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Cabinet of Chic Curiosities
Category / Paris Like a Local
June 15, 2018

How to Save the French Brasserie

I‘m a gastronomic moron when it comes to the classic French brasserie. I really have no idea if the food is any good because I’m too busy side-eyeing the floor tiles, the typefaces, ogling at the glass ceiling and imagining the entire scene exactly as it was 50 or 100 years ago. Walk into any of…
June 1, 2018

Parisian Fast Food: Web Series Mini Bites

Okay, so we took a bit of a hiatus on the web series there. We’ve got tons of footage and not enough time to edit it. The good news is, we’re back– but with mini-bites … snackable little episodes of Don’t be a Tourist. In today’s mini bite, I’m sharing my version of Parisian Fast Food,…
May 2, 2018

Inside the Lost “Harvard” of Paris

Gustave Eiffel, the Michelin brothers, the Peugeot family– they were all educated by one of the oldest, most prestigious universities in France– which no longer exists. In its heyday, this ‘Harvard of Paris’ was housed in an extraordinary 17th century Parisian mansion, one that if you’ve been to Paris, you’re most likely very well-acquainted with. You see,…
March 23, 2018

Inside the Secret Workshop of the Louvre

In a vast warehouse at the edge of Paris, artisans are working around the clock on a clandestine operation entrusted to them by the Louvre: recreating France’s most iconic sculptures and prints for mysterious clients the world over. And unbeknownst to most of Paris, its doors are open to anyone curious enough to come knocking.…
February 20, 2018

The Louvre’s Secret Apartments

The Louvre; or, as we’ve prefer to call it, Paris’ most exhaustingly gorgeous tourist trap. In the MessyNessy guide, Don’t Be a Tourist in Paris, there’s even a chapter called, “Anything but the Louvre” that steers folks away from its selfie-stick jungles, and into the arms of more overlooked museums in the city. But this weekend, we decided to pay…
February 9, 2018

The Last Makers of the Parisian Café Chair

Stepping inside Maison Gatti is like entering Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for Francophiles and furniture connoisseurs alike. Nestled in the Parisian commune of Fontainebleau, the atelier is the last of its kind — and one of the few surviving sources for authentic Parisian bistro chairs. As such, Gatti has become the guardian of a long-standing…
January 31, 2018

Who is the Girl in the Paris Bathtub?

I took a bath in front of the Eiffel Tower once and my naked back has since gone viral on the internet. You might have noticed. People even started painting their own watercolour interpretations of this photograph and one of the Kardashian sisters recently “borrowed” it for her Instagram account. Stumbling upon my own self-portrait on…
January 31, 2018

Paris’ Utopian Village of Concrete Cabbage

If Ernest Hemingway made Paris a moveable feast, architect Gérard Grandval made its Créteil suburb the vegetable course. Built during the 1970s, the Créteil Cabbages, or “Choux de Créteil,” are French Brutalism at its finest. The ‘utopian’ residency is composed of 10 otherworldly buildings whose balconies extend like giant, concrete petals – hence the nickname, “the…
January 18, 2018

The Little Paris Beekeeping School

Paris as you know, is like a jewel box, hiding endless little gems; another of which I’m going to share with you today, nestled in the iconic Jardin du Luxembourg. Begin by finding the south west entrance to the gardens on Rue d’Assas, near Hemingway’s old stomping grounds, and turn right into the fruit orchard…
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Mum & Dad named me Vanessa, but you can call me Nessy.