The Grand Sugar Pink Clifftop Hotel

Not the usual Mexico Cancun or Acapulco destination, we are in the northwestern region of Chihuahua where a most eccentric and isolated Hotel Posada Mirador perches over cliffs that are four times greater in magnitude than that of the Grand Canyon. Nestled like an eagle’s nest at the edge of the canyon, coloured in “millennial pink,” otherwise known…

Meet the Belle of Provence

Jamie Beck went looking for inspiration and wound up moving to Provence, where she spends her time studying artwork, buying handfuls of fresh flowers and taking self-portraits. She is the ultimate belle of southern France– a New York ex-pat with a touch of tradition, femininity, tenderness, and an Instagram gallery that could compete with museums. Her…

Island Hopping in Paris

Come summertime, Parisians attempt to make their escape to the countryside or to the beach as often as possible at weekends until they quit the city entirely for their god-given month-long holiday in August. Sparing a thought for anyone stuck in the city during an unexpected heatwave, I have a few ideas for faking a…

Discovering Dalida, the Tragic Diva

Before living in Paris, I did not know Dalida, but this city was on a first-name basis with her– heck, they even called her “Saint Dalida”. She sold more than 170 million albums worldwide, had a career that spanned over 30 years and became an international icon, ranking among the biggest singers of all time. And yet, outside…

Memories of a Summer on the Coast of Yugoslavia

Summer holidays on the coast of the Adriatic in Yugoslavia in the 60’s? An offbeat vacation spot that isn’t the Cote d’Azur nor Dirty Dancing’s Kellerman’s, but something in between. Mountains, beaches, shopping, midnight dinners, and more; these shots make us nostalgic for early photojournalism and magazine covers with smiling vacationers, vintage wardrobes, and the irresistible happiness that…

Unlocking the Mystery of Villa Frochot

Villa Frochot is one of the most mysterious buildings in Paris. Closed to the public (or so we thought), rumours and hearsay about the villa vary depending on who you ask. Reliable sources speak of its days as an erotic cabaret in the 1920s, and according to the barman at the end of the street,…

A Taste of Vintage Italia

Let’s not pretend that a summer in Italy doesn’t revolve around food, food … and food, discovering charming family-run restaurants and uncovering the secret pasta recipes of Italian grandmothers from Milan to the caves of Matera. But this is not your stereotypical Italian story of family and good food. At Osteria del Castello, housed inside an old court of a…

Learning to be a Stewardess in the Sixties

Before airline passenger service was making headlines for all the wrong reasons, it was bright, white smiles all round, feminine perfection was the goal and the word “stewardess” was not offensive (nowadays, the correct term is flight attendant). The women in these photographs we recently dug up from the Life archives reveal the everyday training for…

The Little-Known Paris Jewel Box of Curiosities

“Take the right hallway to the staircase, which will take you to another staircase, that will lead you to a doorbell on the first floor” – the exact instructions to finding the Museum of Mineralogy tucked away in the university of MINES Paris Tech. Paris hides one of its most inspiring cabinets of curiosity behind university walls…

Dig Through the World’s Largest Sketchbook Library

There’s an art library in Brooklyn where anyone and everyone can be a contributor to the collection. It has existed for almost 10 years and yet it’s fittingly one of those wonderfully and unusual things that few New Yorkers know about. The Sketchbook Project has over 35,963 sketchbooks in its library submitted by more than 162,081 creative…