Category: france

Postcard from Trieste, Italy: Nightmarish end to palatial dreams

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An Italian postage stamp featuring a scenic view of the Miramare Gardens in Trieste, showcasing neatly trimmed hedges, a statue, and a fountain against a background of trees and the sea.

Above: Miramare, a palace erected by Princess Charlotte of Belgium and Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria

At age 22, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian (1832-1867) was named Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy. Sailing in 1855 in the Gulf of Trieste, then ruled by the Kingdom of Austria, the young archduke spotted a promontory jutting out into the water. Barren, rocky, yet a gorgeous waterfront view on three sides. He decided to acquire the land for his home.

Construction of the house, which he named Miramare, was already underway at the time of his 1857 marriage to Princess Charlotte of Belgium (1840-1927). Also in 1857, his older brother, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830-1916), appointed Maximilian Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia.

The couple moved into the Royal Palace of Milan while continuing work on Miramare. Charlotte’s royal dowry contributed to the money-pit project, including bringing in tons of dirt and topsoil for extensive gardens. Surrounded by all the requisite family portraits, the couple moved into their completed dream home in 1860.

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Postcard from Paris, France: Chefs blur borders

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Illustration of a chef's hands arranging a plate with colorful vegetables and a small dish, featured on a French stamp labeled 'Gastronomie'.

Above: Mushroom tarte at Pristine

People who do not accept the new, grow old very quickly.”

A Guide to Modern Cookery, Auguste Escoffier, 1907

We’re already old. We arrived at this stage in but the blink of an eye and certainly have no desire to accelerate the aging process. This is the excuse I offer for not sticking to French food in France.

My hero chefs are those unafraid to pluck ingredients and fuse ideas from many cultures. The evolutionary development of European cuisine as a whole has been speeding along ever since those first traders sailed eastward to discover an explosion of spices and westward to find revolutionary crops – such as tomatoes and cacao.

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Protecting the identity of the pothole patcher

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A stamp featuring an abstract painting by Marsden Hartley, displaying vibrant colors and geometric shapes, labeled "Marsden Hartley | forever | usa".

Above: Street artist Ememem repairing a pothole in a sidewalk on Rainey Street in Austin

I’m just a sidewalk poet…. My work is the story of the city, where cobblestones have been displaced.”

Street artist Ememem, interviewed by Arnesia Young for My Modern Met

Sometimes I feel like a stalker on the trail of tile mosaics of the sidewalk poet of Lyon, France. (See the photos from 18 months ago at the bottom of this post.) So meeting Ememem in person at work Sunday afternoon in Austin left me gobsmacked.

Colorful mosaic artwork reading 'Here Lies a Pothole,' installed in a sidewalk as a creative repair by the street artist Ememem.

Above: “Here Lies a Pothole,” Ememem, Rainey Street, Austin, 2025

The street doctor tries to maintain his anonymity, stealthily installing his mosaics in the dead of night. I imagine that’s due to the fact that often his sidewalk improvement projects are unauthorized.

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