If you are a visual person, a person who likes to travel, you want to go on an adventure and laugh until you cry, you have to see THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL by Wes Anderson. He is such a maverick, so creative with his sets, costumes, storytelling and casting. I want to treat you to a few stills because I think they are so beautiful.

Yes, if I were an eccentric, wealthy, old widow, I would love to vacation here. In fact, if I lived in Hungary or anywhere nearby, and the hotel actually existed, I would put it on my travel itinerary immediately, regardless of its physical state. I love grand structures with history and romance – don’t you?

An 8 foot model of the hotel was created so that they could pretend to show it in its original grandeur. How dramatic does it get, up on the mountain top like that.

And then, there’s the cast, most of which you see again and again in his films:

A few of my favorite scenes/actors from the movie:

And other greats:

Lobby Boy played by Tony Revolori

So much gorgeous pink!

A few more stills for you and I better stop or I’ll give it all away:

And here he is, Wes Anderson!

Would you look at those gorgeous boho pillows on the chair behind him?

Anderson has a second home in Paris, besides his NY apartment. His films have such a European bent to them. Before writing Darjeeling Limited he traveled around on a train in Europe with a few of his friends.

Here he is at Deyrolle in Paris, the famous taxidermy shop:

So, let’s look at the color palettes of his different films, which all seem to have that over-saturated color, late afternoon rich sunlight quality:

And here are a few more movies by Anderson to see, if you haven’t already –

MOONRISE KINGDOM is charming –

THE AQUATIC LIFE is the first movie of his I saw. I laughed hysterically until I cried during that one also:

DARJEELING LIMITED I just went out and rented, which took me to Paris and India for a couple hours. And THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, RUSHMORE and FANTASTIC MR. FOX are on the must see list.

Anderson is such a talent, a maverick, my cultural hero. So needed right now as I wait for Oregon grays and rain to give way to SUMMER.

– Suzanne