Bonjour et bienvenue!
My name is Linda Barrett and this is my first blog for my wonderful new novel Circle to Paris: A Young Woman’s Journey to Find Love, Success, and Self-Empowerment. It is a story of a beautiful young Parisian girl, Honora Favre, that hits hard times and leaves the luxurious golden cocoon that she has grown up in, in Paris, and runs away to Normandy. She runs from a failure, and not only finds success but that she was never a failure after all. The successful person was always inside of her. All she had to do was realize it.
Today I am giving you a tour of one of the great French institutions–the beautiful and historic Ritz Hotel! Coco Chanel had a suite here where she slept every night. This is also where she had her original boutique and atelier–her workshop where she made her and designed her beautiful clothes.
The Ritz Hotel sits in the beautiful Place Vendôme. It’s in the 1st arrondissement, or district, which is one of the oldest areas of Paris and used to be the center of the city. Construction of this place, or square, was originally ordered by Louis XIV and today is known as a staple of Parisian opulence. 
I am here on a Sunday afternoon and
the sun is bright in the Parisian sky, bathing the place in light. There are high-end jewelry stores, legal offices, and even a French government ministry in this beautiful place. The pièce de résistance of the PlaceVendôme is the statue in the middle of the square, la Collone Vendôme. The 140-foot-tall green bronze obelisk is a memorial of the victorious soldiers in Austerlitz during the Napoleonic Wars. It was just restored by the Mohamed Al-Fayed Foundation, a charitable foundation run by an Egyptian gentleman that happens to own the fabulous Ritz Hotel. If the name sounds familiar, it might be because he is the father of Dodi Al-Fayed, who was Princess Diana’s lover up until both of their lives were taken in a car crash here in Paris.
La Place Vendôme and the Ritz Hotel are a center of luxury and history in the city of Paris, and it is here where Honora and beloved gorgeous man, Philippe, Duke d’Orléans come and have a hello lunch with Honora’s parents, Chantal and Jacques and Favre. Unfortunately the dining room does not allow videos, but it is a beautiful period room where you can’t lose your temper. You have to mind your manners. So Honora decides to meet her parents here to introduce them and break the news that, hello! She has her first boyfriend, the first man in her life. She’s crazy about him, and they’re living together. If you want to know more about the drama that ensues, don’t forget to pick up a copy of my book!
I really hope you like the stories of Circle to Paris. It is my first in a series of novels about Honora and the other Parisians, some Americans, and so many more characters that come into her circle.
Merci et à bientôt!