Imagine you are stargazing from the terrace of an ancient hilltop villa--on a jasmine scented night. A celestial being appears. She is dressed in a gossamer gown with a crown of stars holding up her golden hair. She beckons you to sit by her on a...

Charismatic, courageous, a champion of human rights-- Sergio Vieira de Mello’s dream was for a more humanized planet. Born to a wealthy Rio de Janeiro family he earned four degrees including two PhDs at the Sorbonne in Paris, and spoke five languages...

Coco Chanel said that French elegance is based in refusal. I'd imagined that the Gallic mystique was owed in part to their penchant for lavish skin care and lingerie, identification with the national symbol of the Marianne, or perhaps that ‘La Vie en...

Sunday November 22nd marks the 46th anniversary since JFK's death in Dallas. He's now been gone the same number of years he was alive. I viewed Jackie Kennedy's official portrait above while on a tour of the White House. It was painted in her Upper...

The Cathédrale St-Sauveur in Aix-en-Provence was built over the site of the earlier Roman Temple to Apollo. I used this conjunction as a minor but significant story element in ‘French Heart’ and learning about Apollo in Aix gave me a clearer...