53 - Looking For Carlotta

 HOTEL WEST END, Paris, and THE SHERRY NETHERLAND, NYC

Carlotta atop the Arc de Triomphe 1970

    Carlotta was an American woman who lived in the same Regent’s Park apartment where I rented a room in London.  She was there when I arrived in 1969, and we became close friends.  She introduced me to Rudolph Noureyev and Margot Fontaine dancing at Covent Garden, Greek food, and to Alan Bates in the West End.

Tall, over six feet, she carried it off with panache, never stooping, looking and moving like a high fashion model. Originally from California, she had left the States around 1965 to teach at an English academy on the Greek Island of Mykonos.

She was still teaching when I met her, by then at the American School of London, but she was saving to return to college to become a social worker in England, which I believe she did. 

  She disliked Doris, our landlady, and as a result she left Harley House before I did, but we remained fast friends, and we stayed in contact after I moved to Paris. 

With Carlotta, Christmas Day 1970      

  In fact, Carlotta came over to see me my first Christmas in France.  I was fairly scruffy those early days in Paris, and was proud to escort her around. It was bitterly cold that year, and she arrived with an eye-catching maxi-coat (the newest fashion that year) which garnered a lot of attention. 

Cold in Montmartre 1970 (photo by Carlotta Poppin)

 
She was staying at what I saw as a pretty fancy hotel.  It was called the West End, just around the corner from me on rue Clément Marot, a few steps behind the Plaza Athenée.

Lobby and bar of The West End Hotel today

What set her stay apart in my memory is that she had known about and managed to book a maid’s room in what would otherwise have been too expensive a hotel.   Normally reserved for a client’s domestic staff, it was simple and small, but still quite chic by most standards.   I was  impressed by her savvy and knowledge of such things of the world.

She was several years my senior, but I never thought of her as older.   She did tell me then that she was increasingly aware of no longer being a very young girl, and she recounted an incident that brought this realization home to her.

Browsing in a neighborhood dress shop, the owner approached her from behind, and began to greet her:  “Bonjour, Mademoi ….”

Just then Carlotta turned towards her, and the shopkeeper stopped in mid phrase and corrected, “Oh, ma-DAME!”

It’s a bilingual memory a little hard to translate.   The lady in the shop meant only to show respect, as she corrected her more casual greeting to a young girl to one for a more mature lady. 

* * * * * *

I knew at some point that Carlotta had returned to the U.S., then I lost all touch.  Young people are often not very good about keeping long-distance friendships, and I was pretty bad.   I would often later regret losing touch with friends, as was the case with Carlotta, but then it would usually be too late.

There is a little postscript which I have filed away with my Carlotta memories.

Doorman at the Sherry 1995

  About 15 years later, I found myself having breakfast at the Sherry Netherland Hotel in New York.   I was alone, and on the banquette next to mine sat a particularly elegant and striking middle aged woman.   Her hair had gone a silvery grey, and she held herself perfectly straight.  Although seated, I could tell she was over six feet tall.

This beautiful lady was sort of a fantasy ideal that I might have imagined Carlotta as having become.   Could she possibly be?   I asked myself.   There were little things, something about her eyes, the cheekbones. It seemed a possibility that this could really be Carlotta.

Anything I might say risked being misinterpreted, and I fought to overcome my timidity.   Finally I leaned across to the neighboring table, undoubtedly conveying my inner turmoil, and said, “Is there any chance … could you possibly be Carlotta Poppin?”

There was a long pause as my mystery lady looked at me.   When I saw the flicker of a smile, I thought for an instant that she really was going to be Carlotta.

She looked at me with such benevolence, and said, “I am so sorry that I am not.”  

RETURN TRIP TO LA RESERVE, BEAULIEU

 

Table with a view.  You'd never guess it was the middle of the Winter

     The Restaurant des Rois at La Reserve in Beaulieu has recently re-opened for lunch with its special prix-fixe menu.  When Dickie visited us in Nice earlier this month, we took the bus there for a memorable meal from the kitchen of chef Romain Corbière (Thank you, Ryan and Liz!) 

       Here are a few photo souvenirs, highlights of the occasion.

