Salon du Chocolat 2016 and French Halloween

Whoever said the French are not into Halloween needs to get out more. The high-end chocolatiers (like Patrick Roger here) adore messing with very scary concepts. More photos here. I visited the Salon du chocolat yesterday but first a little local Parisian Halloween review:

Fred at elegant Meert demonstrates to me and Jill Butler how-to carve open an all-chocolat citronelle.

Gilles Marechal makes sable bat cookies for Biscuiterie de Montmartre.

Inside the salon Halloween candy apples come in passion fruit flavor.

Yesterday was the first day of Salon du chocolat at Porte de Versailles convention center (line 12). Last day is 1st of November so get a move on!

Please do enthrall yourself.

Towers of chocolate power.

A chocolate dress I could go for - Christolphe Adam's eclair and dark chocolate disk gown.

My raison d'etre for visiting SDC is to stock up on top chocolatier, Bernachon of Lyon's fabulous cacao. Hot chocolate is my breakfast drink of choice and these are going for a mere 6,60€ for 250 gms. (I bought 4 packets - a years supply). You can't find it in Paris except at 3X the price.

Orangettes all over the Salon but these were a steal from Italian Piccolo Pasticceria. Just 3€ a pack of 6 candied chocolate-dipped orange peels. Yum

The Japanese are ever-present and loaded with delish chocolates of matche green tea.

Loved the clever metro tile design of this new chocolate bar.

Classic 1930s Foucher chocolate boxes - perfect eye candy inside and out.

A newcomer to the Salon, Menakao from Madagascar with interesting tribal faces on their tablet designs.

Chapon does chocolate Smiley faces for Xmas.

Always a plethora of chocolate sculptures, I thought this one was fab from MOF Maison Georges Larnicol.

Jean-Charles Rochoux is Paris' maitre of life-like chocolate sculptures.

Has the Salon ever been without a giant all-chocolate King Kong? I don't think so. Near closing time a purple cow wanders the aisles browsing chocolate like the rest of us.

Who doesn't feel like a four-year old when it comes to chocolate? Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast! If you like this post and want to support it, buy Paris letters and watercolors or forward to someone who might enjoy it. Cheers!

Icones of modern Art, The Shchukin Collection, Fondation Louis Vuitton

Last Thursday I previewed the new Shchukin Collection brought in from Russia at Fondation Louis Vuitton.  The show is a tribute to one of the 20th century’s greatest patron of the arts, Russian businessman Sergei Shchukin, and brings together 130 major works from his collection. We were all dressed in black as is required for these events but by the end we were infused with brilliant color.

Icons of Modern Art will be on till February 20, 2017. It is a Must-see. More photos HERE.

On the first floor a room full of Tahitian period Gauguins. Your jaw drops. You won't recover from this glorious exhibit till hours later.

"I recently painted a chic nude, two women at the water's edge; I think it's the best thing I've done up to now." Paul Gauguin, 1892

Wealthy industrialist, Sergei Shchukin collected Matisse like mad and commissioned 'The Dance' from him. Matisse even visited him in Moscow to view the collection.

"The search for color did not come to me through studying other painters, but from outside - in other words, the revelation of light in nature." Henri Matisse, 1930

Multi-media videos were specially produced to tell how Shchukin developed his collection of French modern art and its influence on the Russian avant-garde. This is the first time ever these paintings have left the Pushkin and Hermitage state museums of Fine Art. A landmark exhibit of astonishing works.

There are 13 Monets. Here the cliffs of Etretat.

"Then, in London, what I love above all, is the fog...Because without fog London would not be a beautiful city." Claude Monet

Monet's extraordinary picnic painting.

His wife in their garden.

Sisley, a Seine view.

A classic Pissarro, 'rainy day, Paris'.

Shchukin was enthralled with Picasso. "Picasso took hold of me for good, and I began to buy painting after painting." Sergei Shchukin

An exquisite Odilon Redon.

Rooms of artist's self-portraits like this Gauguin.

The rooms inside the fondation are spacious and airy even though there are no windows in the exhibit areas.

Yet Shchukin's collection in his palace in Moscow was displayed side by side almost like reading a book with all the pages spread open.

Three floors of the Frank Gehry-Daniel Buren architectural creation are filled with the visiting collection.

"A color's transparency and quality when projected using a color filter is, is to me, far more vibrant than a color painted on a surface." Daniel Buren Some might disagree after seeing the Shchukin collection. Do try to catch this not-to-be missed experience.

Meanwhile the paint has been flying. I'm making new Paris pastry bonus watercolors to go out with renewals and subscriptions. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast! If you like this post and want to support it, buy my Paris letters and watercolors or forward this to someone who might enjoy it. Cheers!

Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Tous à la plage!

Yesterday was the preview at Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine of 'Tous à la plage' at Trocadero. More pictures on FLICKR.

When I saw the preview posters around I said, I am not missing this!

And neither should you when you come to Paris. Its on till February 13 2017.

Playing in the sand is part of my DNA. Summers spent in Surf City and Beach Haven, NJ left sand in my shoes forever.

Why ever did I leave behind my sand bucket collection when I moved to Paris. Perfect for holding watercolor brushes too. Why oh why...

The exhibit is historically organized starting with the first cabins des bains often pulled onto the beach by donkeys.

What to change into in your cabins des bains. Stripes.

A whole range of architecture was designed for beach resorts some of it very grand pavilions and palaces.

What to sit on the beach? More marine stripes.

Loads of film snips from cinema and newsreels to watch, though no actual sand anywhere.

Glamorous municipal pools were built right on the beach at Trouville and Dieppe.

Everyone in! The vintage posters are terrific.

The view out my window at hotel Les Embruns in Trouville of that same pool.

One way you could go to the beach.

Or take the train in style.

In the far upper left the Deauville-Trouville train station looks exactly the same today as in this 20s poster

.

I'm thinking should I take the train down to Brighton next trip to London?

Or Blackpool.

Benidorm, Spain. At first I thought it was Rio de Janeiro.

Remember Club Med? And the beads? Did you go? I went to quite a few. They're still in business on boulevard de l'Opera. Below Florida looks very sane and serene. Altogether a wonderful exhibit full of nostalgia for those sand bucket days. Time to plan for next summer.

October's Paris letter went out enfin Monday! Its a What's on in Paris letter. enjoy and thanks for reading Parisbreakfast! If you like this post and want to support it, buy my Paris letters and watercolors or forward this to someone who might enjoy it. Cheers !