Bonjour Reader!

We have made it to May! Is the year flying by or is it just me?

What's New

The latest podcast episode came out last weekend. No, it's not about Notre Dame. 😉

This time we explore the history of the L'Hotel de la Marine, a museum that opened up last year. In its long history, the building has seen many things but one of the most incredible is the theft of the Crown Jewels of France!

Behind the Scenes

I admit that when I started researching the episode, I thought the story would be very different. Very different. Because I had mixed up my giant buildings on the place de la Concorde. The one on the right (east), L'Hotel de la Marine, has the new(ish) museum that I wanted to learn more about. Ok, and day dream about since I love the 18th century so very much and that's the museum's focus.

Mistakenly, I had thought this building was the location of the signing of the treaties between France and the still-fighting-for-independence United States in 1778. This important event in American and French history, however, happened at the other giant building on the west side of the rue Royale. Oops! That history is also interesting, but I think it will eventually become a blog post instead. Stay tuned for more!

When I first realized my error, I despaired. What if the building was just a big, beautiful, but ultimately boring edifice? Thankfully, it too had some adventures, none more exciting than the theft of the crown jewels! I had never heard of the event and was instantly intrigued!

As you learn in the episode and the show notes, the collection held many large and famous gems. The most famous of them all, now known as the Hope Diamond, has a fascinating history in its own right. Since the diamond's story is well beyond the scope of PGB, I wanted to share this interesting video from History Calling (one of my favorite history YouTubers):

My big question: would you send a 44 carat diamond in the mail?!

Want all of the podcast episodes? You can access all the episodes on the website, on Apple Podcasts, and on Spotify Podcasts.

On the Blog

First, check out the show notes page if you haven't already. There is a lot of additional detail that didn't make it into the episode!

​April's France Virtuelle collection is also available. It features videos on the artist Jacques David (most famous for his Coronation of Napoleon painting), a behind-the-scenes peek at the history of the Élysée Palace, a look at Notre Dame now, and another fun video from the Earful Tower, this time in Montmartre.

Coming Soon

There are a few new things coming up soon:

• The next podcast episode will be dropping in mid-May! We'll take a look at the Cluny Museum (Musée national du Moyen Âge) and an interesting event that happened in this medieval mansion. Hint: Henry VIII's sister is involved!
• We'll rejoin the Hemingways, this time at the race track. Where were the tracks? Did they win or lose?
• May's France Virtuelle will give you another virtual taste of life and history in France.

I'm also slowly trying to get better at Instagram. Those who know me know I'm horrible at social media. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Please bear with me as I figure it all out. Follow the experiment over on Instagram!

Please let me know your thoughts about the podcast, the blog, this newsletter, or even the crazy spring weather by simply replying to this email!

Merci beaucoup!

Michelle