The Marché Dauphine in Paris was more than ready to welcome international visitors to its first ever red carpet soiree. On the first night of Rendezvous En France, our international contingent of travel journalists was escorted by mounted police into the streets of Saint-Ouen. Here, costumed dancers and entertainers welcomed us to the Marché Dauphine, ready with cocktails.

The beautiful antique market of Marché Dauphine was launched in December 1991. Since then, it has become the main attraction of the entire Saint-Ouen Puces market. Art and antique collectors and experts from all over the world visit the Saint-Ouen Puces market in search of high quality and unique antiques. Within this market, the Marché Dauphine is two storey, 6000-square meter venue full of vintage and inspired art, collectors’ pieces, and designs.

Meandering through the little shops led to a welcoming show by performers right on the streets. This show captured the essence of the Marché Dauphine, especially since it was mixed with an old Parisienne vibe. This set the tone for a magical dinner set in closed market alleyways near the market. The delicious dinner was catered by top French chefs.  But the finale was unbeatable. We enjoyed a dessert created by Michelin three-star chef, Alain Ducasse.

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HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR NEXT DESTINATION?

I have it all planned according to a very long bucket list, although, of course, there is always the last minute plan that is full of surprises. But as long as a place is culturally diverse, bewildering and beautiful, I will hop on a plane and go visit.

Galal Mahmoud design

 

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO EXPLORE A NEW CITY?

Depending on which city, I pinpoint important things to see on a map and link the rest by walking or by just getting lost between each if the city is safe. I also like to stop by cafes to get a flavor of the local habits and colors. My favorite indulgences are early morning coffee in a typical café with the local newspaper and late afternoon drinks in one of the old hotel palaces of the city.

WHICH DESTINATIONS ARE MOST MEMORABLE FOR YOU?

Paris remains magical for me at any time of the day. It is so diversified; and after 30 years of knowing it, I still always discover. new things there. But my favorite place in the world is our family retreat on the island of Mykonos. I have been going there for the past 40 years and it is where I feel totally relaxed and in contact with my favorite natural environment, the Mediterranean sea that lies beneath the house.

WHERE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU FIND THE MOST CREATIVE INSPIRATION?

Sitting by the sea in a typical sea shore Greek taverna having a glass of ouzo, white cheese, tomatoes and Greek olives on a secluded island.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE TRIP.

My first visit to the island of Bali 16 years ago was short, but I was blown away by the simple quality of the traditional Balinese architecture where you live in complete symbiosis with nature around you and where every viewpoint seems to be framed by nature. It is the essence of ecological living since all the materials are sourced locally, and this produces the necessary environment for harmonious living.

THE LANCASTER HOTEL IN PARIS:

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOUTIQUE HOTELS

OUTDOORS AT JOEL ROBUCHON

On one of my many visits to Tokyo, where I have a home, I spent one afternoon with friends sitting outdoors at the Joel Robuchon cafe in Marunouchi. I’ve always liked the Marunouchi area of Tokyo because it merges Japanese high-technology and design with a Western aesthetics and sensibility more found in Europe than in Asia.

Tokyo is pretty much a jumble of mindless construction these days as Tokyo prepares for Olympics 2020, but in Marunouchi where the Japanese government has had the time, money and a second chance to re-do things, they’ve done things right by making beautiful buildings, keeping parts of old ones, creating pretty pocket gardens and filling the neighborhood with wonderful outdoor cafes and good restaurants that are not outrageously expensive. 

Nothing is cheap in Tokyo, of course, but for some reason, Marunouchi has fewer of those $500 a plate restaurants compared to other ritzy areas. So it’s a really nice walking area in Tokyo for real people with upscale tastes rather than endless budgets.

THE BEST GALETTE IN TOKYO

I’d already had lunch by the time I met up with friends at the Joel Robuchon cafe in Marunouchi. But when I got there, the chefs were making what looked like the most delectable galettes right in front of customers and filling these with ham and gruyere cheese. So I ordered one of these with a glass of champagne and then had a kounig amman pastry on the side. 

I love kouinig amman and I have it wherever I see it. But I get a really good one so rarely as it’s not a very easy pastry to make well. But the best kouinig amman I’ve ever had was at the breakfast buffet of the Park Hyatt Place Vendome in Paris and then I never had a one that was good enough for me again until Chef Cyril Soenen made one for a Commanderie de Bordeaux dinner at the home of one of the members many years ago. 

