Tracing the Lost Generation: Hemingway, Picasso, and Chanel's France and Spain

A travelogue recounts a journey through France and Spain following the footsteps of the Lost Generation, a term for the expatriate artists and writers of the 1920s. The trip, organized by Black Tomato, began in Biarritz, where the author painted the coastline that Picasso depicted in 1918. Stays at Hôtel du Palais Biarritz, originally built for Napoleon III, and Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, where Hemingway wrote in The Sun Also Rises, were included. In Paris, the author visited Bar Hemingway at the Ritz, Brasserie Lipp, and Montparnasse cafés like La Coupole, Café du Dôme, Le Select, and La Closerie des Lilas, where a plaque marks F. Scott Fitzgerald's favorite table. The itinerary also included Chanel-related sites: Place Vendôme, Angelina, and 31 Rue Cambon. In San Sebastián, the author cooked with a local gastronomic society and sampled pintxos, noting that Hemingway's novel featured the region. The trip concluded in Madrid with visits to the Prado and Reina Sofía museums, including Picasso's Guernica, and a meal at Sobrino de Botín, the world's oldest restaurant, where Hemingway dined. The author also attended a flamenco performance at Tablao Flamenco Corral de la Morería. The journey highlighted the enduring legacy of the Lost Generation and their haunts.