Weekend Conversation Starters

[Messy Nessy Chic]   Oh, hello… Pencils down, it’s finally the weekend and it’s 5 o’clock somewhere! We’re all about the holiday vibes this week, from summer road trips spent sleeping in [America’s forgotten fire towers]( to [island hopping here in Paris](. We also met the [Belle of Provence]( and time-travelled to an [unrecognisable New York](– all in the same week that we sent our first ever book off to the printers! Watch out for some special news next week… And for those of you getting ready to plan your Paris vacations, be sure to follow me on [Instagram where as always](, I’ll be showing you the best of summer in the city… à bientôt, [Nessy]   [New York, is that You?](  [nypl.digitalcollections.510d47d9-4eca-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.001.q](  American-born Berenice Abbott’s work was exhibited alongside that of Man Ray, André Kertész, and others in Paris. Man Ray introduced Abbott to Eugène Atget, a pioneer of documentary photography, noted for his determination to capture all of the architecture and street scenes of Paris before their disappearance to modernization. Abbot was very taken with the work of…  [Continue Reading](   [Abdul, the Servant who stole Queen Victoria’s Heart](  [c1ee5602739b3a6a42025710b28533fe](  The British monarchy has been known to be better than the KGB at covering up its scandals and destroying evidence. But where there are secrets, there are detectives lurking nearby (especially when it comes to the affairs of the royal family). Queen Victoria’s kids did their best to cover up her private life, especially the relationship…  [Continue Reading](   [Meet the Belle of Provence](  [ascover](  Jamie Beck went looking for inspiration and wound up moving to Provence, where she spends her time studying artwork, buying handfuls of fresh flowers and taking self-portraits. She is the ultimate belle of southern France– a New York ex-pat with a touch of tradition, femininity, tenderness, and an Instagram gallery that could compete with museums. Her…  [Continue Reading](   [Secret Summer Cabins in the Sky for the Great American Trip](  [22897104500_ecd64bcd9b_b](  Jack Kerouac spent 63 days during the summer of 1956 as a fire lookout on Washington’s Desolation Peak. It would be the writer’s last truth-seeking adventure before he found fame with On the Road and began his demise into alcoholism and mental instability. He had been assigned to record aircraft sightings, but used the Air Force forms to…  [Continue Reading](   [Tattooed Makeovers of 1950s Pin-Up Girls](  [larka](  I don’t think I’ll ever muster the courage to get a tattoo myself, but I certainly dig it as an art form, both on bodies and on paper. My latest discovery is a Mexico City-based tattooist, collector and artist, Dr. Lakra (translation: Doctor Delinquent).  [Continue Reading](   [Island Hopping in Paris](  [ildelajatte](  When a heatwave strikes Paris, we tend to want to avoid the sweaty metro, the sidewalk traffic, and the city’s air-conditioning problem– the problem being, that there is none. Come summertime, Parisians attempt to make their escape to the countryside or to the beach as often as possible at weekends until they quit the city entirely…  [Continue Reading](  To make sure you keep getting these emails, please add contact@messynessychic.com to your address book or whitelist us. Want out of the loop? [Unsubscribe](. Our postal address: In a Café, Paris 75001