Eye Prefer Paris is an ex-New Yorker's insider's guide to Paris. Richard Nahem writes his blog from his fabulous 18th century apartment in the fashionable Marais district of Paris
While Parisians are in their summer country homes or on the Riviera and Normandy/Brittany coasts living impressionism in real life or in Paris enjoying the relatively empty August streets, I find myself on the Monterey Peninsula in California (of Big Little Lies fame). It was my home before Paris and a place where I breathe in the fresh cool air during the summer months to get away from the Paris heat and tourist crowds.
I am, of course, drawn to the sea . . . particularly the strange creatures of this “other” world. I spend hours with these creatures at the Monterey aquarium, where the jellies, especially, are mesmerizing. Their bodies can be umbrellas, pulsating gooseberries, Japanese lanterns, UFOs, exploding fireworks, gyrating plants, or lacy eruptions. They dangle graceful ribbons or threads of tentacles that look like minimalist paintings or Christian Lacroix dance costumes.
Everyone sees them differently, and, if you listen to the comments of the multi-national onlookers, it is clear that these free floaters inspire the imagination in wonderful ways.
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer forOIC Momentsand Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com, in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment, or in this month’s issue of DESTIGmagazine. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. A new Exploring Paris Through the Lens course begins September 17. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
If you love salted butter caramels, please watch my newest A Bite of Parisvideo about Henri Le Roux, the man who actually invented the salted butter caramel.
Please remember to hit the LIKE button if you like it and SUBSCRIBE button to subscribe to my channel.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
It’s June in Paris. And, as they say, “If you don’t like the Paris weather, wait five minutes.”
We’ve had rain delays at Roland Garros, gusty winds that blow our umbrellas outside in, and surprise downpours that drench our clothes to the core (or send us to huddle under the closest café awning in the hope that’s it’s just a quick passing cloud).
Is there a silver lining to this month of unpredictable weather? Mais oui. The amazing clouds that are floating above us.
Ever since I became a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society (literally and metaphorically), I stop on a bridge every time I cross the Seine to look up at the clouds (or in an open space in any country for that matter).
The sky is an endless canvas. The shapes, the light, the color—all inspire flights of imagination, just as they did when we were kids.
As the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society says, “Cloudwatching legitimizes doing nothing.”
And that, combined with imaginative daydreaming, is good for the soul.
For more on cloud watching, take a look at Meredith’s story at OIC Moments.
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer forOIC Momentsand Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
August in Paris- My Marais Apartment for Rent August 16 to August 29
I am renting my Marais loft from August 16 to August 29 (Dates are flexible). Contrary to popular myth that Paris is closed in August, most shops, restaurants, and attractions are open in Paris, especially in the Marais. The weather is usually beautiful, temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s Fahrenheit during the day, dropping into the mid 60s at night. In case in gets warmer, I have an air conditioner in the bedroom and a large fan in the living area.
Minimum rental period is 7 days/one week, price 1500€ for 7 days/one week, 2900€ for 14 days/2 weeks.
Conveniently located by the Saint Paul metro, in the heart of the Marais, the apartment is a spacious one-bedroom 750 sq. ft. loftwith 12 ft. ceilings, decorated in chic Mid-Century Modern furniture and sleeps two people in a Queen size bed. Amenities include washer/dryer, 16" flat screen TV, dishwasher, internet connection/Wifi and free long distance calls to the U.S. The apartment is located on the second floor with a large elevator
If you love salted butter caramels, please watch my newest A Bite of Parisvideo about Henri Le Roux, the man who actually invented the salted butter caramel.
Children seem to easily find their free spirit. They are quick to fall under the spell of music, color, and light. And there’s no place quite like the Ateliers des Lumières to see first-hand these moments of unrestrained soul.
In this darkened space, immersed in sound and images, children show their true colors. They dance. They jump through the moving lights on the floor. They meet their shadowed selves on the walls. They touch the walls as if they can’t wait to find a path into the projected world.
They let the magic surround them . . . and make us all want to set our spirits free.
