It’s a beautiful date, in a beautiful world which has a bit of a populist ‘flu… as my friend Jean told me a moment ago, to be optimistic:
Ce n’est pas seulement voir son verre à moitié plein, c’est faire en sorte de le remplir!
I am barely out of a refreshing swim in the lake and it prompted me the decision to give you a photo of the past 20 months which have meant a deep change in my life… from the comfortable statute of single woman to the delights of true partnership with my soul mate….
Dates are just dates, but you’re only 20 once… I remember thinking this so much everyday of my 20th year and much more than Y2K, I love the symmetry of the New Year. To pay a tribute to the number and to my new life with Marc, let me give you one symbolic picture and some background on each month since then.
I also admit that all the past years have meant more frustration with people’s strange behaviour, a lack of savoir vivre, a political correctness of extreme rigour regarding women, animals and minorities… in this order… coupled with total intolerance and lack of social coexistence. This probably explains why I prefer to look at beauty and harmony.
I met Marc in March 2018...and if a photo can symbolise that month
it is this magnificent Tintoretto painting at the Musée du Luxembourg where the rest became history…
I also published that month the last leg of my fabulous Pacific journey , a paper on Catalonia’s independent leader, the death of a French hero and the unfair victim of the current wave of antisemitism.
In April 2018, I had the immense pleasure to see again this fabulous portait is a theater goer by Mary Cassatt! I had fallen in love with it at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and was glad to see it again in this Jewel of a Museum Jacquemart-André 
I wished Kofi Annan a happy 80th birthday, remembering my wishes for his 70th and unaware it was my last chance to pay tribute to this precious man…I also discovered delightful Bulgaria that month… probably my last solo visit by the way;-)
May 2018
meant my first visit to Le Havre and its splendid MuMa during my rediscovery of gorgeous Normandy , brilliant UK , operas and french commemorations .
and my comments on one of my recurrent concerns for the Israel-Palestine conflict.
June 2018
can only be symbolised by this photo of my departed and much regretted childhood friend Vincent…. it was a fabulous month under the triple sign of Friendship, Love and Music from G like Glyndebourne to R like Rolling Stones, in Zürich, Hamburg, Stavanger, Berlin and Strasbourg !
July 2018 
was the opera month but it was also a month rich in splendid exhibitions in Aix and Marseille and Geneva!
August 2018
Meant visiting the MET, Frick Collection and Isabella Stewart or Royal Museum of Ontario in pursuit of our Vermeer quest Canada and of course other natural beauties of my beloved Grand Manan Island 
With a soft landing via Glyndebourne 
… back to school after this amazing sabbatical!
September 2018
Meant the Jewish New Year and my best wishes 
and settling down in my new Paris district…
October 2018
Was my last opportunity to attend my regretted drama teacher, Peter Storfer’s seminar…Peter passed away in September 2019, following by a year and a half his twin brother Stephen. I loved these amazing Opportunities to attend the best performances available in London and discuss them with an absolutely perfect expert who knew how to entertain lively discussions and audiences.
I still vividly remember The Jungle and Anthony and Cleopatra for very different reasons. The former was an eye-opener on a very cruel reality and the other one was my amazement at the excellent stage management and cost for this incredible performance of Sophie Okonedo and Ralph Fiennes !
And a very special celebration of our six months at the Clarence Restaurant in Paris…
November 2018
Well… my birthday was well celebrated!!! Plays, Opera Comique, Depardieu again…. Life is beautiful!
I am just sorry that it was also the date chosen by a strange movement…
December 2018
… which seems to be almost forgotten today but paralysed Paris although it concerned a handful of frustrated lunatics, the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests). Christmas was an opportunity to discover the severe yet beautiful Cévennes as much add to celebrate Hanouka…
St Guilhem Le Désert, la Grotte des Demoiselles, le Cirque de Navacelles…with these sights and many more in Nimes and Montpellier, we closed the door on 2018… and moved closer to the sea to welcome 2019.
