Back in the old days, when recycling was first introduced as a national objective, my mother eschewed holiday gift wrap and, instead, insisted that every member of her family wrap their gifts in newspaper. “Why not aluminum foil?” asked my … Read More
Twenty-five years ago, the idea that the Commonwealth of Virginia might rival some of the more established wine regions of the United States would have seemed laughable – to most. Most, but not all – for the 20th-century winemakers who planted … Read More
The next time you’re thinking of a week in Paris, think about spending a weekend in nearby Reims, the center of the Champagne region and home to one of the three most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in the world (the other two being Chartres and Amiens). … Read More
By now you’re savvy enough to know: true Champagne can only come from the Champagne region of France. Hence the uppercase. If the word “champagne” is in lower case or accompanied by the words “méthode traditionnelle,” then you’re looking at … Read More
Renovated in 2011, the three-star Campanile Reims Centre is located within a five-minute walk to the center of Reims. The modern rooms are a bit like an adolescent boy’s bedroom, painted in Granny Smith apple green and furnished with a … Read More
Life in Manhattan is sometimes like a Hollywood romance from the Thirties – and especially when listening to the songs of Cole Porter and Noel Coward while happily sipping tea in the Empire Deco splendor of the Stanford White-designed Lambs … Read More
In the year 1912, the world’s largest ship made her maiden voyage sailing from Southampton. Meanwhile in Paris, a butcher in the 4th arrondissement purchased a neighboring restaurant and gave it his name: Benoit. Who would have imagined that one … Read More
For a sartorial gentleman, certainly one of the most haunting scenes in the entirety of American literature is the scene from “The Great Gatsby” where Daisy Buchanan weeps at the profusion of gorgeous, made-to-order shirts that Jay Gatsby shows her … Read More
