June = Fraises in Paris Letter

 

Les Fraises are in🍓 Even on the last day of June. The Paris Fraise map 💌 went out 📮Tuesday🤸‍♂️🍓I know I’ve been missing in action😳but there are worse things than 2 weeks of total strawberry immersion. 

The strawb producteurs at Ferm du Mont de Cuy at Marché Mutualité know me well. 

They top up my box with extra Cléry strawberries since I’ve been showing up 2X a week. The best berries 🍓 don’t last long. Eat immediately or same day. Supermarché berries hang around longer and look nicer, but are consistently tasteless.

If you run🏃‍♂️ to Samaritaine right now you can catch their Summer 🍓 berry beaded jewelry collection. 

I caught it yesterday after a strawberry gelato at Tea Salon Cova, next door.

Hope springs eternal. I bought a strawberry plant for map research at the Marché des Fleurs, after my visa rendezvous at the Prefecteur last week. Then I promptly forgot it on the bus. Either the heat or post-visa angst made me forget it. I am not a plant 🪴 person.

Speaking of plants, the rarest of the rare is fraise de bois or the tiny wild strawberries you can’t find anywhere except at Paris’ top glacier Berthillon in their famous ice cream (+.50 extra for the wild ones). 

Their ‘piece de resistance’ is the double coupe loaded with Chantilly whipped creme, tiny berries and their fraise de bois ice cream. I’ve imagined getting this coupe many times…it’s only in their tea salon, not for take-away. Some day…🍓🍓🍓

Next up the Charlotte d’Alsace berry varietié. 

To say I’ve devoted many hours of research to the confiture/ jams of Christine Ferber would be an understatement. 

Time spent simply browsing C.Ferber jam names could equal watching whole streaming series like The Queen. Without question, her strawberry confiture is the best on the planet. La Figaro agrees. More like strawberry soup, best eaten straight from the jar. Never to be shared or wasted on toast. 

Last but never least, a Paris ‘must-eat’ each Spring is the classic 🍓Fraisier. 

Fou de Patisserie 3 boutiques make it easy to taste many top chef’s creations. A one-stop shop for the créme de la créme of Parisian desserts. 

The vendeuse explains in detail the various layers of Maison Angelina’s fraisier (they recently added the ‘Maison’ title to stop confusion with the actress👏). 

FYI, Fou de Patisserie now has adorable antique, engraved silver spoons available if you buy a pricy (€25) jar of their jam.

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Squid Green = Spring/Summer

Did you watch Netflix’s The Squid Games? I did not…

Squid-jumpsuit green is ‘The It Color’ this Spring/Summer.

Printemps filled their store. 

And windows were full of it. 

Something Squid green for everyone.

By the way Squid star, Jung Ho Yeon is the new face of Chanel’s  red Camellia N.1 collection.

Over the hot, hot weekend, Sollie_Food and I went off to Chinon. At a train stop—billboards of Squid green. 

Sollie’s dress was a slightly darker shade of Squid green. 

French school kids are in fashion wearing smocks of this green. 

In the foodie arena, I spotted Squid green mousse desserts following the trend in Galeries Lafayette Gourmand, my favorite dessert browsing hangout. 

My food expert friend, Geraldine recently opened her own terrific coffee roasting shop, Coffelia in the 9th at 45, rue du Condorcet with an IN-colored sign. Do drop in if you love coffee or tea ☕️ 

Chocolatier Patrick Roger call their chocolate boxes ‘emerald’ green. I call it ‘Squid’. 

If you visit Avignon, I can happily recommend eating lunch at EAT, even in the asparagus combo wasn’t trendy Squid green. I loved it. 

*How about learning to mix Squid green or any other color? PBer Ginni succeeded in convincing me to give her watercolor lessons. We’re having so much fun playing with paint and color. Contact me for one-on-one private watercolor lessons in my studio when you’re in Paris. 

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Hubert de Givenchy – Collectionneur at Christies Paris

I went Thursday to Christies to see a preview of the auction of Hubert de Givenchy’s collections starting June 14th.

From pieces  his Paris home and the Chateau de Jonchet. I love going to view auctions. Its a different way to experience art. You can get close to the objects.

But I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like this one.

The density in number and lavishness of the items was daunting.

The entire building at 9, Avenue Matignan was filled, top to bottom with salon settings and even a faux sculpture garden.

Niches were created with just clocks or just chairs (Givenchy was mad for chairs) or just silver chocolate pots. 

Givenchy had a strong sense of sculpture. 

A sense of 3-dimensionality. In shaping his couture designs and in his collecting.

Diego Giacometti (brother of Alberto) was provided a work studio on the premises. He specially created miniature sculptures of each of Givenchy’s 9 dogs for their graves sites among many sculptures.

Givenchy’s 10-year mentorship with Christobal Balenciaga influenced him deeply. Balenciaga said, “green velvet is a good idea“. 

Givenchy’s residences and are full of green velvet walls and chairs and green malachite in his designs. 

These screen shots are from the excellent Youtube video by fashion videographer, Loic Prigent. Watch this to get a better understanding of this massive collection. Green silk passementerie tassels show up on many pieces. 

Balenciaga passed on to him client Bunny Mellon, who became a close friend and gardening partner. 

This is her guest room at the chateau recreated for the auction sale. Read Laure’s review for more notes on French antiques. Suzy Menkes has an interesting podcast on the collection.

I recognized the 6 room paintings by Jeff Bailey. I bought one of his preliminary sketches in 2010. 

Givenchy was such an elegant man with elegant, refined taste. It was fun drawing him for the Audrey in Paris letter. 

And even more fun capturing the atmosphere of these extraordinary possessions of his. Support ParisBreakfast by buying my Paris maps, letters and watercolors. Share with other Francophiles🇫🇷 Subscribe to ParisBreakfasts newsletter here. Bonne Dimanche PBers ❤️🪑🥂

Jardins Jardin 2022

 

The annual 4-day (on through Sunday) JARDINS JARDIN has arrived in the Tuileries. Aside for a torrential downpour the weather has been grand.

And very much missed after a 2-year hiatus.

Its a week or so until the start of summer in Paris. My recent obsession with painting glass 

Drew me to beautiful jars filled with fruit and veg. 

You can also buy very small green houses. Will they fit on my little patch of roof?

The bee 🐝 people with honey from Paris rooftops are here again, CITYBZZ with the latest in what to wear when bee-keeping.

Why didn’t I buy fresh 🍓berries at LA FERME DE GALLY instead of jam? 

Their nectar framboise looked yummy. I am definitely going back. 

You can buy cherry tomato 🍅 plants for your balcon. 

The fresh mint plants smells heavenly. 

There are the beautiful designer gardens for total immersion with steaming fountains and trickling brooks to make you forget you’re in the middle a busy city. 

Buy a ready-to-go picnic basket lunch and camp out on the grounds.

Chanel has again installed a garden presenting their latest red Camellia creations in 2 ‘red’ greenhouses. 

But first immersion into the scent of No.#1 as red flowers dance and flow over you. 

Then a visit to the lab for more details and pretty flower samples to make us forever young😊 I was inspired to run home and get out my red paints. 

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