Update on April 8: my internet is not cooperating and this post is merely a place holder until I can upload all the images I have. Please come back next month for a fuller, richer post. Merci beaucoup!

This great department store reopened in 2021, after a huge renovation of the building in which it is housed.

La Samaritaine is a large department store in Paris, in the first arrondissement. The company was owned by Ernest Cognacq and Marie-Louise Jaÿ who hired architect Frantz Jourdain to expand their original store. It started as a small apparel shop and expanded to what became a series of department store buildings with a total of 90 different departments.

It is currently owned by LVMH, a luxury-goods maker. The store, which had been operating at a loss since the 1970s, was closed in 2005 purportedly because the building did not meet safety codes. Plans for redeveloping the building involved lengthy complications, as the representatives of the store’s founders argued with new owners LVMH over the building’s future as a department store or a mixed-use development. After seven years of renovation, it has reopened to public on 23 June 2021, having been previewed by the French President Emmanuel Macron journalists the days before.

Below: some details of the old and wonderful exterior:

Its retail offerings targeted at affluent consumers, restaurants, and a boutique hotel that includes a penthouse suite with its own private swimming pool. The building has been listed since 1990 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

At the street level, there are wonderful vintage details that have been lovingly preserved, and great window displays:

Below, some shots of the windows at street level:

And then, there is the restaurant on the top floor, under the glass ceiling. It has a full sized screen with repeating scenes of water and rocks, pretty cool.

I’m living in the 16th arrondissement and learning my way around my new apartment and my new hood. This subway stop is closest to home, and I am memorizing it and the directions to descend. It isn’t bad that there is a view of the Eiffel Tower as well! This subway stop is well above ground!

I took the subway to La place Charles de Gaulle, aka Place de l’Étoile. I climbed the stairs out of the station and look what I saw! It never fails to impress!

There are 12 radiating boulevards emanating from the rotary around the Arc de Triomphe, and today I chose the Avenue Friedland as my path. I was enthralled with the architectural details I ran across.

I’m probably the only tourist in Paris who wishes they could work alongside these guys for a day or two! I did it in Florence and I’d love to do it here!

Hello Balzac! I need to read more of your work. Note to self.

Nobody does doorways like the French. This woman was walking by and her coat matched the setting, so I took her picture.

Below, an Art Deco example of the same style of monumental building type.

And from Art Deco we go into late 20th century:

Below, some interesting art exhibitions currently in the city:

My friends will get the inside joke of the paintings below. I’m tempted to contact the gallery and see if they would like to sell some of my Florentine paintings!

There is always a view to be had in this amazing metropolis!

And there’s always something beautiful to look at:

The snow has stopped, but the temperatures are still very cold. Definitely need a puffer coat and cashmere scarf!

Above, a snapshot of my new home from the sofa. This is a view I had for several days! Leaving Florence left me utterly exhausted!

Below is a detail from my Parisian building in the 16th Arrondissement. The old stairway is beautiful. Luckily, I’m on the ground floor.

If you want to know more about this incredible area, check out this article:

https://www.parisunlocked.com/paris-neighbourhoods/a-full-guide-to-the-passy-neighborhood-in-paris/

Sunday in Paris:

Sunny but very cold and quite windy!

On April 1st, I left Florence for a while. I feel incredibly fortunate that I will be living in Paris next. Lifelong dreams, coming true, despite Covid, the Russian war, and the rest of life’s surprises.

I arrived at Charles de Gaulle in mid-afternoon, to find it snowing. Paris was a bit like a snow-globe as I taxied in from the airport to my new home in the 16th Arrondissement.

Bonjour Paris! So happy to see you! Bonne journee!

I rarely make recommendations, but recently saw this film and it is excellent. It is heart-breaking and heart-warming.

In January of 2020 I had the pleasure of spending 10 days in Paris. Looking back, these are some of my favorite videos of that time. Sigh….

These videos attempt to capture the incredible multi-media show that was a part of the recent exhibition on Benozzo Gozzoli. They are followed by the photos I took in the chapel frescoes, the capolavoro di Gozzoli. Special exhibition or not, this chapel is for me one the highlightiest highlights or art in Italy!

First, a little background. The chapel is in the home of the Renaissance family, the Medici, and to have permission to have a home chapel, dispensation from the Pope was necessary. Sought and gained. And, isn’t the world a better place for this dispensation having been given!

At the high altar, was the altar panel bearing Filippo Lippi’s Adoration in the Forest. This painting is now in Berlin after being sold in the 19th century, while a copy by a follower of Lippi remains in the chapel.

From December of 2021 through early March 2022, the Palazzo Medici hosted a lovely small exhibition on the work of Benozzo Gozzoli and the extraordinary chapel he painted in the palace. It was not to be missed!

Here are some of my photos of the exhibition. In a subsequent post, I will include pictures of the actual chapel, which is always a delight to visit, special exhibition or not. It is one of my favorite works of art in the world!

https://videopress.com/v/TEPsZ9lc?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Please scroll to the end of this post for another video.

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