A selection from Meredith's In Play series will be featured at the upcoming Paris Alumni Network Exhibit at the Galerie Maître Albert (along with dramatic new work from her Le Cirque series). The PAN show also includes work from 14 other artists working in a variety of media. Gallery hours are from 11 am to 7 pm tous les jours from April 30 until May 11. The gallery is at 6 rue Maître Albert near Notre Dame.
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.
Sometimes a travel adventure in sun and warmth calls out during the long Paris winter (although we must admit that the past few weeks in Paris have been surprisingly spring-like).
For me, India answers this travel adventure call with a full force of color and chaos—life on display in every street, river, and alley shadow. But amidst this sensory bombardment, I am always amazed to find a quiet-hearted, generous, patient people—with a joy, and often wisdom, in their eyes under the most challenging of circumstance.
What is their secret? We should all want to know.
For more of Meredith’s India Adventures, see her story on the Kumbh Mela.
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
Link Eye Like
Checkout this interesting story in the New York Times about transforming the Champs Elysees
If you haven't already seen my Eye Prefer Paris exhibit, it's on until March 31. Please note the exhibition is in two rooms in the lobby of the hotel, the bar and the library. Sometimes the library room doors are closed. Please open them to see entire exhibit.
Yes, I’m still a circus addict (no intervention needed here). And, happily, winter circus season is upon us in Paris. Multi-tasking jugglers, flying trapezers, comedic characters that pratfall when faced with the slightest obstacle, acrobats with abs of steel, and well-trained animals that perform in spaces way too small for their wild hearts--all punctuated by the pure laughter and frenzied clapping of the children (and the children-at-heart) in the audience.
It’s mesmerizing. And, although the circus is full of color, I like to bare its soul in black-and-white—leaving just the grace and form of the art itself.
Vive le cirque!
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
Please watch my latest A Bite of Paris video, Honey Tasting at Famille Mary, where I taste a bunch of yummy flavored honey's.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.
Oui, I prefer Paris. But every summer I head to the central coast of California to “get away from city life.” By mid-July, after hordes of Parisian summer tourists, pollution alerts, and an accumulation of street symphonics and “Pardon, excusez-moi” pushing, I am in need of asylum.
This year, I even got away from “getting away from it all” and headed to the mountains south of Big Sur for five days of silence at the New Camaldoli Hermitage.
For someone as “wired” as I am, the idea of no wifi, no phones, and no talking was daunting. I was pretty sure it would kill me. Instead, it gave me new life.
In the depths of a silent world, my photography changed. I saw things differently, more simply. Just the beauty of nature. As Annie Dillard says, nature is so brilliant, all you have to do is show up.
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
I am so pleased to have Ann Mah as my guest this week at on A Bite of Paris. We went to Le Mistral, her favorite Paris bistro and had their signature dish, aligot, a rich, creamy mix of whipped potatoes and cheese from the Aveyron region.
Click here or link below to watch Ann and I enjoy aligote.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.
Street photographers are a rare breed. (I consider myself part of the tribe.) We are constantly watching . . . always looking for compelling stories to tell. We are never really “off" the streets. Cameras and iPhones (and heart and mind) are invariably ready to engage and connect no matter where we are. From stealth moments to the best of personal interaction, we humans are fascinating folks. It is one of life’s pleasures to capture these memorable moments in images.
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
Do you love cheese? I go for a cheese tasting at Beau et Fort, a restaurant and cheese shop in the 9th arr. on A Bite of Paris
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you, my insiders, Paris.
The holidays may be an odd time to think about Giverny and Monet’s gardens, especially because the gardens are closed to the public until March 23 and the flowers are in repose. But it is a time to celebrate the beauty of nature amidst a gray winter. And perhaps it's time to think about the arrival of spring and a gift for a creative person in your life ... (or yourself!) with a unique opportunity to spend a week in June in Giverny with renowned Monet expert Elizabeth Murray—painting or photographing in the gardens, visiting artist studios and places where the impressionists painted, and enjoying the fellowship of a creative group in a charming 18th-century manor house in the countryside.
Elizabeth worked in Monet’s gardens during its restoration in the 1980s and is the author of the best-selling book Monet’s Passion. She will share her intimate knowledge of the gardens as well as her talent as an instructor of painting and photography during this week of artistic exploration. Dates are June 3–9 or June 10–16.
