There are places in the world that do more than inspire us — they awaken a sense of responsibility.
Venice, even more so when revealed through the extraordinary evening imagined by @venetianheritage , supported by @dior , orchestrated by @toto_bergamo_rossi and his team, with @petermarinoarchitect gracious guidance, has this power.
How could one not feel moved by the fragility and magnificence of such a treasure?
How could one not feel concerned by the duty to preserve it?
That evening, surrounded by beauty, history, and passionate people devoted to this mission, I felt both privileged and emotional to take part, in my humble way, in the safeguarding of Venice’s timeless soul.
#VenetianHeritage
#HeritageMatters
#HistoricPreservation
Very happy to be back in sunny Florida, on my way to #palmbeach. I’m looking forward to catching up with friends! I have a lot to share with you since my last visit here. #friendsofvaux #heritage
Kyoto… maybe the only truly “cultural” stop of this powder skiing roadtrip.
Louis, a true specialist of Japanese culture, gives me three “boxes to tick” in the short day I’ve decided to devote to visiting Japan’s former capital. Japanese-style tourism. Click, snap— Merci Kodak.
I arrive in Kyoto on the Shinkansen Nozomi 238, cruising at over 320 km/h. Mount Fuji—massive and solitary—commands respect. Seeing it suddenly appear after the long crawl through Tokyo’s suburbs really hits you. I’ve seen it for years on postcards, on TV, on travel posters… and there it is, for real. A little emotional moment.
9:45am – Kyoto Station, an emblematic landmark and the city’s main gateway:
Opened in 1997, it replaced the original station (first opened in February 1877), which was devastated by a fire in 1950.
Its ultra-modern architecture caused a scandal in a city so attached to tradition and a thousand years of history.
3:00pm – Louis’s three “boxes to tick” are ticked.
What lingers most: the sheer number of tourists, even in the so-called low season. I can’t imagine the crowds in spring or autumn. Unbearable.
One reason that comes to mind: that UNESCO label.
You have to tick the box.
I did.
I took part in overtourism.
Still—thankfully—there’s the beauty of the gardens, the trees, the architecture, and their perfect sense of order.
« La démocratisation de la culture demeure un sujet délicat en France. Or les châteaux…offrent une relation immédiate aux lieux. » @friendsofvaux évoque les enjeux de @vaux.le.vicomte dans @lagazettedrouot , tout en proposant des perspectives inédites sur nombre de sujets qui nous tiennent à cœur! Merci !!!!
Japan….Skiing one of the best powder snow in the world… A childhood dream is slowly turning into something real.
Japan has been imagined, described, idealized — and sometimes reduced to clichés.
So the question is simple: how to do it justice, even in a few lines and images?
I guess I won’t.
Our story: my good friends Bob from Revelstoke (BC, Canada), @martincastrillopatagonia and @manuguiaenpatagonia both from El Chalten (Patagonia) and I share the same dream. So the plan was simple : to get some fat skis, to rent a campervan and to explore small ski resorts (4 to 6 lifts) and ski tour to find nice rides into the fluffy Japanese powder. The ride began in Tokyo a few days ago.
But I had to do a stop before joining my friends. Kyoto…
💧 La Gerbe d’eau renaît à Vaux-le-Vicomte ! Après 5 mois de restauration, l’une des fontaines les plus majestueuses des jardins imaginés par André Le Nôtre a retrouvé toute sa splendeur ✨
🙏 Un chantier emblématique du projet Retour aux Sources, rendu possible grâce à l’engagement de nombreux mécènes, particuliers et entreprises.
🌊 2026 s’ouvre sous le signe de l’eau… Et l’aventure continue bientôt du côté des Grottes 👀
💙 Merci à toutes celles et ceux qui font vivre le patrimoine, jour après jour.
🔙 En novembre dernier, l’Association Les Amis de Vaux-le-Vicomte organisait une journée d’étude intitulée « Néo-châtelains et entrepreneurs : quand l’héritage (familial) se réinvente ».
👀 Retour sur quelques interventions marquantes de cet événement. Merci à tous nos intervenants, qui ont rendu cette journée exceptionnelle !
📺 La journée sera mise en ligne sur notre chaîne YouTube très prochainement. Restez connectés !
This year, the Grand Salon’s Christmas décor became a fully immersive artwork. In a poetic installation crafted from cooking (!) paper by @juniorfritzjacquet , visitors drift into a dreamlike, underwater meditation—while the Roman emperors standing guard look quietly perplexed.
Walking through the park at @vaux.le.vicomte these days is a quiet joy. Late autumn colours still glow on the lawns and tree lines, now touched by the first frost of the season.
After our intense and successful “Journée d’Étude” last Saturday, I needed to disconnect and let both body and mind rest. So I went for a long walk during which I took those pictures.
This morning’s sunrise was my favourite so far: just below freezing, a perfectly clear sky, the first true winter day of the year.
Living so close to nature, with the privilege of watching its abrupt and subtle changes, feels like a daily gift.
Come to Vaux and enjoy it too.
