IMPERIAL SUMPTUOSITY

In the empress's bedroom

It's as fascinating as it is lavish--the Château de Malmaison in the western Parisian suburb 

of  Reuil-Malmaison.  Once the imperial demeure of Napoléon I and his wife Joséphine, 

the château's furnishings embody the transitioning from Louis XVI style of decoration to the 

Directoire (1795 - 1799), then Consulat (1799 -1804), and ultimately to the very Napoleonic 

style Empire. The seventeenth-century château was purchased by Joséphine in 1799 and richly 

redecorated by the imperial couple after their marriage in 1804. Divorced by Bonapart in 1809 

because the couple could not conceive an heir, Joséphine, who was allowed to keep her title as 

empress, continued to reside there until her death in 1814. Her red bedroom with its decor 

reminiscent of a sumptuous encampment, was faithfully reconstituted in 1861 through 1870 by 

Napoléon III. A national museum, the imperial palace is a treasure trove of Napoleonic 

history, collections, and memorabilia. 

©2026 P. B. Lecron

SPRINGTIME SIDEWALK DECOR

Incontournable

 Giant flowers like this one in front of Versailles' agnès b. boutique have been

set out around town to punctuate the arrival of beautiful spring weather and to mark

this weekend's local annual horticultural event, l'Esprit jardin. 

The fashion designer agnès b. was born and raised in Versailles. 

Her comfortable and elegant sweater sets have long been considered indispensable 

or incontournable.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

BOURDELLE'S DYING CENTAUR

Turning toward mythology

 Bust of Emile Antoine Bourdelle's Centaure mourant sculpted in 1914.

 The bust is a study for the monumental piece at the impressive Musée Bourdelle, Paris.

Bourdelle, a major sculptor of the 20th century, depicted the tension between the intense 

emotion to be released from pain while at the same time the desire to cling to life.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

FOREST BATHING

 Early spring morning bain de fôret, or sylvothérapie, and shinrin-yoku in Japanese.

© 2026 P. B. Lecron

 

A FRENCH CLASSIC

Une salade de mâche

A very easy French classic and perfect combination: lamb's lettuce, cubed red beets, and walnut halves, with vinaigrette.  

Vocabulary

la mâche:  lamb's lettuce, also corn salad

la betterave rouge:  red beet

les cerneaux de noix:  walnut halves

WELL-FED

 This plump chocolate Easter hen brings to mind the French expression, "les poules pondent par le bec,"

which would literally translate as "hens lay eggs through their beaks." The meaning of this

dictum is that if hens are well-fed or bien-nourris, they will be better egg-layers.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

THE JOKER

En marge de la société

 At the margins of society

One more mosaic example in Paris of the French street artist Invader's pixelated style inspired

by the late 1970's Japanese video game, Space Invaders. 

It may be well-executed as far as this genre goes, but coming across this image of The Joker 

on a shady side-street has a creepy effect.

I don't know who is keeping count of these, but there are reports that there are 

more than one thousand glued to walls in the capital city alone.  

For fans it has become a game to seek them out and "flash them" with their phones on dedicated

applications. In fact, according to an article in Le Figaro culture section, the artist himself developed 

such an app to "spot and flash" his works.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

A FRENCH DRIVE-THROUGH

 This is the town hall, or l'Hôtel de ville, of Givry, a small town in southern Burgundy.

The town hall was built in the 18th century around the original porte de la ville or city 

gate in the form of an arc de triomphe. The building is classified as one of the most 

beautiful hôtels de ville in France.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

BOREDOM BREAKER

 This stable toy caught my eye at the local equestrian center. It's called a boredom breaker,

or as expressed in French un jouet pour lutter contre l'ennui--a toy to fight against boredom.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

SHOW TIME IN NANTES

It's show time for the magnolia asiatique with its large, fragrant flowers in the form of tulips.

The port city of Nantes is the French capital of magnolias, having more than 700 varieties in the

national collection. The first specimen imported to France arrived from across the Atlantic 

three hundred years ago, transplanted from Louisiana in 1711.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

FRENCH SLIPPERS

L'esprit Charentaise

Made in Charente by Rondinaud, a business founded a long time ago!

This may seem confusing at first--but in France there is a difference between the pantoufle 

or ordinary house slipper, and the charentaise which is a felt pantoufle with a fluffy lining. 

Usually the iconic charentaise with its characteristic shape and design, is made of a felt plaid, 

but artisanal creativity has led to more luxuriant textures and motifs, like that of the one above. 

L'esprit charentaise is a very French concept that conveys a sense of well-being, warmth, 

and of slowing down--in short a cosy, take-it-easy lifestyle. La charentaise has its origins in 

the south-west of France in the 17th century when scraps of felt were used to line wooden 

shoes or sabots to make them more comfortable.

Expression

Il y a belle lurette: a long time ago, ages ago, way back when

 

©2026 P. B. Lecron

ON A WINTER STROLL IN PARIS

 

Winter in the Parc Monceau, one of the most elegant parks in Paris to go for a stroll.

This colonnade is one of the park's many fabriques de jardin, an ornamental

construction designed to please the eyes of passersby and to stimulate their imaginations. 

The basin the columns wrap around represents a naumachia, which during antique Roman times was

an artificial lake where naval battles were reenacted for spectators.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

STREET WISE

 This is one of the most original French caution signs I've seen yet, warning drivers to pay 

special attention to the community's juvenile pedestrians. I saw this sign in the village of 

Boissise-la-Bertrand in the Seine-et-Marne department.

Vocabulary

un panneau attention aux enfants: a sign warning of the presence of children

vigilance: vigilance

prudence: prudence, caution

un crayon en bois: a wooden pencil

©2026 P. B. Lecron

DRY JANUARY CONCLUDES

Le défi de janvier

Une pause de consommation

Dry January, or literally janvier sec, which is complete abstinence from alcohol for the entire month,

is also practiced by some in France. It's an annual, multi-national and unofficial public health movement that has been gradually catching on in France for the past 5 or 6 years. I recently noticed special mention of it near the wine and alcohol section of a local supermarket where non-alcoholic alternatives were being promoted for the challenge or défi.

Vocabulary

un raton laveur:  a raccoon

une pêche:  a peach

les baies de sureau: elderberries

un défi:  a challenge

©2026 P. B. Lecron

TO GET TO THE POINT

This long-needle pine seen in the Arboretum de Versailles-Chèvreloup serves to illustrate the French expression aller droit au but, to get to the point.

©2026 P. B. Lecron

ENDEARINGLY OLD-FASHIONED AND EVER-BLOOMING

Traditional French ceramic cemetery flowers

©2026 P. B. Lecron

HAUNTING ROMANTICISM

Majestic ruins

 Irrational, unrestrained, capricious--these words would very well describe Louis XIV's insistance to excavate a large canal and build an enormous three-level aqueduct across the Eure river valley to 

aliment the fountains of Versailles with water. The project which was to extend 80 km, however, was never completed due to a lack of funds. Because the unfinished aqueduct crossed the estate of Madame de Maintenon, the king gave her the title of Marquise to compensate her for the inconvenience and damage 

to her property. (She later became his secret wife, but that is another story for another day.) 

What is left of the aqueduct gives the the formal gardens of the Château de Maintenon a truly romantic aura and charm. 

Maintenon is approximately 20 km from Chartres and 90 km from Paris.

©2026 P. B. Lecron