     

Sopping up the sauce (Dickie above, Brenda left)

Winter vegetables melting pumpkin with hazelnut and parmesan cheese

Foie gras with mandarine and truffle sauce

John Dory fish with lemon and hazelnut and delicious braised endives

All ably served by Pasquale

 

Veal with caramelized salsify, Jerusalem artichokes and spinach

Dessert of mango and pineapple cream puffs ... and coffee with more sweets

 Guillaume (left) has recently been named restaurant manager, and the inimitable Jean Louis remains La Reserve's star sommelier

Le Restaurant des Roi.  From left to right: Guillaume, Pasquale and Jean Louis

Your input is welcomed:  frank.pleasants@libertysurf.fr

[Photos are mine, unless otherwise credited]

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

La Reserve was also featured in blog No. 41 "A Great Gatsbyesque Lunch."   The Sherry Netherland played a part in blog No. 33 "Breakfasts in the Seventies" (to access, click on title).

52 - Lunching in Style, three hotel dining rooms

THE PRINCE DE GALLES, THE SAN REGIS, and THE LANCASTER, Paris

 

The new bar at the Prince de Galles

Paris is full of intimate luxury hotels, and some of the lesser known ones increasingly hide unexpectedly fine restaurants with competitive lunchtime menus.   Here are three which I’ve sampled recently.

The Hotel Prince de Galles (named after the Prince of Wales who later became the Duke of Windsor, after abdicating his title of King of England) has been one of Paris’ smaller grand hotels since it opened in 1929 with some stunning art-déco architecture, particularly its Moroccan-style interior garden which has been classified a national treasure and consequently cannot be altered.  Winston Churchill elected residence at the "Prince" in its early years, and Elvis Presley later spent several weekends while serving in the army in Germany.

Lana (MGM photo)

  Lana Turner used to stay there, though most of the top film stars preferred the larger, better known George V which stands next door and now belongs to the Four Seasons.  Until recent years the Prince de Galles lobby boasted a sumptuous oil painting of the Hollywood star in her prime.

Early Agassi (Google)

I once had breakfast in its garden restaurant with the tennis star, Andre Agassi.  Well, not at the same table, though in fact, he talked so loudly we might as well have been.  He was in the first flush of success, and was in Paris competing in the French Open at Roland Garros Stadium.  He didn’t win that year, and it was rumored that a transatlantic rift with Barbra Streisand had distracted him.   

The Prince de Galles, now managed by the Orient Express Company, has recently reopened after a long period of renovation, and is again in pristine condition.

A particularly succelent fish dish at the Prince de Galles 

Stephanie Le Quellec, a young French chef, has taken over the hotel’s kitchens, and she is creating considerable buzz with her inventive cuisine.  We recently sampled her three-course lunch, and it was well worth the detour.

* * * * * * * *

The Hotel San Régis is more discreetly located and less well known than the mainstay  Prince de Galles.  Virtually hidden on a little street in back of Avenue Montaigne with its couturier shops and luxury apartment buildings, it is not an address for anyone seeking to call attention to themselves.  So Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan might well prefer to look elsewhere.

Brenda nursing a coffee at the St. Regis

  
Candice Bergen, who like Jane Fonda, lived and acted with success in French movies at the beginning of her career, has often resided at the San Regis.  As have Lauren Bacall and Leslie Caron.   
                                                                                
Originally constructed as a private mansion in 1857, it was transformed in 1923 by the then-owner of the famed restaurant La Tour d’Argent.  Today you get very much the feeling of being in a luxurious country home. 

Partial view of San Regis' intimate restaurant and tearoom

 
Restaurant chef Christophe Lecricolais offers a daily luncheon menu which we recently tried with pleasure.  If less spectacular from a culinary point of view than the Prince de Galles, the hotel’s restaurant is so aesthetically entrancing, snuggled inside its glass ceiling conservatory, that it is worth the visit just for that.   A viable alternative would be to stop by at teatime.  

Lorna passing through the San Regis

* * * * * * * *

The Table du Lancaster is probably the best known of these three luncheon venues. Having already garnered a well-deserved star in the Michelin guide, this intimate dining room is a considerable success and is often fully booked.    

