Any food snob would give their left taste buds for a chance to dine at Alain Ducasse's eponymous restaurant at the Plaza Athénée in Paris. Sure, the City of Lights has plenty of restaurants that claim to be the best of the best, but really, when it comes to French dining, Ducasse is it.
Which is why we were so tickled by a Kitchen Rat item on Ricky Martin, which claims that when the Menudo star stayed at Athénée recently, he called down to let them know he wouldn't be needing Ducasse's services--but would instead be sending down his own private chef.
Whether you're just a browser or a more serious collector, you'll want to get to Paris September 11-21 for the 24th Biennale des Antiquaires, when 95 of Europe and North America's top art dealers will come together to show off (and sell) their significant pieces.
Billing itself as "a red-letter rendezvous for the arts market," the Biennale has just about everything, including antiques, jewelry, paintings and decorative arts. You'll find works from Picasso and de Kooning as well as more esoteric stuff like a 15th-century Flemish manuscript.
Even if you're not quite in the market to buy, seeing these gorgeous things in Paris' Grand Palais--just refurbished and re-opened in 2006--will certainly inspire. The Biennale is open daily 11 am-11 pm; admission is €20 ($30).
Retired tennis player and K-Swiss spokeswoman Anna Kournikova did some last-minute shopping at the Hermès boutique in Paris. Long-time lover (and potentially secret husband) Enrique Iglesias trailed at a safe distance, possibly making notes for his own Christmas shopping.
Besides the flagship Hermès on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the luxury goods maker has shops on Avenue George V and at the Hilton Hotel on Avenue de Suffren.
Unlike Jessica Alba, Jamie-Lynn Spears and Lily Allen, Anna isn't pregnant, so she can continue to wear stiletto heels with impunity. (See what we did there?)
Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi is in Paris this week, meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy and seeing the city for the first time in more than three decades. The newly diplomatic dictator is sealing arms deals and taking care of other business while in town, and is also making time for visits to Paris' banlieues and Versailles.
The most interesting part of the visit, at least to us, is the Bedouin tent that Gaddafi's had set up on the lawn of the Hotel de Marigny, across the street from the Elysee Palace. The heated shelter is a far cry from the grubby tent you have stashed in the garage, and the Libyan leader takes it everywhere. It's unclear whether he'll actually sleep in the tent, though it's probably warmer than most Parisian hotel rooms.
If the visit goes well, we can imagine Sarko returning the favor with a trip down to Libya. The country is on top of the travel trends (it's going green!) and we'd guess it has fewer paparazzi than New Hampshire.
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by BS