How ironic that I fell in love with kouinig amman in Paris, ate it all over France (with no great satisfaction), as well as all over the world in a fruitless search, and only to find the next best kuoinig amman to pass my test in Manila.

The version at Joel Robuchon that day was okay, but it wasn’t fantastic. And he’d filled it with stewed apples, which is a non-traditionalist approach; but perhaps he thought of it as a twist of a homage to the Bretagne heritage of the kouinig amman. 

PARIS FOR AN AFTERNOON

But the galette with ham and gruyere cheese was done to perfection and I loved it. This, and the entire atmosphere in that part of Marunouchi that day made me feel like I’d gone to Paris for the weekend, especially as this tiny and ever so casual outpost of Joel Robuchon as it reminds me of his Atelier de Joel Robuchon on the Left Bank in Paris. 

When Atelier de Joel Robuchon on the Left Bank in Paris, next to the Hotel Montalembert, favourite hotel of interior designers in Paris, first opened, it was immediately very popular and always fully booked. But luckily, I was staying for two weeks at the Hotel Montalembert then, and we were always just advised to go down early and check with the staff of the Atelier de Joel Robuchon and try our luck. And we were always lucky. 

At the very start, Atelier de Joel Robuchon was still a neighborhood joint in every sense, in spite of the hype; and many chic Parisian families took their kids for weekend brunches or dinners and locals showed up in jeans and t-shirts. 

LAST MEAL BEFORE FLYING

For a very long time, I used to go to Paris at least thrice a year and I always went to Atelier de Joel Ronuchon at least once with someone in Paris. And then it became a ritual for me to have my last meal in Paris here on every trip as well. I would check out of my hotel and get a car to drive me and my luggages to Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and then the car would wait while I had my last proper French meal. After lunch, it was straight to Charles de Gaulle Airport to make it in time for my JAL flight back to Tokyo from Paris.

Sometimes, friends would join me on these last meals. But even when my friends were busy, I’d dine alone as Atelier de Joel Robuchon is not a problem at all for people dining alone. It’s all bar stools in front of a counter facing an open kitchen, and I’d have either the daily special or my all-time favorite spaghetti pomodoro.

Yes, I know. It’s a top French restaurant and I’m in Paris — so why am I having spaghetti pomodoro? But I just love Joel Robuchon’s pasta with a glass of wine so this was always my last meal before flying back to Asia.

MEETING JOEL ROBUCHON HIMSELF IN TOKYO

So there was, thinking about all this while sitting outside Boutique de Joel Robuchon in Marunouchi with my galette and my kouinig amman, and saying out loud how this was just ike going to Paris without the 16-hour flight and the jet lag. 

Then, who should I see sitting next to me at the Boutique de Joel Robuchon in Marunouchi and having a Perrier with lime and a galette? The great man himself. Yes, it was Joel Robuchon himself — the chef with a cumulative total of over 26 Michelin stars, when I last counted — having a late lunch (or perhaps it was a snack?) at his own Marunouchi outlet! 

Of course I struck up a conversation and told him just how much I love L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Paris. He was very pleased to learn that I’d been to most of his restaurants all over the world but ironically my favorites were his first non-traditional outlet (L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Paris is his first casual restaurant in the world) and perhaps what is his most casual outlet so far, the Boutique de Joel Robuchon in Marunouchi, which serves simple fare and tea in paper cups. So, indeed, it was just like visiting Paris for the weekend — if not better, with Joel Robuchon sitting next to me at his own cafe.

A private boat cruising the Seine in Paris

In Paris not too long ago, living a never-ending Travelife, we booked a private boat to take us cruising around the Seine River in Paris.

Everyone’s familiar with the bateau mouche, which is a boat ride down the Seine.

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This is a must-do for any first-time visitor to Paris, and especially highly recommended for a summer evening.

It’s very nice, but it’s a big public boat with a lot of people.

A private boat cruising the Seine in Paris

We wanted a more private Seine river experience this time, so we booked a boat with a skipper for three hours with a company called Paris Private Cruise.

I was so glad we did this private cruise for so many reasons.

First, it’s great going down the Seine on a boat with no one else on board except your party. You can really relax and enjoy the sights.

A private boat cruising the Seine in Paris

Second, you can go as fast or as slow as you want.

So you can sail right near the Alexander Bridge in Paris, for instance, which happens to be my favorite bridge, and ask the skipper to go really slowly so you can see every detail from down under.

Then, when you’re passing something not too interesting, you can tell the skipper to speed up.