In addition, I am creating a four-day Paris adventure, designed as a standalone journey or as a pre-Giverny experience. We’ll enjoy special visits to the Orangerie, Musée d’Orsay, and Marmottan museums; picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens; cruise the Seine enjoying the sparkling night lights; dance (and sing?) at a French guinguette; experience some guided flaneuring on the Ile de la Cité, Ile St Louis, and the Marais (with appearances by none other than Eye Prefer Paris’s Richard Nahem), as well as visit the artist paths in Montmartre. We’ll also practice creative skills with photography and sketching, and we'll experience the finer things in French life with some traditional French dining, lunch at the Eiffel Tower, and a special wine and cheese tasting. Dates are May 30–June 3 and June 6–10.
For more information about the Giverny Workshop, email Elizabeth Murray at murray@elizabethmurray.com. For the Paris Adventure Tour, email Meredith Mullins at meredithmullins@earthlink.net. You can join us for either Giverny or Paris … or, of course, both. More information is attached in PDF form. We hope to see some Eye Prefer Paris readers (or friends of Eye readers) for this fun adventure.
Happy Holidays to all and here’s to a creative 2018.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Sometimes, as a local, you need a little nudge to get you out flaneuring after a lazy summer away from the city. For me, that kick in the pants is my Photo Exploring Class. We wander to far-flung corners of Paris or to closer hidden treasures. We discover new places or see familiar quartiers in a different way. And the real joy of it is to inspire and be inspired by my students.
I tell them a photographer should feel lucky to get one great image each time we go out. This intrepid class gets many more. Beating the odds every time.
From Canal Saint-Martin to Montmartre to Parc de la Villette, this fall we sought the energy of the streets and the calm beauty of reflected light and color. And, in the process, I got to make new photographs of my own as we all explored our rich and layered city. How good a life is that?
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and Bonjour Paris. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. Coming up in November is a class at her studio entitled “Creative Photography: Inspired by the Masters.” For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
Christmas & New Years in Paris-My Apartment for Rent December 24 to January 3(dates flexible)
How would you like to spend a magical Christmas and festive New Years in Paris?
I am renting my apartment out from December 24 to January 3, (dates are flexible) a total of 10 nights for $2500.
Centrally located in the heart of the Marais near the St. Paul metro station, it's a spacious one-bedroom 750 sq. ft. loft style apartment with 12 ft. ceilings, decorated in chic Mid-Century Modern furniture and sleeps one or two people in a Queen size bed. Amenities include A/C, washer/dryer, 16" flat screen TV, dishwasher, internet connection/Wifi and free long distance calls to the U.S. The apartment is located on the second floor with an elevator.
Photos upon request. Please email me at rn88@rcn.com if you are interested.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Toto, we’re not in Paris anymore. It’s a new world.
I’m visiting California--my old stomping grounds—happily wandering, with no particular agenda. Becoming a flâneuse in America makes me a little more random . . . and decidedly less focused re: photography themes. Last week, I spent the day in San Francisco, a place I’ve been many times before, but not since I moved to France.
It’s so different from Paris that I became a traveler along with all the other visitors. And, with iPhone in hand, I saw it as if for the first time—from iconic bridges to cable cars to museum rest rooms to unvarnished life in the streets.
Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at meredithmullins@earthlink.net
Christmas & New Years in Paris- My Apartment for Rent December 24 to January 3
How would you like to spend a magical Christmas and festive New Years in Paris?
I am renting my apartment out from December 24 to January 3, a total of 10 nights for $2500.
Centrally located in the heart of the Marais near the St. Paul metro station, it's a spacious one-bedroom 750 sq. ft. loft style apartment with 12 ft. ceilings, decorated in chic Mid-Century Modern furniture and sleeps one or two people in a Queen size bed. Amenities include A/C, washer/dryer, 16" flat screen TV, dishwasher, internet connection/Wifi and free long distance calls to the U.S. The apartment is located on the second floor with an elevator.
Photos upon request. Please email me at rn88@rcn.com if you are interested.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more. In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
