A la Colthard/ Hotel Costes, Paris
Yesterday I travelled across to Paris with Alice Mansfield to see the Tschoukine art collection at the Louis Vuitton Foundation. The Foundation is in a modern building resembling a large space ship in the Bois de Boulogne.
The collection assembled by Sergei Tschoukine at the start of the last century and later nationalised by Stalin is a formidable one; roomfuls of gorgeous Matisses with explosions of colour, Gauguin and Picasso.
The only problem – and it’s a big one – is that as with so many of these blockbuster exhibitions the crowd is so great that 15 people gather in front of every painting making its appreciation all the more difficult.
Surprisingly, as he came from Vitebsk and he was discovered by Vollard who introduced Tschoukine to many of these other artists, there are no Chagalls.
The exhibition is not that easy to navigate and again surprisingly as it’s a open space building the lighting is not that satisfactory. Still to have time alone when there was a brief gap in the crowd with Edgar Degas and his ballerina is quite a joy!
We stayed at the super cool Hotel Costes. I always say you need a miner’s lamp as it’s so dark and seductive you cannot see a bloody thing!! So don’t worry girls if you have the odd facial spot your prospect won’t see it!! I’m now used to blundering around in the dark for 30 minutes trying to find my mobile!!
Still the food is wonderful, foie gras, a mandarin crispy duck and fresh berries all made for a superb meal washed down by Sancerre and a glass of rich Pomerol. The waitresses must have be part time models which all adds to a fun experience. We were joined by a young lawyer Sylvie and Bob’s ex Mireille and conversation was easy and enjoyable. The restaurant was chocker and I felt I was somewhere ‘typiquement francais” – all I needed was a dashing lover not that I could see him!!!
