Tea at Trianon: Chic Boutique Hotels in Paris

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

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Chic Boutique Hotels in Paris

From The Paris Apartment:

Bonjour et Happy Spring! I hope you’re doing well and coming out of winter hibernation. This time of year we get lots of requests for hotel recommendations so I put together a list of my personal Parisian favorites. Below is a list of Boutique hotels (I normally stay in apartments but do love a great hotel now and then). Like the image above, most of us would be happy with just a bed by a window…They were chosen based on aesthetics (can’t tolerate bad decor, especially in Paris), price and amenities. (I’m a sucker for a fireplace or pool, good sheets, central location and a view). If you’d like to add any to the list please let me know. In the meantime I hope you enjoy these even if it’s just an armchair vacay for now! (image via Pinterest) (Read more.)