A private boat cruising the Seine in Paris

Third, you can tailormake the cruise experience to your liking.

Melanie Zontone, who runs Paris Private Cruise, can arrange everything from breakfasts and lunches to cocktails, dinner and even midnight snacks.

In fact, a few days after our charter, she was taking a German family on a breakfast cruise along the Seine.

They wanted to see Paris in the morning from a boat.

A private boat cruising the Seine in Paris

We’d just had a big lunch at the Plaza Athenee on that day, and then we had a big dinner ahead at Le Bristol, so we didn’t order any food for our charter, which began at 3 PM and ended at 6 PM.

But we did ask for champagne.

Then Melanie also prepared some nibbles like olives and cheese. It was perfect for an afternoon sail.

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Champagne is good for any reason and season, of course.

But I must say, it’s very nice for sailing down the Seine on a beautiful summer afternoon, on your own charter boat.

Interestingly, we were the only private boat on the river, so with our champagne and all, we certainly attracted a lot of attention.

I asked Melanie: “What are the most unusual charters you’ve ever done?”

She smiled and replied: “We’ve done a couple of marriage proposals on board. One guy asked me to prepare champagne and dinner, and he proposed right in front of the Eiffel Tower.“

Isn’t that romantic? 

Of course, according to Melanie, the lady said yes.

However, the Paris private boat cruise is also great for just any reason — like if you’re one family, or a group of friends, who just want to sail up and down the Seine in style, living a never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.

Today I was reminiscing about a trip to Paris four years ago with a couple of good friends, for some reason.

As I was looking at the photos, I found a couple of snapshots I took of the Hermes Museum, which I thought I’d share with you.

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The Hermes Museum is not open to the public and it’s not quite a museum in the traditional sense since it’s just a series of rooms with all kinds of interesting items in it.

But it’s an incredibly fascinating collection that allows you a glimpse of a life of privilege and refinement over the centuries.

Visiting this museum is usually only possible if you know someone at Hermes in Paris and make arrangements in advance — which is what I did, securing entry to this very private display for myself and some friends who had joined my trip from Manila.

It was our second trip together to Paris in four months, and we were doing Paris the Travelife way, after all.

Luckily, we were staying at an apartment just a few blocks from the Hermes flagship store in Paris — fondly nicknamed The Mothership by Hermes fanatics around the world — so on the appointed day, we just walked over from our apartment to Hermes.

As it’s not really accessible to the public, we didn’t even enter the museum from the store.

Instead, we were asked to go to the side entrance which is also used by Hermes executives and staff.

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We were first shown the Hermes workshop for saddles on top of the store.

Yes, Hermes is now a global ultra-luxury brand but on top of its main shop, it still makes saddles in an airy workshop manned by a leather craftsman with over 30 years of experience and a handful of apprentices.

A miniature carriage owned by the Hermes family

The master craftsman was hard at work on a beautiful saddle when we walked in.

I’m not a horse person, but even I could appreciate the beauty of this piece of leather.

We asked the price in euros and it was in the high five-digits. Someone whispered that it was going to a member of a Middle Eastern royal family.

From there, a lady took us up an elevator and then down a small staircase where we waited in front of a closed door.

This was the Hermes museum which many designers and dignitaries visit when in Paris, including Princess Diana, not long before her death.

After a few minutes, another lady came in and opened the door using a tangle of antique-looking keys.

When the door opened, my first impression of the Hermes museum was that of a storehouse of fine things.

There were clothes on dressmaker’s mannequins, bags perched on top of shelves, accessories laid out on tables, and all sorts of personal items strewn around casually as if the lady of the house had spent the day in her boudoir.

And now this boudoir was opened just for us, and we happily spent the morning here looking around unescorted for the most part.

“These are the personal possessions of different members of the Hermes family over the generations,” said our host, the museum curator.

She continued: “And some items come from the workshops themselves, or they were purchased by the Hermes family and used as inspiration for designs and products of Hermes.”

There were items from India, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East — but I didn’t spot anything really significant from Asia (apart from India).

Assorted military uniforms and medals

The most fascinating item in the whole collection was a little white wheelbarrow in the center of the room, that used to belong to the Duchess of Windsor who lived in exile in a lovely villa in the outskirts of Paris.

Apparently, both the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were great patrons of Hermes, and one day the Duke of Windsor had come into the store looking quite distraught.

