ROYAL COMMUTEMENT

You are now enabled to take the royal treatment, en route to Versailles. A service provided by the French Railways SCNF.
Bertrand Gosselin of the French state rail company, says the idea for the trains, which began running in May, came up in a joint meeting between officials from the palace and the rail line that serves it.
"We decided to make something different," Gosselin says. "Why not make something inside the trains to be already in Versailles when you take your train in Paris?"

Train Cars Transformed...

The rail cars are decorated in seven different motifs reflecting different areas of the Palace at Versailles — including the famous Hall of Mirrors, the queen's bedroom, the lavish gardens of Marie Antoinette's estate, the library of Louis XVI, the decor of a royal carriage and the peristyle of the Grand Trianon, which Gosselin notes was a private room where the king could have "some relations with women." [text from this blog]

Here are som more pics...

PARIS - LE MONSTRE DE MORETTI

Good news: The Monster of Moretti is back to visit.


The 'Monstre' is located in the bowels of La Defense, it is a sculpture and installation by Raymond Moretti. he built it in the studio that he lives in the brand new architectural 'monster' La Defense, possessed.
Les Journées du Patrimoine [guardian of the Parisian heritage] reopened the workshop and living space by Raymond Moretti, abandoned since 2005, the year of the death of its creator.

Right the chimney of the 'Monster'

Before 2005, the installation was open to the public every day

Moretti stond bekend om als ontwerper van posters

The installation seen from the balcony
(for security reasons you can not descend)
The shadows on the walls are painted

Parts are scattered on the ground

A walk in a theatrical setting

Subscribe to a visit of the machinery

Pictures made by the visitors, who to their surprise were guided as a group of six, by an expert on the history of the business district, offering everything some very passionate commentary.
More information in the blog article Condition Venus.

GARDENING [7] MARQUEYSSAC DORDOGNE

The Château de Marqueyssac is a 17th century chateau and gardens located at Vézac, in the Dordogne Department of France. The chateau was built at the end of the 17th century by Bertrand Vernet de Marqueyssac, Counselor to Louis XIV, on cliffs overlooking the Dordogne Valley. The original garden à la française was attributed to a pupil of André Le Nôtre, and featured terraces, alleys, and a kitchen garden surrounding the chateau.

To see the website press here it starts with a cute film...

A cute YouTube from Gardeners World

To get there, press here

LOUBOUTIN WINDOWS SELFRIDGES

We see London getting ready for their Olympiade. Not into sports? No problem. Walking around a completely brushed up city, visiting Tate Modern or The Design Museum. The latter organizes an exhibition of French shoe designer Christian Louboutin. In the meanwhile you can see his windows at Selfridges...

As the former Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent designer celebrates his own ubiquitous brand’s 20 years of shiny red soles and outrageous designs; Christian Louboutin’s is a name that’s hard to escape right now. The brilliant StudioXAG once again have their indubitable talents on display in London’s most iconic shop windows – their spellbinding kaleidoscopic displays mesmerising fashionistas and cynics alike. Whilst inside, Selfridges and StudioXAG have collaborated on an exquisite World of Louboutin concept space – a whole host of his lavish designs to splurge your pennies upon.

Watch the films.

LES LALANNES

The American Gallery Paul Kasmin organizes a retrospective of Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne. Claude Lalanne (b. 1924) and François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008) were a couple that dominated French art for quite some time with their interpretations of nature, especially animals. There is an interesting surrealistic tinge to their work. At the beginning of his career Brancusi introduced Lalanne to artists such as Max Ernst, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and Jean Tinguely. Francois-Xavier met Claude at his first gallery show in 1952. The show signified an end of painting for Francois-Xavier as he and Claude began their career sculpting together.

The Paul Kasmin Gallery  / More pictures on Trendland

It makes me greedy to look at their work... 

CLOCHARDS BIEN OUTILLé / IKEA

The making of the assembling of IKEA flats in Paris subway! The apartment in the Paris metro station Auber, set to present solutionsto small areas of development proposed IKEA will be from 9 to 14 January 2012 the site of a single operation.For 6 days, 5 housemates will live in this apartment of 54m2 in the eyes of all users of Auber. A daily videosummary of their adventures will be posted on Youtube.

YSL

I will always be fascinated by YSL. His rise and, almost yearly but never actually, fall...
His master craftmanship never wavered. I found this endearing film on Another Magazine.