Today's podcast visits the French President's palace, L’Élysée. The 365-room mansion has a history that oozes personality: once the home of Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon Bonaparte's sister Caroline also lived here for a few years. Caroline was described as "having the body of Venus and the brain of Machiavelli", which was probably not intended as a compliment, and yet, I'm sort of impressed. Visit my website for some images of the history we discuss. As always, Improbable Walks is grateful to the technical expertise of Bremner Fletcher and to David Symons, the New Orleans accordion player who performs the Improbable Walks theme music. (And yes, for you regular listeners, I have a darn November cold, so I do sound a little congested... sorry!)