January 2019
Was celebrated in Sète by the sea and in my beloved Conques, Rodez, Figeac, Champollion’s native town (I wrote time and again my fascination for the Rosetta Stone I never fail to visit at the British Museum), Cahors and some of the most gorgeous Loire Castles! 
The return to Paris was my last Epiphany with my dear departed Vincent….
In February 2019, we visited my nephew Robin in Santiago and of course it was my opportunity to achieve a dream, to visit Valparaiso
, the Atacama desert , Allende’s glasses in Santiago and 
and the Tierra del Fuego which I documented in a blog I invite you to visit.
In March 2019,
We celebrated my Mum’s wonderful birthday in Vienna in a fabulous family gathering 
and attended the Salon du Livre in Paris !
… and discovered Cancale…
April 2019
Will represent for the whole world the shock of the unbelievable but thank God partial destruction of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral….and before that a big celebration for me and Marc… in great style!
May 2019
I finally published my Chilean wonderment and my thoughts regarding the results of the French legislative elections while enjoying Geneva 
Paris 
… and London 
In June 2019
We spend an unforgettable anniversary celebration in Yeu Island, Normandy, PARIS, and the unbelievable armada which flows from Rouen to Le Havre on thé River Seine. It prompted me some sociopolitical considerations.
July 2019
I kept a promise, we went back to Normandy via Paris (attending the extraordinary Hammershoi exhibition) on a road trip via Chérence, Gisors, Amiens, Varengeville, Dieppe, and crossed the Channel to Brighton and Glyndebourne to attend Rusalka, La Damnation de Faust and Cendrillon and after a short week, flying to Canada to my beloved Grand Manan Island via Halifax and Digby.
August 2019
Meant leaving my beloved cottages for another road trip to the East Coast of Newfoundland to complete my previous trip. Having attended the show Come from Away the year before and having made my students read The Channel of Peace, I was delighted to visit Gander and some of its local heroes on our way to St John’s via Hopewell Rocks (NB), Cape Breton, Chéticamp, Sydney, Port aux Basques, Cornerbrook, Bonavista and its puffins, as well as Ferryland…
Before flying back to Glyndebourne for two more marvels, Die Zauberflöte and Rinaldo… soothing my way back to school and our new cat Figaro!
The surprise was to discover at the Silences exhibition of the Musée Rath the exact replica of the Strazza masterpiece from St John’s Visitation Convent! And I saw Tous des Oiseaux by Wajdi Mouawad…!
September 2019
We attended a great seminar on secularism at the Ferney-Voltaire Manor, saw the Murs Murs exhibition at the Ariana Museum, saw Einstein on the Beach (and he was tanned🤣)attended some of Le Monde conferences at the Bastille and Bouffes du Nord theatres as well as Les Indes Galantes in an amazing and breathtaking performance … and celebrated the Jewish New Year 5780!!!
In October 2019
After Yom Kippour and Aida in Geneva, we went to Marseille and saw the Islands Temptation exhibition at MUCEM before 5 dream days in Venice where we saw the Biennale at the Arsenal… and back to Paris, attended the Philip Glass performance with Angélique Kidjo at Radio France 
I also wrote a blog on the War and Peace Exhibition at the Bodmer Foundation… a masterpiece by Master Pierre Hazan!
November 2019
Started with the Shakespearian Sonnets in a teenage performance…. and it works!!!! I also commented the very moving film Hors Normes.
Since my Australian friend Robyn was kind enough to pay me a visit back, we did some touring of local Geneva… 
and went then to say goodbye to Vincent….
We saw the English painters exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg, attended Matthias Goerne’s recital and Mahler and Chostakovitch concert at La Philharmonie as well as Don Carlos (with my travelling buddy Branka and my universal Mimi) at Opera Bastille and Martien Martienne at the Forum Meyrin…Amongst Paris Photo Expo and Degas Exhibition….for which I add some links…food for thought
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/new-cathy-marie-buchanan-novel-captures-life-in-belle-epoque-paris/article7215012/
My birthday celebration 🥳
The highlight was my birthday in Caen facing William the Conqueror’s Castle….before a much sadder moment at the Père Lachaise Cemetery….
