15 49.0138 8.38624 both 0 bullet 0 4000 1 0 horizontal https://www.messynessychic.com 300 4000

Cabinet of Chic Curiosities

Category / Off-Beat & Little Known

Liberating Paris with Mixed Reality

Vive la resistance! Join me 600m below Paris to liberate the city in a special new “Don’t be a Tourist” episode with Microsoft. Discover a WWII bunker deserted for decades and relive the liberation of Paris with HoloLens mixed reality technology through the eyes of French resistance fighters in the underworld.

A Sleeping Chateau, Untouched since the Revolution, is For Sale

We held our breath as its story unfolded. That of a curious, half-moon shaped castle unlike any other we’d seen before, tucked away in the quiet warmth of Bordeaux’s countryside. Something in our gut told us that this castle, of the many we’ve fallen for, was to be different from the rest – and we…

Inside the Secret Parisian Warehouse where the French Presidents Go Furniture Shopping

Picture an IKEA warehouse – but make it chic – and add an inventory of priceless furniture, textiles and objects that date as far back as the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, who indisputably raised the bar on what we’ll call French ‘power decorating’ for centuries to come. A sprawling Art Deco reinforced…

The Undertaker Village of Paris: Then & Now

It was a time when divorcées were only allowed to be buried at night, when the Arch of Triomphe wore a black mourning veil, and the business of death was booming in Paris. In fact, over one thousand undertakers worked together in their own veritable mini-city at the town’s edge, from coffin makers and casket…

I See a Road Trip to New York’s Village of Psychics in Your Future

When the forests of Upstate New York are blanketed in orange and brown hues during the fall of Autumn leaves, there are few places more bewitching to escape for the weekend. But there is certainly no place quite like the enchanting hamlet of Lily Dale, NY, population: 275, where over 50 registered spiritual mediums are in residence…

A Brief Compendium of the Most Petite Places in Paris

Space is scarce within Paris’ péripherique. As the most densely populated city in Europe, residents of the City of Light have learned to be creative with every nook and cranny. Beyond the mind-bogglingly miniature apartments and comically small lifts, there are those who have transformed the unlikeliest of spaces into fully functional cultural spaces, boutiques…

Step inside an Ali Baba’s Cave of Dried Flowers

Somewhere in between Paris and Provence in the small town of Bayet, a floral wonderland awaits. For 35 years, husband and wife team Véronique and Jean-François have been harvesting, drying and selling over fifty varieties of flower on their 7000m² farm in the countryside of Auvergne. And you’re invited to stop in anytime and frolic…

Don’t be a Tourist in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of those cities that can convince you within a weekend, that you should probably move there. Friendly, charming, English-speaking, innovative and inspiring, there’s much more to this city than legal weed and the Red Light district. For many centuries – rebuilt and repurposed to fit the needs and preferences of each new…

Vacationing at the West’s Smallest Ghost Town

Is luck just another word for good timing? It is for the town of Gold Point. Under the endless stretch of sky in Esmerelda County, Nevada, at the gateway of Death Valley, the little ghost town sleeps with dreams of bygone glory. Of chattering saloon life and gold dusted guns. Once upon a time –…

Here’s the Secret to Feasting your Way Through Italy like a Local

You’re invited to local food feasts all over Italy – if you know the magic word, that is. Sagre! That’s Italian for festival, one that centres around the annual harvest, celebrating local culture and most importantly – food! So what’s your weakness? Pizza? Pasta? Truffles? Fritto misto alla Piemontese? Whatever your preference, somewhere in Italy,…

1 2 … 59 OLDER POSTS