When They Say ‘Haussmann’s Paris’, What Do They Mean?

Walking through Paris, as a tourist or a local, it’s hard to miss the sense of harmony that the city exudes. The standardized buildings, the parks, the long angular streets that seem to always lead to a landmark. Everything feels intentional, organized, and connected. This isn’t by chance, this sensation is largely thanks to the…

Can-Can Dancing in the Paris Vineyard

The Montmartre annual wine harvest has been a festive Parisian tradition since 1934, but we’ve come across some photographs from the 1950s that reveal a time in the vineyard’s history when the grape-picking ceremony added an extra kick into the celebration. Wink wink. Since the 19th century, the Parisian vineyard’s closest neighbours have included the infamous cabaret and burlesque houses…

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Exotic Dancing on the Colonial Bandwagon

When I first saw a black and white photograph of Ruth St. Denis, I was instantly seduced by her, just as many audiences of the early 20th century were too. Who was this female chameleon from another era dressed as an Egyptian Goddess, a Hindu deity, a gypsy princess, a geisha or even as an Indian peacock? Ruth St. Denis in the…

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The Art of the 1960s Paris Riots

Over half a century ago, change was brewing in Paris. Right outside my window in the Latin Quarter, from where I write this post to you, violent street battles were turning the city upside down and bringing the country to a standstill. They joke about how the French love to protest and go on strike as if it were…

All Aboard the Giant Hippie Bus from London to Calcutta

Once upon a time, you could buy a ticket from London to Calcutta for less than the cost of a ticket from Paris to Rome. The year was 1957, baby boomers were still teenagers on the loose and flower power was on the rise. The Albert Travel double decker bus (originally called “Indiaman,”), left from…

Her Legs Should’ve been Registered as Deadly Weapons

The first time I saw this Cyd Charisse dancing was on a VHS copy of Singing in the Rain that I’d been gleefully gifted by my parents. With a total of just seven minutes airtime and not a single line of dialogue spoken, she stole the show as Debbie Reynold’s mysterious stand-in; a nameless leading…

Let’s Entertain the Theory of the Tartarian Empire for a Moment

What do you mean you’ve never heard of the lost civilization of Great Tartaria? It’s only one of the weirdest architectural conspiracy theories going. It seems there has been a monumental cover-up to hide the truth from us all about an ancient empire that’s hiding in plain sight all around us – or so a…

I Wish I Could’ve Partied with the Prince of Saint-Germain

If you were living in Paris during the years that followed World War II and liked to party, you’d better have known Boris Vian. In 1950, he wrote the original guidebook to bohemian Paris and pioneered a movement which brought back the city’s “joie de vivre” that had been lost during the German occupation. Along with Jean Paul-Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Boris…

Human Computer: The Forgotten Women’s Profession

For hundreds of years, the term “computer” was a job title for a human before machines took over the job, and in the late 19th century, computers weren’t just human, they were mostly women. An English Countess and Victorian mathematician, Ada Lovelace, is regarded as the first computer programmer and by World War II, American…

Digging for Treasure (and Love) in New York City

Their’s is a love of strange and beautiful proportion. The kind measured in porcelain, peanut-sized dolls, and antiqued oysters as big as your face. “It’s hard to imagine a time when we’d stop digging,” says Belle, back-lit by a wall of technicolour glass bottles, “I mean it’s addictive. And when you have someone who gets…