Tea at Trianon: Ladurée

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Ladurée

From USA Today:

Back in 1862, there were no proper places where ladies could go to socialize. The Parisian cafés of that era functioned more like pick-up joints. So well-heeled, high-born womenfolk of the city had just plain nowhere public to go when they wanted to enjoy each other's company. Enter Ladurée, the city's first tea salon and a haven for well-heeled women. This is how Ladurée first became established, at the original location on Rue Royale, just near Paris' Madeleine Church. In the century and a half since, it has become a Parisian establishment. It was these pastries, too, that were chosen to be featured in the film "Marie Antoinette" in all their pink icing perfection. So, since lunch, tea or brunch is a must while you are in Paris, the only real question that must be made is at which Ladurée location will you indulge? All are beautiful, but there is something both cozy and ultimately chic about the St. Germain-des-Prés Ladurée, the one nestled just on the corner of Rue Bonaparte and Rue Jacob, in the heart of timeless St. Germain-des-Prés. (Read more.)