December 2019
Was an opportunity to visit the MCBA in Lausanne, the Baur Foundation, to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday, attend Hamlet at the Grütli with two classes as well as A Winter Tale at Théâtre de Carouge. 
In Paris, I saw twice the Bacon exhibition at Beaubourg as well the Boltanski, Soulages, Mondrian and Vinci exhibitions. We attended again, in Geneva this time Les Indes Galantes always with Alarcon as a conductor, same Mediterranean orchestra but a different staging. It was less disappointing than anticipated…
After a last December swim in the lake and the comfort of a Fondue at Bains des Pâquis with my friend Jean Freymond, came Hanouka and Christmas in Vienna… with the extraordinary exhibition of Caravaggio and Bernini and many more masterpieces at the KHM, of the Belvédère, Theater Museum and Judishes Museum (including the De Wahl Ephroussi collection of Netsuke depicted in his remarkable book The Hare with Amber Eyes) as well as Albertina with the fabulous Durer exhibition.
The New Year MMXX was duly celebrated by the sea at Ile d’Yeu after a “folle journée à Nantes” 
With this wild flower, let me wish you a marvellous year full of beauty, humanism, love and joy.
To this end, here’s my present for this new year: my agenda of exhibitions and soon plays, concerts and operas according to my fancies. Bookmark this page as I might update it…
✅Durer @ Albertina, Vienne jusqu’au 6 janvier 2020✅
à l’institut de Giacometti jusqu’au 9 février 2020)
Expo sur le dessin et le drapé au musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon jusqu’au 8 mars (Degas, Cristo, Michel-Ange, Rodin, Man Ray, Dürer)
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Barbra Hepworth Musée Rodin 5 novembre 22 mars 2020📅 13III2020
Van Eyck Au musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand du 1er février au 30 avril y compris l’adoration de Lanio mystique, les époux Arnolfini et l’homme au turban rouge.
✅L’Age d’or de la peinture anglaise » Musée du Luxembourg du 11 septembre au 16 février 2020.✅
Le Congo d’hier à aujourd’hui au Rietberg Museum de Zürich jusqu’au 15 mars
Olafur Eliasson au Kunsthaus Zürich jusqu’au 22 mars 2020 https://www.kunsthaus.ch/fr/besuch-planen/ausstellungen/olafur-eliasson/
Exposition Andrea Mantegna à Turin au Palazzo Madama jusqu’au 4 mai 2020
Le chant de l’Amazonie à la fondation Cartier du 30 janvier au 10 mai 2020
L’autre moitié du monde : les femmes dans les années 50 au fil de l’abstraction peinture et sculpture : les femmes dans les années 50 au fil de l’abstraction, peintures et sculptures au musée Soulages de Rodez jusqu’au 10 mai
Edward Hopper à la fondation Beyeler du 26 janvier au 17 mai
Les peintres canadiens impressionnistes à Paris du 24 janvier au 24 mai à la fondation de l’Hermitage de Lausanne.
Ouverture à partir du 12 mars d’un nouveau musée à Vienne, l’Albertina Modern (https://www.albertina.at/albertina-modern/en/ ) avec une exposition sur l’art autrichien entre 1945 et 1980.
Klee, Chaplin, Sonderegger, Par-delà les Rires et les Larmes jusqu’au 24 mai 20 https://www.zpk.org/
Unica Zürn au musée d’art et d’histoire de l’hôpital Sainte-Anne à Paris du 31 janvier au 31 mai 2020.
Marcel Gromaire, contemporain de Braque et Léger à Sète (Musée Paul Valéry) jusqu’au 23 février puis à la Piscine de Roubaix du 14 mars au 31 mai.
