Mrs. Van der Loop's Blog

Ahhh Roma....

Whenever I'm in Rome I make sure to stop into the The Borghese Gallery. I just love
Correggio's masterpiece, Danäe, which depicts one of the four stories in Ovid's Metamorphoses about the "loves of Jupiter." It was commissioned in 1531 by Frederick II Gonzaga in Mantua as a present for Charles V.

Cocktails on the Beach

Constance just called and Hubert has decided they're going to the Grand Cayman Islands. Tomorrow! You know how impulsive Hubert can be, but sometimes it actually pays off for Con. They're staying at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, which was jsut finished last year, I believe, and really, where but Grand Cayman can you find such a sublime stretch of beach. I'll miss her as I always do when Hubert whisks her off here and there. But she'll come back tanned and refreshed.

Where has the Pince-nez Gone?

One hardly sees the pince-nez anymore. I wonder why...

Farewell Gracious Man

The late Mr. Van der Loop, as you know, had many varied and fascinating acquaintances. One of my favorites of his large coterie of intimates was Mr. Earnest Gallo, who started his famous vineyard with his brother Julius lo these many years ago. Mr. Gallo wasa gentleman. We were treated to many a gracious evening in his palatial home, sampling various wines. I prefer mostly French wines, but Mr. Gallo had many quite adequate labels. You can read his obituary here.

The lovely Zelda.

I was on my way to the beauty parlor this morning and passed by the fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel. My mind was immediately transported to thoughts of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his lovely, tragic muse Zelda. When I am blue, I often go to my well-worn copies of Mr. Fitzgerald's short stories. Dear readers, if you aren't familiar with these gems, please search them out and read, read, read! And did you know that Zelda was a true artist in her own right? You can see her paintings here.

Dust to Dust

Although I do find Las Vegas a rather vulgar place to visit, there was a time when it held a certain scandalous glamour for those in cafe society. I remember the late Mr. Van der Loop and I so enjoyed seeing Noel Coward perform there. Those were the days when a lady dressed for dinner. Once upon a time, dear readers, we were the special guests of Mr. Frank Sinatra at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. What a treat that was. He came down into the audience and serenaded me with a special rendition of "When I was Seventeen." La! What memories! Today I was saddened to see the demise of the old Stardust Hotel. So many memories up in smoke. You can see the demolition hapenninghere.