La Vie Creative

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

My name is Carol and I am the founder of Bolle di Natura. I was born & grew up in Italy & now living in Paris after spending 13 years of my life in NYC working in the Corporate world.

I have a master in Economics and Business and I worked for many years in Finance and Accounting in Real Estate Development & Construction Management.

In the past I made soap sporadically with the intention of reducing plastic waste in our home but never had time to make it consistently due to my hectic work life.

Then COVID-19 happened and I found myself stuck at home as everyone else.

Washing hands with soaps became a necessity as well as making soaps to make sure our hands were clean but also not too dry from the frequent usage, especially for my little one who started having rashes from the stores bought soaps and detergents.

The lockdown definitely helped me further develop this passion. I spent a lot of time home studying about cosmetic formulations, I completed 2 training courses in Zero Waste Soap Making and Zero Waste Hair Care to learn how to formulate my own recipes, attended a course in herbalism while learning how to source good quality & sustainable ingredients.

This passion grew each day and made me so happy to see all the many products I was able to make each time... Learning new things and finding time for myself really helped me alleviate all the stress and the tension that built up from what was happening outside of home.

Bolle di Natura was founded in New York and when me and my family decided to move back to Europe, I then decided to take this side hobby to the next level as an opportunity to inspire people about making sustainable choices in self care, support small business ethics and mostly reduce plastic pollution.

links to your work

www.bolledinatura.com

INSTA: @bolledinatura

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

Since the fire of Notre Dame, the great bells have remained silent except for a few monumental occasions.  On April 15, 2019, as the fire spread from the roof and toward the facade there was a tiny window of time that almost led to the destruction of the cathedral.
The bells hang in the wooden maze of the belfry of the towers. If the fire reached them, the timbers would quickly burn and the heavy bells would drop and take the entire facade with them. Luckily the pompiers were able to control the fire in time.
First installed back to the 12th century when the godfather of the cathedral Bishop de Sully had the bells created and rang during the construction. By the 14th century, eight bells hung and rang out over Paris.
On April 29, 1682, Francois de Champvallon baptized ten new bells including the Bourdon Emmanuel in the presence of Louis XIV and Marie Theresa who were also named as godparents.  During the  Revolution, all bells except Emanuelle were melted down and used for cannons and coins.
In 2013 Notre Dame celebrated its 850th anniversary and for the occasion, new bells were created for the beloved cathedral.  With precise instructions that the bells must be built using the original 12th-century techniques, special factories had to be located.
On January 31, 2013, eleven years ago the bells drove into Paris and down the Champs Élysées. Presented at Notre Dame in front of dignitaries they were baptized on February 2, and for the rest of the month lined the center of the cathedral so everyone could get close enough to see the inscription and verse on each one. The bells rang out for the first time on March 23, 2013, to mark the start of the Holy Week.
Following the fire, the bells remained silent, fearing the vibration could cause more damage. When it was safe enough the sound of Emmanuel could be heard over a kilometer away to note the passing and funeral of former president Jacques Chirac on September 29, 2019.
Most recently they rang out on Easter Sunday 2023 and I can’t wait to hear them ring o December 8, 2024 when the cathedral once again opens to the public.
Find more info and photos at ClaudineHemingway.com   

Book a custom and private tour of the Louvre and Paris with Claudine

Sign up for weekly Paris history emails 

Let Claudine plan your perfect trip to Paris  

https://www.claudinehemingway.com/

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

Dana McMahan is a storyteller, designer, and creator of magical experiences. An award winning freelance journalist, she writes about travel, food, design and other good things in life. She's also a serial renovator, redesigning living spaces from the ground up, and a seasoned hospitality entrepreneur who creates experiences ranging from one hour walking tours to multi-month stays. She lives in the historic Portland neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, in a 140 year old shotgun house that she renovated, along with her husband, two dogs and assorted other creatures. Follow her at @‌elleferafera.

Portfolio: https://danamcmahan.contently.com/
design project: https://us.bertazzoni.com/authentic-victorian-charm-with-timeless-italian-elegance

travel experience: https://elleferafera.com/get-lost-in-paris/
......

Alison Settle

Chef

2022 James Beard Best Chef Semifinalist
Mama to Arlo Xury Edwin
Guy’s Grocery Games+Beat Bobby Flay
Assemblage

Get Lost! In Paris

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

Paris in Love go hand in hand. From the art on the walls, marble statues in the parks, or just lovers walking down the street everywhere you look there is love. 

Over the last centuries that love has been captured on film and in marble, from the iconic images of Robert Doiseau and Willy Ronis to the sensual relationship between Camille Claudel & Rodin. These are just a few of the loveliest images of love. 

In this week's episode, we share the stories behind two images captured on film that perfectly depict lovers in Paris yesterday or today. One could never forget the real-life love captured in marble and bronze of Claudel and Rodin even as heartbreaking as it was. 

For more info and photos in the episode guide here    

Book a custom and private tour of the Louvre and Paris with Claudine

Sign up for weekly Paris history emails 

Let Claudine plan your perfect trip to Paris  

https://www.claudinehemingway.com/

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

Has been a world citizen and lived amongst various cultures since her childhood in West Africa. A traveler between many worlds, her paintings are portals into other realms and offers the viewer a detailed glimpse into her inner landscapes - imagery that has been inspired by various expanded states of consciousness such as dream state and visions glimpsed during shamanic journeys in the Amazonian Rainforest, only to mention a few.

The “Visionary Symbolism” of Martina Hoffmann is decidedly feminine and places the ‘Universal Woman’ in an intimate cosmos. She transcribes her ecstatic experiences but also her reflections on our connection to the ALL in a realistic style which marries the fantastic to the sacred.

