All started out wonderfully with visits to a pair of small museums that border Parc Monceau (HG believes this is the most beautiful park in Paris). First visit was to Musee Nissim de Camondo. This is an exquisite town mansion furnished with a treasure trove of eighteen century furniture, rugs, sculpture, paintings, carpets, etc. The attention to detail is startling and personal. It reflects the superb eye, the passion for collecting and the personal vision of the late banker, Moise de Camondo. He wanted an “artistic home of the 18th century.” And, he achieved it. The home was to be inherited by his son. Unfortunately, his son, Nissim, was an aviator in the French army during World War One and was killed in an air battle. In 1936, a year after Moise de Camondo’s death, the mansion/musem opened to the public. De Camondo had bequeathed the building and all of its contents to the French nation in memory of his son. The tragic history of the family continued. His daughter, Beatrice; her husband, Leon Reinach and their two children, Fanny and Bertrand, were murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz. This was the end of the Camondo family. The other museum, also housed in a mansion, is the Musee Cernuschi. Henri Cernuschi (1821-1896) was an extraordinary man. An Italian patriot and a strong believer in the Republican idea, Cernuschi accumulated a large fortune as an economist and investor. He was an informed collector of Asian art and his vast collection is housed in the museum. There are many treasures but HG/BSK were most struck by the ancient Chinese pottery and terra cotta figures. HG/BSK and BGS had an early dinner at Atelier Rimal, a much heralded Lebanese restaurant on Boulevard Malesherbes. A disappointment. Mushy kefta. Below par mezze and pastries. Okay. Win some lose some. A restaurant to avoid.
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