Special presentation of its luncheon menu

Originally the private mansion of a Spanish millionaire, built in 1889, The Lancaster was transformed into an art-deco hotel in 1930.  It was a favorite of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton when each were filming in Paris in the late sixties.  Decades earlier,  it served as the frequent Paris address of both Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo.

Sitting room at The Lancaster

The Lancaster, which tags itself Paris' "intimate palace",  has in recent years had to cope with the declining prestige of its once grand Champs-Elysees neighborhood address.  The world famous avenue still shines with glamor on travel brochures and in many tourists' memories, but in reality it has gone through some pretty rough times, with less and less discerning shops and cafes, and gangs of revelers and druggies often taking over late at  night. 

The newly redone Lancaster bar, opening onto a summer garden patio

 The municipality of Paris has, however, recently poured considerable money into enhancing the avenue and beefing up police protection in a mostly successful effort to put back some of its lost luster.  The Lancaster, which is not directly on the avenue, but a few steps toward a more tranquil neighborhood, has at the same time poured millions into its hotel, maintaining and improving its image to the point that today it stands again as the equal of most of the city's grand hotels.
 

Raspberry dessert at The Lancaster

The Table du Lancaster has the extra advantage of setting up tables in its elegant outdoor garden in the summertime.

 We sampled their weekday lunch menu (45 euros for three courses) last month, and found it impressive.  I am not talking about an economical quick bite at midday, but a really fine gourmet meal to remember, and as such, this is one of Paris' best value for money. 

        

La Table du Lancaster with garden (seen through window) tranformed into winter terrace

Your input is welcomed. Click here to send email:  hotel-musings@hotmail.fr

  [Photos are mine, unless otherwise credited]

51 - A Christmas Gift ... or the little red lamp 

Mother and Daddy at the Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco

     As it is the yuletide season, I will indulge myself in sharing a non-hotel Christmas memory.

     When I was about eight, my aunt Frances had given me five dollars for my birthday in September of which I had saved some for a Christmas present for my mother.

Snaggletoothed in 1950

     At the time, there were two dime stores in Aberdeen.  Mack's was the oldest and most popular, officially called a "5 - 10 and 15-cent store," and it was there that I went looking for a gift.  

     Mack's was an excellent store to buy candy, dish towels, can openers, baseball cards, and any number of other useful things.   As Aunt Frances (who was a particularly conservative interior decorator) would have been the first to tell me, it was not the best place to find a tasteful gift for the home.   

     I was confident I had found the perfect Christmas present there, a little red lamp.  I mean all red.  Red glass "hurricane" globe, red imitation-crystal droplets, red base.  It cost $1.29, it was my own money,  and I was thrilled with the beauty of my purchase.

Mother

  Come Christmas morning when I brought out my prize find, I was proud to see Mother's absolute delight with the magnificent gift.  

The lamp and her reaction became instant family folklore.   She explained with great enthusiasm that it  was so special, that she was going to wrap it up and put it away safely in the attic as soon as Christmas was over, and then bring it down every year for the holidays.

      Which she did.  

     I don't know what ultimately happened to my little red lamp, but I do remember it was still out in its prime spot, surrounded by holly and mistletoe, when I returned home in 1997 for what was to be Mother's last Christmas.   
 

 The parents quite a few years later

Another Paris Christmas!

Here are a few hotels decked out for the holidays.

(Hotels are Parisian unless otherwise indicated)

Hotel Raphael --Clark Gable slept here!

The Four Season George V courtyard

 Some creative reindeer at the George V

    

 

 The Hotel Prince de Galles

The Negresco's original aquatic Christmas tree, Nice

Sumptuous courtyard at the ex-Intercontinental, now the Hotel Westin
 (Eugenie, the last Empress of France, wife of Napoleon III, resided here in her declining years)

Teddy bear tree at the brand new Hotel Montaigne

All white at The Meurice (Salvador Dali lived here).

Polar bear at the Lancaster

Courtyard (above) and main lobby (below) of  Hotel Bristol,

 scene of Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris." 