Vienne 1900 MCBA Lausanne 14 février 24 mai 2020
La collection Pinault ouvre à la Bourse du Commerce en juin 2020 + Resto Bras!
Pompéi, Grand Palais, 27 mars au 8 juin 2020
500 ans de Raphael à Rome (puis à Chantilly ses gravures jusqu’au 8 juillet) du 11 mars au 14 juin 2020
si ça ne vous pique pas les yeux, les chefs-d’œuvre suisses de la collection Christoph Blocher à la fondation Pierre Gianadda jusqu’au 14 juin
Du 3 avril au 6 septembre 2020, le festival Normandie impressionniste propose un quatrième circuit d’exposition autour de l’impressionnisme mais aussi de l’art contemporain et des photographies.
Titien érotique à la National Galery (Londres) du 16 mars au 15 novembre 2020
Christo emballe Paris Beaubourg ,18 mars-15 juin
Les monstres de Léopold Chauveau au Musée d’Orsay du 10 mars au 29 juin 2020
Raphael à Chantilly, 7 mars au 5 juillet 2020
Cézanne italien au musée Marmottan du 27 février au 5 juillet 2020
William Kendridge à l’AME de Villeneuve-d’Ascq Du 5 février au 5 juillet 2020
La fine fleur du noir et blanc au Grand palais du 8 avril au 6 juillet 2020
Soleil Noir Soulage, Malevitch au Louvre Lens du 25 mars au 13 juillet
De Chirico, Orangerie du 1er avril qui 13 juillet 2020
Josef Koudelka formats monumentaux à la Bibliothèque nationale de France du 21 avril au 19 juillet 2020
James Tissot au Musée d’Orsay du 24 mars au 19 juillet 2020
William Turner, Jacquemart-André du 13 mars au 20 juillet 2020
Man Ray et la mode, Musée du Luxembourg du 9 avril au 26 juillet 2020
Artemisia à la national Gallery du 4 avril au 26 juillet 2020 !!!!!
Altdorfer au Louvre du 23 Avril au 3 Août 2020
La peinture Danoise au Petit Palais 28 Avril-16 août 2020
Goya à la fondation Beyeler de Bâle Du 17 mai au 16 août 2020
Victor Brauner au musée d’Art moderne de la ville de Paris du 24 avril au 16 août 2020
Pharaons superstars au MUCEM du 29 avril au 17 août 2020
La renaissance italienne, Louvre 6 mai au 17 août 2020
Yves Klein au Pompidou de Metz du 2 mai au 17 août 2020
Chagall, Modigliani et Soutine au Musée Juif du 2 avril au 23 août
Alexandra Neel au Centre Pompidou à Paris, une peinture qui éclaire les laissés-pour-compte femmes, immigrés, noirs. Du 10 juin au 24 août
Cindy Sherman, Fondation Louis Vuitton du 1er avril au 31 août 2020.
Rétrospective Matisse, Beaubourg du 13 mai au 31 août 2020
Les frères Lumière au Palais éponyme d’Evian jusqu’au 6 septembre 2020
Marc Riboud exposition de l’ensemble de son œuvre au musée Guimet du 8 avril au 7 septembre
Sulfureux Beardsley au Musée d’Orsay du 15 juin au 13 septembre 2020
Léon Spillaert et la culture flamande au Musée d’Orsay du 16 juin au 13 septembre.
La révolution industrielle vue par les peintres Musée des Beaux Arts de Caen, 4 avril 20 septembre
Les Olmeques Musée Branly du 19 mai au 15 novembre 2020
Damien Hirst, Floraison Picturale, Fondation Cartier du 15 juin au 25 novembre 2020.
17ème Biennale d’architecture (Venise) du 23 mai au 29 novembre 2020
Henri Cartier-Bresson: Le Grand Jeu au Palazzo Grassi (Venise) du 22 mars au 10 janvier 2021
The Normans à Mannheim, Allemagne, Museum Zeughaus 19.09.2021 – 27.02.2022
COSMO POLITIQUE 