Constance Milstein

The French-American Cultural Foundation will be leading a fundraising program to support restoration of the Queen’s Grove at Versailles. From the F-ACF website:

The Queen’s Grove at the Palace of Versailles is an ornamental garden that was designed for Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1776. The plot was created as a flower garden with predominantly North American varieties that were new to France at the time.

The Queen’s Grove was designed for Marie-Antoinette to have a secluded place to walk, away from Palace visitors. The landscaping reflected the tastes at that time for gardens, combining French and English styles. The design was a simple, elegant layout that featured the Virginia tulip tree, white fringe tree and Carolina silverbell.

Learn how you can support this effort to restore a beautiful piece of French-American history.

The French-American Cultural Foundation recently launched a new blog series called “Vingt Questions.” In this series, they will interview interesting people from both countries about their favorite things in France and the United States.

The first interview featured Philippe Cousteau Jr, son of Philippe Cousteau and the grandson of Jacques Cousteau. When asked about his favorite place to visit in America, he replied: “I love visiting the National Parks, in particular the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Yosemite. The National Parks are one of the greatest inventions of the United States and represent the kind of values that the US stands for like freedom, hope, and democracy.”

The Inn at Little Washington’s Chef Patrick O’Connell participated in the second interview in the series. He shared that his favorite French figure is “Marie Antoinette. She is a symbol of indulgence and decadence in combination with exquisite taste.”

Follow the French-American Cultural Foundation website for future interviews and to learn more about the organization’s mission and events.