Les Lumières, Versailles

A walk through a covered patio led me to reception, where I was welcomed and given a tour of the hotel, which concluded with my suite named after the French playwright Marivaux. Upon entering the suite, I was dazzled by the bouquets of Mimosas and pink Ranunculus, both creations of the floral designer Aude Essner, and a plate of four Pierre Hermé macarons was waiting for me. The Marivaux suite’s color story is serene and lively, of blues, greens, ochre, and grey walls with white raised picture frame mouldings and a single gilt line across the chair rail. The ceilings allude to the geometric patterns of Le Nôtre’s gardens with delicate pointillist swirls.

The architect Didier Benderli revitalized the two historic buildings that make up this five-star boutique hotel. Furnishings favor curves and round shapes from the desks, tables, disc-shaped table lamps, and convex and starburst mirrors. Upholstery is in mostly solid velvets and there are some patterned fabrics. Gold trims add a pop of color and texture to the leading edges of the ivory curtains.

Later that evening after an afternoon touring Chateau de Versailles and the gardens, I dined at La Table des Lumières, where chef Erwan Le Thomas leads. I started with an onion tart with Comté and vin jaune (yellow wine), and for the main course, roasted monkfish with citrus butter, wild mushrooms and potatoes. I complimented the meal with a glass of Deutz champagne. Mindful eating is encouraged here and at the table’s edge there is a place to tuck your mobile phone.

After dinner, I curled up with the reading material offered, The Daily Stoic, and I practiced my French by taking a gander at 365 Méditations et Exercices de Pleine Conscience.

Refreshed after a good night’s sleep, I enjoyed my breakfast in Galleries des Lumières. The interior architecture is from 1907, which exemplifies the grandeur and charm of La Belle Époque, with six-meter-high ceilings, arched windows, doors, walls embellished with moldings, and mirrors. Black patterned rugs in a custom color from Codimat warm up the floor and add visual balance to the interior. The overall effect nods to the famed Hall of Mirrors on a more intimate scale by comparison and is simply beautiful.

I chose to sit on an upholstered banquette facing Place d’Armes to admire the view. For breakfast, I started with a pot of organic tea, a couple of slices of Comté, apple, and pear, and quite possibly the best croissants I ever had with a dash of locally made cherry blossoms strawberry jam.

Le Cinq Codet, Paris

Some of my fondest memories of my stay at Le Cinq Codet, was the space itself, housed in a former telephone exchange building dating back to the 1930s making it a unique space for Paris, since most of the city’s edifices are dating from the 1851-1914. All the while the space is very Parisian at the same time. My room was split with a living room and a bedroom upstairs that featured a full-sized bathtub and overlooking the space below. Natural light filled the space through expansive windows with translucent shades and fully operating floor to ceiling curtains with a handy remote.

The architect Jean Phillipe Nuel designs for the Le Cinq Codet are sleek, contemporary and its curvilinear designs nod to art deco and are thus quite fitting for a 1930s building. A neutral palette is accented with pops of colors with Pierre Frey and Kvadrat pillows. In between appointments and receptions I came back to my room and it was heartwarming to find a bowl of fresh fruit as I was hungry. Interestingly enough, I have been known to miss a meal while in Paris as I am always on the go.

It was fun to take a dip in their outdoor jacuzzi on a cold wintery evening, and then quickly hop inside to the hammam, for some steam which I followed by a rain shower. Afterwards, I felt refreshed and revived as I put in over twenty thousand steps that day and over two dozen flights of stairs.

Villa Empain, Brussels

Whilst in Brussels I popped into one of my favorite places, Villa Empain, where I caught two exhibitions: The solo exhibition of ninety-seven-year-old Belgian artist Pierre Alechinsky, Alechinsky, Pinceau Voyageur curated by Catherine de Braekeleer. The influence of the art of Japan and China is apparent in his work, he has created a visual poetry that pays homage to these ancient cultures. Despite advancements in technology the eloquent mastery of calligraphy prevails. Alechinsky's mark making manifest into a type of language and calligraphy. Some of his mark making is reminiscent of the patterns in the stone floors of the villa. The exhibition includes numerous paintings marouflaged onto canvases, inks, etchings, lithographs, enameled lava, porcelain books and a unique harpsichord covered in his marouflaged paintings.

Villa Empain was designed by the Swiss architect Michel Polak in the early 1930s as the residence of Baron Empain. It is a luxurious example of Art Deco architecture. Villa Empain was lovingly restored and brought back to life by the Boghossian Foundation. Villa Empain celebrates Art Deco’s hundredth anniversary with its exhibition Echoes of Art Deco. The era ushered in modern living and everyone was ready for the renewal of the era and its aesthetically pleasing style. In this exhibition you will see flapper dresses, stacks of radios reflecting the technology of the time and beautiful furnishings and decorative arts.

Paris Design Week

I came to Paris to partly attend Paris Design Week, to reconnect and see the new collections. I caught the presentations notably of Pierre Frey’s Desert Collection and the collaboration of Misha wall coverings, and a French decorative arts group, Manufactures Emblem Paris, theme “ The Power of the Flower”—an enduring motif of flowers in the arts.

Paris is an ongoing Paris Design Week everywhere you turn you see great design; Notre Dame de Paris, the verre égloismé decor of a patisserie, the pastel colors of macarons and so much more.