Meredith Mullins: Chantilly Night

When you visit Chantilly, you step back into another time. The fairy-tale chateau and Le Nôtre’s gardens set the stage for mystery, intrigue, and imagination. And, on Nuit des Musées, the past was alive and festive. From (tattooed) maids-a-riding, their silk trains blowing in the wind … to friendly lords-a-leaping, their smiles saying “follow me” (so I did!) … to cantering horses moving gracefully through the gardens. We were at a fête of another age.

Then night fell, the full moon rose, and the castle—at least in my imagination—moved in a decidedly haunted direction. Menacing statues. Shadowy figures. Flickering candles. Colonel Moutarde did it in the bibliothèque with the candlestick.

And just as I felt I was about to be swallowed up by a revolving secret bookcase, fireworks lit the sky. We all turned to look, leaving the ghosts free to dance behind us, as they no doubt were before we came.

Meredith Mullins is an internationally exhibited American photographer, currently living in Paris. Visit www.meredithmullins.artspan.com to see more of the Paris images. Her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment (click here to order), and her 2009 Paris Calendar published by Browntrout Publishing can be ordered online or in bookstores throughout Paris and the U.S. Original photographs are available directly through the artist. She will be teaching several photography workshops this summer (and a special workshop for teenagers beginning July 20) and is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris. Sign up for an information-filled, creative half-day lesson! Contact: meredithmullins@earthlink.net  

 

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook. First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

Comments

[susanna]

I just found your through Cherry Coloured's blog - http://www.cherrycoloured.com/wordpress/ - and reading this post was a delight. I wish I could click my heels three times and appear at that ball. Of course I'd need time to find a tall white wig and a suitable corset!

I would also frame the photograph of the couple walking on the cobblestone street and hang it somewhere in my home where I would see it often. There's a sense of freedom in that photograph...

And one day, when I finally make it to Paris, I'll sign up for one of your cooking classes or tours - or both!