Ladurée Genève
When you arrive at Ladurée in Geneva, you will feel like you are in Paris, the heart of France. You will also find two of the most famous French names: Napoleon and Joséphine.
Joséphine de Beauharnais, born as: Marie Josèphe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie, was the Empress of France and the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I. Even though she had more than one name, her family called her Marie or Rose, but Napoleon wasn't fond of her name, so he renamed her Joséphine, which she kept for the rest of her life. Some "evil tongues" would call it "typical to a man." Joséphine was said to be a great storyteller. She was wealthy but regularly in debt. Joséphine was a 32-year-old mother of two when she met 26-year-old Napoleon at a society ball hosted by Paul Barras, whom at that time she was mistress. Their romance was the love affair of the century. Napoleon married Joséphine in a civil wedding service, and soon after that, Napoleon was forced to leave his new bride in Paris while he led a battle. While their letters are clear evidence of true love, Joséphine is struck with a case of "wandering eye" falling into the arms of other men. It is no secret that Napoleon had multiple affairs during their marriage.
S. Gulland dived deep into researching Joséphine, thinking there must be something special about her; she writes: "Why Joséphine? She was a fairly simple woman of great heart. Although intelligent (quite), she was not a great intellect. Her virtues were simple: she was an exceptional mother, a good friend, and a loving wife. She knew how to be a good hostess. But somehow, too, she knew how to be an empress." No doubt that she was special. Why else would Napoleon write letters as though he were a lovesick teen? After their love affair ended, they remained on good terms, and Napoleon allowed Joséphine to hold onto the title of Empress so that she could keep up her lavish lifestyle. A popular myth is that Napoleon's last word, as he took his final breath on earth, was "Joséphine!"
We'll never know whether or not his final words or thoughts were about his first true love. But one is accurate, and the love is so vast that we cannot measure it.