Looking back at the Biltmore Millenium, Los Angeles 2011

Montmartre

 

 MERRY CHRISTMAS ! 

Your input is welcomed. Click here to send email:  hotel-musings@hotmail.fr

  [Photos are mine, unless otherwise credited]

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

"Mother" was also featured in blog No. 46 "Grandmother Vivian, Doc and the Others" and No. 49  "Thanksgiving: Ruth and Dickie ... and more about Mother"; Aunt Frances was featured in blog No. 4 "A Two-Dollar Hamburger Under a Silvery Dome" and blog No. 61"Goodbye Rose"   (to access, click on highlighted titles).

50 - The Plaza Athenée on the auction block

THE PLAZA ATHENEE, Paris

Everything for sale, from the chandeliers to the pillowcases

The Plaza Athenée has just joined a line of famous Parisian hotels to shut down for an unlimited duration in order to rebuild and renovate and redecorate from head to foot.  Before completely closing its doors, the Plaza A. announced it would put everything (or just about) up for auction.

  Brenda and I were there bright and early for the first day’s viewing.  No special idea of buying anything, just another aspect of my hobby to be explored.  It was fun having the run of the place, exploring the backstairs and looking through some of the suites throughout the hotel.

In addition to the more predictable chairs and sofas and beds and tables and flowerpots, there was an unexpected concièrge’s letter box, several sleek red hotel bicycles and a few shiny chrome toilet paper dispensers awaiting the highest bidder.

We have had occasional contact with the hotel’s Relais Plaza Grill, and I was interested in seeing some of the things I knew well from that restaurant.  I had long admired a couple of very special art-déco-style vases which stood in the vestibule leading to the grill room. 

Favorite vase, it was not meant to be!

If we could have acquired just one of them, that might have made an extra special memento.   On closer examination, however, the degree of Hollywood-style make believe became increasingly obvious.  

Seen as a whole, everything blends together into a superbly chic creation which in turn becomes the personality of a grand hotel.  However, taken as individual items, the faux semblant is everywhere.  Everything is imitation, much like décors in a theatre or on a Hollywood backlot. 

When we enquired about the black and white vases we had fancied, we were a bit taken aback to discover they were in fact incorporated into the large sideboard they had adorned, so they couldn’t be removed … or stolen!  If we had really wanted the vase, we would have had to purchase the massive piece of furniture onto which it was permanently attached.  

Waiting for the doors to open the day of the sale

For the auction sale, itself, only the grandest address would do.  Although the pre-sale exhibit was conducted at the hotel, the sale was entrusted to the Artcurial auctioneers who have their sale rooms in a sumptuous 19^th century private mansion at the foot of the Champs-Elysées.  Visiting the auction house was even more glamorous than was strolling through the hotel.

  I liked the idea of acquiring a momento of the Plaza A., and of the multitude of things to go under the hammer, many of the pre-sale estimates were low.  Experience has taught me, however, you can never count on where auction prices might go.  In the case of a grand hotel sale, just about everything is a copy of something else.  That is, furniture and bric-a-brac are all of style-Louis XVI or style art-déco or style art-nouveau, but nothing is its own original contemporary era.  As a consequence, there is little intrinsic value to anything, all estimates take into account that the interest of potential buyers is generally sentimental and often one of passion.  So prices go where they go, and that can be sky high.

The auction house was almost more elegant than the hotel

This was indeed the case.  We had spotted a handsome statuette of a 1920’s style horse, which we had long admired in the restaurant’s entryway.  It was evaluated at 400 euros (which was already more than one would have generally thought of paying).  We got a little carried away, pooled our resources, and thought maybe about pushing it to 550 euros. 

Alas, the stylized, silvered bronze horse (which measured 13 inches high) sold for almost 4,500 dollars, plus another thousand in auction fees!  Needless to say, not to us! 

The last we'll ever see of our little horse!

Your input is welcomed:  hotel-musings@hotmail.fr

[Photos are mine, unless otherwise credited]

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

The Plaza Athenee was also featured in blog No. 33, "Breakfasts in the 1970's," and No. 44, "The Best and the Worst," and No. 45, "End of the Season Au Revoir"  (to access, click on above titles).