The artist's interest lies in creating awareness of our global oneness and universal interconnectedness. 

Martina Hoffmann has been exhibiting her work since 1985 with a recent retrospective at the HR Giger Museum in Switzerland in 2018. She is also represented in the permanent collection of NAIA Museum in Rochefort-En-Terre, France.

Her artbook, “inner Landscapes’ was first published in 2017.

Today, the artist keeps a home and studio in both, the USA and France, where she is represented in the permanent collection of the Naia Museum in Rochefort-En-Terre.

In her own words:

"The visionary artist makes visible the more subtle and intuitive states of our existence and creates maps and symbols reflecting consciousness and the mystical experience. 
“My work is an attempt to portray love as a unifying force beyond the confines of cultural and religious differences. As a visionary and artist, I hope to shine some light on the interdependency of all life on this planet and its interconnectedness with the universe at large. By embracing our oneness as a global family and becoming aware of these deep connections, we have a chance to heal and transform the current state of disconnection. In this pursuit, art appears as a tool for transformation and offers us the opportunity to create a reality as beautiful, healthy and strong as our imagination can see.”

Artist’s site: www.martinahoffmann.com

About VIVA: www.martinahoffmann.com/viva

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinaHoffmannFineArt?ref=ts&fref=ts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martina_hoffmann_art

Twitter: https://twitter.com/artbird2013

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martina-hoffmann-aa88452/

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

In this week's newest episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway on La Vie Creative podcast, we go into Part 4 in the series of the Mona Lisa. 

The birth of one of the most recognized women in the world, the Mona Lisa began over five hundred years ago. 

In the five centuries since the painting began, she has found her way into the headlines, especially after her kidnapping in 1911. On January 28, 2024, she hit the international news once again. Two activists entered the Louvre with pumpkin soup in a coffee thermos and pushed through the mayhem of the Salle des États with everyone else and then pushed under the stanchions and the next thing we knew she was covered in soup. 

The two women shouted “What’s more important? Art or the right to a healthy & sustainable diet?” Protesting against the lack of healthy food at a time when the farmers are also standing up and using their tractors to block the roads of France. The attacks on art have been an ongoing issue for years now and rarely make the news anymore until they target La Joconde. 

With a museum filled with over 35,00 pieces of art, the Mona Lisa is the easiest target when one wants to make a point, garner attention, and make the front page. At least she is heavily protected behind bulletproof glass into a cement wall and very little can harm her. 

In 1963, 49 years after she visited Italy and returned to the Louvre she left once again, this time to Washinton DC, and New York at the request of Jackie Kennedy. Upon her return to France, she stayed output until 1974 when President Pompidou agreed she take a vacation to Tokyo in return for a large “donation” to France. On her way home she was hijacked by the Russians and put on display for a few weeks. 

Today she is back in the Louvre, never to leave France again. 
For more info and photos in the episode guide here   

Listen to part one in the tale of the Mona Lisa here     

Listen to part two and the story of her recovery here     

Listen to part three for a deeper look at Vincenzo and Lisa 

Book a custom and private tour of the Louvre and Paris with Claudine

Sign up for weekly Paris history emails 

Let Claudine plan your perfect trip to Paris  

https://www.claudinehemingway.com/

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

Anna, Coach for expats in Paris. Originally from Manchester in the UK, I moved to France over 10 years ago and 8 years in Paris where I came to work at the British Embassy where I stayed for 4 years. It was a great experience for me where I grew personally and professionally but I know for me, and for many others, the transition to living in Paris has not been as easy as I thought it would be. I therefore had the idea of being that guide to other expats and helping them through the transition and into the reality of expat life in France, and more specifically in Paris.

theexpatco. | Anna - coaching for expats

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/

Send us Fan Mail

In part 3 of our series on the Mona Lisa we explore a little deeper on who exactly the thief was and the woman portrayed in the portrait. 

Who is Lisa del Giocondo? It’s hard to even imagine that she was a real person outside the poplar panel she was painted on. Born on June 15, 1479 in Florence she married at 15 years old and at 24 was seated in front of Leonardo da Vinci and the rest is as we say, history. 

Commissioned by her wealthy husband Francesco who was later sent to prison for his involvement with the Medici family. Leonardo was never paid for the painting and kept it with him until his death. Lisa never saw the unfinished painting at the time and died three years after her husband on July 15, 1542 never knowing the phenomenon she would become. 

As for the thief, Vincenzo Peruggia was born October 8, 1881 in Dumenza in the north of Italy and would become the most famous man in the world until World War I. 

Working at the age of twelve in Milan painting houses he became quite sick with lead poisoning that he would later say was the reason he made such a bold move in stealing the Mona Lisa. In 1908 he moved to Paris and it was the job at the Gobier company that brought him in front of the Italian masters of the Louvre.  

From August 20, 1911 to December 13, 1913 he lived a quiet life with the Mona Lisa hidden under his stove. After his arrest he was worshiped by Italians for his brave act and received a slap on the wrist and a brief visit to prison. 

In 1923 he returned to the Louvre with his new wife and stood in front of Lisa del Giocondo  no doubt sharing the exciting tale that he often changed. 

Listen to the full story now 

For more info and photos in the episode guide here   

Listen to part one in the tale of the Mona Lisa here     

Listen to part two and the story of her recovery here          

Book a custom and private tour of the Louvre and Paris with Claudine

Sign up for weekly Paris history emails 

Let Claudine plan your perfect trip to Paris  

https://www.claudinehemingway.com/

Support the show

🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France 

https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/