Beachcomber Magazine 04

to painting and from chronicle wri- ting to journalism with such aplomb that he was hailed as a wayward ge- nius by his fellow Parisian Surrealists. He saw “ tourism ” as a cultural asset which, as he wrote in 1961, “ will only be successful if the visitor can come and then leave with this fragrance, this transfiguration, this perspiration of our soil. This quintessential body and soul of our sweet country. ” The whole of Mauritius was his fairy-tale island where, as he says in one of his more sensual aphorisms, “ when the wind passes by, the grass lies down to make love. ” He died in Mauritius on 1 October, 1981. The sugar plantation was sold in 1990. La Demeure is run brilliantly to- day by Anne-Dauphine de Grivel, a descendant of the Chazal Family who welcome guests to celebrate this luxurious Mauritian fragrant heritage where “ all the objects are alive. ”  9. The long dining room traditionally separated from the main house, is cooled by many ceiling fans. Famous parties used to go on till dawn on Saint Edmond’s day, the name of the man who built the dwelling in Poudre d’Or in 1830. 10. The red boudoir was redecorated by Hedwige de Grivel and used to hang works by the painter and poet Malcolm de Chazal. 9. La longue salle à manger, séparée, selon la tradition, de la maison principale, est rafraîchie par d’innombrables ventilateurs. De fameuses fêtes de la Saint-Edmond s’y déroulaient, prénom de celui qui bâtit la demeure à Poudre d’Or en 1830. 10. Le boudoir rouge a été aménagé par Hedwige de Grivel et consacré aux œuvres du peintre et poète Malcolm de Chazal. 10 