The delightful Stravinsky Fountain has reopened after being closed for many years for renovation. Located across the Centre Pompidou, the fountain was a collaboration between artists Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle, who were married. The 16 works were inspired by composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky, and the brightly colored sculptures are by Niki de Saint Phalle and the black mechanical ones were created by Jean Tinguely.
The sculptures represent the Stravinsky musical pieces and are listed below.
The Firebird, The Musical Key of G, The spiral, The Elephant, The Fox, The Frog, The Diagonal, The Death, The Mermaid, The Nightingale, Love, Life, The Heart, The Clown’s Hat, and Ragtime.
Experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens, and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Shopping Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, Emily in Paris tours, and Chocolate and pastry tours.
Tours start at 275 euros for up to 3 people, and 85 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
]]>People ask me all the time, what’s my favorite restaurant in Paris? It’s always hard to single out one restaurant, so I give a list of my favorites at the moment, as it will change frequently.
As of today, Boubalé Restaurant is on the top of my list.
Award winning chef Assaf Granit, born and raised in Jerusalem, has built a culinary empire with 13 restaurants in Europe and Israel, television appearances, lectures, workshops, and cookbooks. Granit’s grandmother plays an integral part of his cooking, also influenced bythe cuisine of Jerusalem. In 2017, he opened his first restaurant in Paris, Balagan, which was a runaway hit and a celebrity magnet, with reservations almost impossible to come by. It introduced Granit’s eclectic blend of Israeliand Mediterranean food to Paris, and it spawned a new wave of restaurants serving Israeli style cooking.
Granit’s newest restaurant, Boubalé, (which means sweetheart or darling in Yiddish) is a love letter to his
Polish grandmother and her Jewish Ashkenazi cooking. He takes her inspired dishes and updates them into Ashkenazi, nouvelle cuisine, making the dishes lighter and more appealing.
We had a special tasting menu, which is not listed on the menu, and must be requested beforehand. The wait person plopped down a gorgeous, shiny, round shaped challah bread dotted with poppy seeds, and we devoured it in a nanosecond. Next up, a fancy, glass tray, with lace doilies and an ornate gold crafted frame was set on the table. On the tray was a tasting of some of the signature dishes, including a lighter than usual chopped liver, beet cubes with feta, a sublime, house cured, gravlax with arak and dill, a delicately seasoned, pickled herring, and a giant, authentic tasting, sour pickle. A refreshing salad of coriander, parsley, green grapes, almonds, and horseradish cleared our palates for the upcoming dishes.
Vincent had risotto made with Israeli couscous, spinach, leeks, and parmesan, and I had the sensational, potato perogies with cottage cheese and caramelized onions, which were light and fluffy.
Stuffed to the gills, but still craving something sweet, we practically inhaled the New York style cheesecake, one ofthe best I’ve ever had in Paris, and a warm, apple strudel with vanilla ice cream.
The interior also reflects the chef’s tribute to his grandmother with warm lighting, sage green wood chairs with burnt orange cushions, vintage style, and printed fabric walls. Another vintage touch was the white China plates decorated with red and blue flowers.
There’s also a wonderful, cozy bar next to the restaurant, which I will visit soon.
Boubalé also serves lunch with an a la carte menu and pre-fixe menu for 39€ for two courses & 47€ for three courses.
17 rue Verrerie, 75004 https://www.legrandmazarin.com/restaurant-bars
Photographer Ahmet Ertug takes us on a fantastic, visual voyage of historic, architectural sites throughout France and Italy. He transports us to the interiors of the most beautiful chateaus, castles, libraries, theaters, and spiritual buildings in both countries. The photographs are meticulously crafted, and the colors, texture, and light capture the brilliance of each site.
The backdrop of the splendid architecture of La Conciergerie gives the exhibition an added dimension and context.
Ertug was born in Turkey and graduated from the prestigious Architectural Association School of London. He went on to become an architect and in 1980 he won a grant from the Japanese Foundation to research and photograph the architecture of Japan for a year. After the success of the grant, he devotes himself to photography as a full-time occupation, continuing to specifically photograph architectural locations around the world. He also has a publishing company which produces books on ancient architecture.
Until May 20, 2024
La Conciergerie, Ile de Cite
Salle de la Mappemode, Palais Farnese Caprarola, Italy
The Pantheon, Rome
Library at the Assemblee Nationale, Paris
Laurenbienne Library, Florence
Salle Labrouste at BNF Richelieu Library Paris
Sculpture Gallery, Palais Grimani, Venice
Farnese Theater, Parma, Italy
Sainte-Chapelle, Paris
Salle de Geants, Mantou Palace, Italy
Central Seat of Societe Generale Bank, Paris
Girolamini Library, Naples
Library at the Sorbonne, Paris
Experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens, and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Shopping Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, Emily in Paris tours, and Chocolate and pastry tours.
Tours start at 275 euros for up to 3 people, and 85 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
A world of glorious color bursts on to the canvases by artist YoAhn Han at Galerie NEC in the Marais.
The solo show, Transfigured, expresses Han’s struggle with a lifelong, rare body condition, and puts it into his painting. Flowers and human figures are ingrained in an abstract way in the work, and for example, the chrysanthemum, has a double meaning in Korean culture: the promise of life when it blooms and used in funerals, where it represents sorrow.
The colorful canvases are topped with a layer of resin, which gives them an extra brilliance.
YoAhn Han is originally from Korea, and now lives in Boston. He also teaches and lectures about art at RISDE and Museum of Fine Art, Boston.
Until April 13, 2024
Galerie Nec 20 rue des Coutures Saint Gervais 75003 https://galerienec.com/exibitions/yoahn-han-2024/
Paris 1874, Inventing Impressionism
April 15, 2024, marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Impressionism. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley, Cézanne, and 24 other artists of the period, banded together to create their own exhibition. In celebration, Musée d’Orsay is showing 130 works that defined the Impressionism movement.
March 26 to July 14, 2024
Musée d’Orsay https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/whats-on/exhibitions/paris-1874-inventing-impressionism
Paolo Roversi
One of the top fashion photographers in the world, Paolo Roversi, has been shooting iconic images for over 50 years for Elle, Marie Claire, Vogue France and Italia. 140 images of his magical work will be exhibited.
March 16 to July 24, 2024
Palais Galliera https://www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/en/exhibitions/paolo-roversi
Brancusi
Constantin Brancusi is being celebrated by the Pompidou Centre in a major way with a grand retrospective with close to 200 sculptures. The exhibition also has photographs, drawings, films, archives, tools, and furniture from his studio.
March 27 to July 1, 2024
Centre Pompidou https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/program/calendar/event/mb7ZAkc
Choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, pays tribute to the splendor of the Ballets Russes in a new dance piece with music by Stravinsky.
March 24 to April 5, 2024
Opera Royal de Versailles https://www.theatreonline.com/Spectacle/Ballet-Preljocaj-Hommage-aux-Ballets-Russes/81128