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“I need to find something for the Duchess’ birthday,” he had reportedly told the Hermes store manager, who he knew quite well. The manager then suggested, “What about a pair of gloves, sir?”

The duke reportedly responded: “What will she do with a pair of gloves? She’s got a whole wheelbarrow of them.”

The desk used by the founder of Hermes, complete with all his personal effects such as inkstands, stationery boxes and seals.

The quick-thinking Hermes sales lady then commissioned a little wheelbarrow as a present for the duchess, complete with little pull-out drawers for her to place her gloves in.

Since the duke had described her as having a wheelbarrow full of gloves, why not make her a wheelbarrow for her gloves? Both the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were reportedly very entertained by this novel gift.

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How did it come to be part of the Hermes collection? One day, it was put up for auction although I don’t think it was identified as belonging to the Duchess of Windsor when it was put up for sale.

This was long after both the Duke and the Duchess of Windsor had already passed away.

An eagle-eyed staff member of Hermes happened to spot it and it was purchased then and there for the private collection of Hermes.

Thankfully, this wheelbarrow has been preserved and its story is now known to more people.

Toys from the family collection

I kick myself that I have no photos to show of this wheelbarrow, as the story has long fascinated me and it made my day to finally see it in front of me.

So I can’t imagine why I didn’t take a photo of it.

But anyway, here are photos of some of the other interesting things in the Hermes Museum, on just another wonderful day in my never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.

At the end of an epic trip, there is no place like home

Several years ago, I went on a trip for 60 days that involved literally going around the world.

This world trip included some favorite places and also a handful of exotic new ones.

It was to be the last word in passionate travel — this amazing 60 day journey that circumnavigated the globe by air, land and sea.

WHAT WENT INTO THE WORLD TRIP:
PARTIES IN 5 CITIES

We had stays in several lovely hotels and apartments.

We also took a river cruise down the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam, and made a hundred new friends in the course of the trip; and we managed to squeeze in some memorable plays and concerts in London and New York.

Of course, there was also a bit of shopping indulgence in Strasbourg. 


Then, just to make things more complicated on a trip around the world, we hosted parties in five different cities including Paris and London, just so we would be able to see most of our friends in one go.

Yes, I hosted parties in five different cities, and I cooked for each one of these.

In London, we had a party for 30 to 40 people in a beautiful apartment meters away from St. James Palace.

I organized cocktails in the state-of-the-art kitchen and on the rooftop with a view, and dinner in the living room on a separate floor.

We also had very long lunches accompanied by too many bottles of burgundy in Paris and even an emergency hospital stay in Delhi. Too much shopping in the heat.

Then, as a last hurrah, I even enjoyed a seat next to music superstar Fergie on the 14-hour flight from New York to Tokyo, first class on Japan Airlines.

PART 1: FEASTING IN DELHI

The trip began, quite appropriately, with a lavish feast in Delhi hosted by an IT mogul for nine investor friends from Japan on the first evening of our world trip. 

The sprawling estate in the outskirts of Delhi came with its own gigantic Japanese tea house and carp pond. 

Apparently, this was erected by the IT mogul specifically in honor of the visit of a Japanese prime minister to his home. 

That night, this served as the backdrop for a private Indian cultural show featuring songs and dances from every region for ten guests.

After the show, we were led to an adjoining garden the size of a football field, where the mogul and his friends waited and makeshift booths were set up as in a carnival, this time with chefs showcasing the delicious foods of different regions.

It was quite an extravagant spectacle for ten visitors.

Next morning, this same mogul trotted out two private jets to fly our group to the state of Bihar, the poorest state in India, for a quick visit to the ruins of Nalanda University (5th century B.C.), one of the oldest universities in the world.

The local government had arranged a welcoming committee of hundreds of villagers, who swarmed around each foreign visitor with overwhelming friendliness like followers of a demi-god.

This experience, along with a stay in one of the great historical suites of the famous Taj Hotel in Mumbai, as one of the highlights of this trip.

In Mumbai, we were fortunate to meet one of India’s famous movie directors at a dinner one evening, and he introduced us to his Bollywood world.

Almost every evening in Mumbai after that fateful meeting involved a late night dinner and drinks session at some trendy Mumbai hangout with this famous director and his coterie of (incredibly beautiful) actresses and models.

As you can imagine, the nine guys in our group of ten were all eyes and quite happy about this.

For some reason, I was always the one who wanted to go home early, and go home to my beautiful suite at the Taj Hotel, and enjoy my never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.