Thursday, March 26, 2026

Vaudeville ☕️ Salon du Dessin ✍️ Palais Royal 🌸

 
Moules, master drawings and magnolias.

I met JULIA for lunch at le Vaudeville. 29, rue Vivienne, 75002

Have you been?

Can you get more classic French 🇫🇷 Brasserie than this?

I think I ate both our desserts ! 
Île Flottante + soupe du mangue 🥭 with mango sorbet.

Then we crossed the street for opening day of SALON DU DESSIN at Palais Brongniart.

It’s a 5-day affair. 

Many of the dealers were eating at Le Vaudeville. 

We heard the waiters saying,

”À demain.” (See you tomorrow)

Photo c/o Salon du Dessin
400 dealers showing over 1,000 works for the 34th edition of the Salon.

Both contemporary 

And ancient. 

Remember those 18th century dresses last week.

I fell hard for these small Bonnard pencil ✏️ doodles 

In a ring-bound notebook. Pets à table…

We both flipped for this tiny, exquisite 3” brown ink drawing, impossible to see without taking a photo of it.
(1616 - 1675) Flandres 
(8,000 EUR)

Always pretty flowers & macarons..

An architectural rendering by Proudhon.

Reminded me of caryatids I’d seen on Rue de 4 Septembre walking to the restaurant. 

Julia says I should do a Paris Letter of Caryatids. 
Oui 👍 or non 👎 ?

After 2 hours, I couldn’t see 👁️ straight and it became crowded. Parisians LOVE ❤️ drawings ✍️ and this is Drawing Week in Paris!

Moving along to the magnolias 🌸 at Palais-Royal,

The subject of the March Paris Letter.

After changing my mind half a dozen times 🤔

Then I was going to show all the famous people  of Palais Royal like Cardinal Richelieu…it used to be called Palais Cardinal in 1624 when it was built.

But the magnolias won out.

By the way, the ‘IN’ Paris dog is the Chihuahua.

They are everywhere. Anyhoo…

Palais Royal in days of yore.

Jack Lang, whilst at the Ministry of Culture, brought in the Colonnes de Buren (the space was formerly a parking lot). He wanted something interesting to look at out his window.

In 1990, Lang brought in an American landscaper, Mark RUDKIN to upgrade the gardens - adding 16 Asian magnolia trees and rearranging the flower beds to add more sitting areas.
The Palais Royal gardens changed dramatically to the elegant, relaxing, serene garden it is today, located to the right of la Comédie Française, 
8 rue de Montpensier, 75001.
Et voila
ON ETSY 🌸


30 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:16 AM

    I immediately thought of the US vaudeville in the early 1900s ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:54 AM

      What does the word vaudeville literally mean?
      First, in the Vire region of France, a man named Oliver Basselin was said to have written drinking songs which he called "Vau-de-Vire", which was later translated to "vaudeville". The second possibility comes from the French "Voix de Ville" which literally translates to "the voice of the people". 🇫🇷

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:35 AM

      I'm not sure. Google says it's related to burlesque entertainment but I'm not sure how they ended up using that word for it. And it refers to the Vau-de-Vire as well.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous10:35 AM

    What a lovely time..a nice meal and then a few steps to an art display! My idea of a day well spent...coffee or tea afterward?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:50 AM

      Coffee or tea ☕️ would have been nice after… Julia had to leave early…and I could have used a sedan chair to take me home. Blinded by so much beauty!

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Anonymous10:48 AM

      1 vote for a caryatids LETTER 👍

      Delete
  4. Anonymous10:57 AM

    Oui!

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  5. Anonymous10:59 AM

    What a wonderful post Carol. The food looked delicious and the art divine. Love the Bonnard doodles!

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  6. Dee Ann11:16 AM

    Love Bonnard also!!! Yes, have dined at Vaudeville…so good.

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  7. Anonymous11:45 AM

    Oui! Caryatids

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  8. Anonymous12:54 PM

    How do you find out about these interesting salons and festivals you attend?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:50 PM

      They are annual events. There is a weekly entertainment journal comes out on Wednesdays

      Delete
  9. Anonymous1:09 PM

    Beautiful thank you! Oui, Oui….Caryatids are always a good idea!!!! ❤️from🇨🇦

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  10. Anonymous2:49 PM

    please do several Carytids letters. I always strain my neck admiring them.
    Hugs AWCatering

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  11. Solli Kanani3:13 PM

    What a beautiful post, felt like spending the day with you <3 My vote is definitely yes for a caryatids Paris Letter! And I LOVE your magnolia letter! So much Spring, I guess I'm missing out the magnolias but will go there when the roses will be in bloom. Xx

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:33 AM

      Thank you SOLLI 🌸 Spring in Paris does not disappoint ❤️

      Delete
  12. Anonymous3:29 PM

    All your posts are so good, but this one was exceptional - perfect combo of a classic restaurant, an outstanding art exhibit (wish I were there), & gardens! And "oui" to caryatids! Merci!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:31 AM

      Thank you 😊 I’m not always sure I can pull it off…

      Delete
  13. Sukicart3:55 PM

    Fascinating exhibit. I vote for a Caryatid MAP.

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  14. Anonymous4:01 PM

    Carole so happy that you and Julia had lunch together 💕❤️💜barbara

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:32 AM

      Julia is a delight 🌸

      Delete
  15. Anonymous5:15 PM

    Yes caryatids! I love the Palais Royal garden - sitting there listening to the splashing fountain with the city rush far away and when the heat is too much you can sit in the cool shade under the pleached limes .

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:30 AM

      The power of negative ions 💧❤️

      Delete
  16. Anonymous5:42 PM

    We were at the Palais Royal gardens on March 9 and they were heavenly! Those magnolias....

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  17. Anonymous8:27 PM

    Yes, please a letter of caryatids! xo

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  18. Anonymous3:56 AM

    I've literally just arrived back from Chartres via Paris. So lovely to see Spring in all her glory. You make me feel like immediately returning Carole!

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