Signing off for Christmas

A tiny French wine grower’s lodge for sale!

This Christmas is surely all about finding comfort where we can, and for many, that means looking back on old times. For me, it started with the discovery of a Dolly Parton Christmas special buried in the archives of Youtube, which got me wondering…

Give the Gift of a Personal Travel Concierge & much more, with a MessyNessyChic 1 year Keyholder membership Don't forget to check "this is a gift" before adding to cart and enter your recipient's email. After you checkout, they'll receive an email with the instructions to log in and enjoy the

Sometimes, you just strike internet gold – ya know, those obscure little corners of the internet where you can fall blissfully down the rabbit hole. Today's find is a free online library of unearthed and collected bartender books; rare volumes dating from the 1820s through the 1940s…

If modern art has taught us anything, it is that anything can be considered art. Picasso’s and Braque’s curious peeling newspaper collages of the 1910s spring to mind as the opening act for the ‘Modern Art’ movement. It was at this point in time, in the early 20th century where ‘real’ art – the academic 19th century kind, with all its airs and graces and establishment-imposed ‘rules’ – and this new lighter, less formal and somewhat random approach, parted ways. Modern Art as we perceive it was arguably launched by the quirky and wonderfully chaotic Dada movement that took root in central Europe around 1910 and flowered in New York in the early 1920s, causing a somewhat profound ruffling of the feathers of the status quo. And whilst we now see Dada as revolutionary, it was uncanny to discover that Dada had a look-a-like predecessor – not a direct ancestor, mind you, more like a forgotten uncle. ‘Les Incohérents’ was a short-lived French art movement that originated from Montmartre in Paris in the 1880s. Unconcerned with the intellectual, political or spiritual facets of the arts (which Dada would address a mere 20 years later), they did, however, attempt to question through satire and ridicule, what exactly ‘art’ was, who it was intended for and why on earth it had to be so darn square….

Because why bake a gingerbread house this holiday season, when a real-life abandoned one can haunt your dreams? Let's head out to Hamburg, New Jersey, where a local landmark is in dire need of a little TLC from Hansel & Gretel.

It appears we’ve come full circle. Picture a time before smartphones, Youtube, Tik Tok, streaming services, or even the modern movie theater as we know it — a time when a few moments of visual entertainment involved peeking into a mysterious, boxy machine and cranking a handle. Back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, if you wanted to watch something “on demand,” your best bet was to drop a coin into one of two contraptions: the Mutoscope or the Kinetoscope. Both devices were early precursors to cinema, captivating audiences with flickering images and bringing the first taste of moving pictures to the masses. Take a peep into the dawn of the moving image…

Whether you're in need of rescuing from a forgettable vacation or looking someone you trust to help fine tune your stay in Paris, book an appointment with Nessy at her Cabinet in Paris. Sit down for a private session with the author of the Don't be a Tourist books and make plans tailored to your mood, figure out how the city can really inspire you as an individual, and ask all your questions over coffee and croissants. Whether you're in Paris for the weekend or planning on staying forever, get the personalised guidance and help you need in person. 

Today, we're pointing our compass to an alternative seaside town – the Arctic island city of Tromsø, Norway, known for over a century as the "Paris of the North" for its blend of mainland-European and Nordic culture.

For some lucky theatregoers, a trip to see the latest B-Movie at their local picture house also means a trip across space and time. It’s all thanks to the atmospheric movie palaces and theatres of the early 20th century, whose construction brought veritable mini-cities, from old Spanish streets to lost temples of Ancient Egypt, into our movie houses…