Hotel & Spa which was well situated right in town and easy walking distance to the plane tree lined Cours Mirabeau and winding streets of the old town with its charming maisons de ville dating back to the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries.

My room was just so-so and the entire hotel needed redecoration, but I liked my balcony and my view

And the 14th Century tower that was part of the ancient city walls next to the pool

Like in Spain, the temperature was extraordinarily hot, almost too hot to walk around the town at mid day, but the evenings were lovely.

And I would certainly recommend the hotel to anyone going to Aix but only a top floor room where there is an expansive view of the surrounding hills.

Spain 2009 - Horse Races on Sanlucar Beach

Yes...just a little more about Spain

One of the highlights of my vacation was getting invited to the annual horse races on the beach in Sanlucar, the launching point of both Christopher Columbus and Magellan.

Not that I'm a racing fan, I much prefer jumping, polo and dressage,
but hey, any excuse to party on a beach on a hot summer's night...

Apparently it's an important local event with a long history.

From a Sanlucar website
Sanlúcar is also noted for its horse racing which dates back to 1845 and takes place along a 2,000 stretch of beach at the mouth of the Río Guadalquivir during the month of August, daily from 6.00 pm, on the 2nd and 4th weekends of the month (Thursday to Saturday). This is a thrilling spectacle where real racehorses thunder across the sand watched by a large noisy crowd of spectators.

There is nothing amateur about this event and you can expect to see spectator stands, bookmakers, paddocks and, of course, the winners´enclosure. Now an international event with horses from other European countries taking part and many famous names amongst the spectators. This is a serious competition, the total prize money amounts to millions of Euros. Most of the prize money is awarded during the last weekend.



So this race was watched by locals on the beach, invited guests in the stands and the rest of Spain on television.

The partying began in the afternoon with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails in the stands and the race started at sunset. Afterwards there was a party in the group of adjacent cabanas that went on all night long...

or so they told me because I couldn't make it much past midnight.

While I loved hanging our with my brother and Nieves Ferris, I really adored watching all the children at the event.

Every single one of them was dressed as though they had walked out of a Ralph Lauren ad.

Absolutely adorable.

And...it was my lucky night in because my 4 euro bet won me a handy 175 euros!!!

Ole!

Spain 2009 - Los Arcos de la Frontera

Having tried my hardest to do absolutely nothing to improve myself while on vacation, other than deepening my tan, I ended up picking up this book and actually learning a lot about the history and geography of Spain.
This well written book, It's Not About The Tapas, by English journalist and travel writer Polly Evans, outlined her trip through Spain by bicycle. Not only did this writer perform the utterly incredible feat of travelling from San Sebastian to Barcelona which means cycling across the Pyrenees, she managed to weave an amusing story about historical and modern Spain. In each short chapter she described the villages and cities that she visited in terms of their local geography, culture, cuisine and history, and she did it with a sense of humor.

So in the spirit of learning something new about Spain I took a quick side trip to Los Arcos de la Frontera, one of the famous pueblos blancos of Andalusia.

This tiny town was set high on a hill with beautiful views of the agrarian country side.

Originally under Moorish control, like all of Andalusia, Los Arcos was Christianized in the 13th Century.

But the Moorish influence in architecture was still prevalent, especially in the small verdant atrium's within the oldest part of the village.

The village was quiet and not just because it was getting to siesta time. I saw only a handful of tourists, mostly french and South American. Of course it was obvious that we were the only two American tourists in the town...because who else would be wearing a pink Hawaiian shirt...

In fact I didn't see any American tourists anywhere in this region of Spain.

Did Americans stay home this summer because the dollar is so low against the euro or

did they only travel to the big cities in Europe?

Spain 2009 - A Beach, A Bullfight and A Bar

Since I love to swim in the ocean but am total wuss when it comes to swimming in cold water I took advantage of the fact that the Atlantic ocean temperature in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain was much warmer than the Pacific ocean temperature in Santa Monica, California.
So yes...it's true....I actually donned "the dreaded bikini" and spent pretty much every day on this beach.

Unlike the chic resorts, Marbella and Palma, teaming with elegant villas full of wealthy Europeans and Saudi royals, Puerto was a beach resort for the Spanish middle class. It was a very laid back place where typical Spanish families would rent a small villa or ocean view apartment for two weeks to a month for their annual vacation.
Obviously, my brother, aka Skipper, was enjoying the beach too.
The book in his hands is just a cover of course. Behind the sunglasses he was really scanning the beach for topless girls.

Oh and just for the record, for every nubile young topless girl with breasts like ripe melons, there was 60 something year old abuela letting is all hang out...and trust me....it wasn't pretty.

So while Skipper was checking out the chicas I was taking a break from the sun in this bar on the beach that served the best mojitos I've ever tasted.

A day of sun, sand and surf and then it was back home to get gorgeous for a night on the town.

Keeping with my "when in Spain..." attitude the night included travel by scooter, a bullfight, some pasear and tapas.

Bullfighting is a big deal in Spain...we all know that.

It's a challenge of hot pink socked, skin tight pastel suited man versus beast.

After sitting in the box seats with all the local big shots, and being introduced to the president of the local bullfighting federation, a rather elegant woman btw, I was glad that I experienced the corrida.

But, let's face it, once was enough.

And even though I was rooting for the bull, I did though kind of like the way that the matadors would turn their back on the bull and walk away with a swagger of machismo.

So very Latin.

Finally, we scooter-ed over to the old town Puerto where pasear was in full force. I love the Spanish summer tradition of families taking to the streets late at night after the weather cools off for a walk, dinner and sitting outside in a cafe and watching the passersby.

Eleven o'clock, midnight and later you will see small children and even infants out with their parents. But what's the rush to go home when it's summer vacation and you can sleep till noon the next day.

We ended up at this tapas bar, one of my brother's favorites, aptly named "little ham bar" because it was little and served jamon iberico. The tapas dishes were delicious, the best I had in Spain, particularly the calamari and the ham and cheese on toast.

and I discovered my new favorite summer drink....get ready for this...a wine cooler or tinto de verano which is cheap red wine on ice with fanta lemon.

Yeah, you know that sounds good!