It’s my annual edition of the Paris window boxes. For 2021, I concentrated mostly on the window boxes in my neighborhood, Le Marais. Do you have some favorites?
Eye Prefer Paris 16th Anniversary
I want to thank the following people for generously donating to Eye Prefer Paris so I can continue my subscription service. Your donations exceeded my initial request of $540 and I will apply the extra funds towards a second year. I also want to thank you for your kind notes you included in the donation.
Nancy S., Judith R., Chris K., Kathy G., Carol P., Judy H., Barbara E., Susan S., Liz S., John K., Monique VD., Angela LV., John H,. Edward N., Jan L., Richard B., Kathy M., Dr. J., Joanie S., Leann R., Mary Lynn C., Diane S., Barbara L., Carmen C., Debbie H., Bonnie F., Judy S., Cheryl M., Virginia G., Jerry F., Russ R., Cheryl T., Pete K., Jeanie T., Carolyn A., Michael H., Allan VF., Diane K., Annie P.,Brunie F., Susie F., Peggy and Jim B, and Linda S.
My apologies if I have forgotten anyone.
During the last week of April and the first week, I had the good fortune of doing two tours of the of the Monet house and gardens in Giverny. The gardens were glorious as ever, especially with the irises, rhododendrons, and tulips in bloom.
Please check out my new jewelry designs at https://www.auradeparisjewelry.com/
It’s April in Paris, and the last two weeks, we have been blessed with the most beautiful weather with temperatures in the mid-60s Fahrenheit, azure, blue skies, and dazzling sunshine.
I was giving a Saint Germain Tour and on the side streets, the Luxembourg Gardens, and Square Boucicaut, there were glorious flowers, and trees in bloom. The horse chestnut trees were sprouting their lovely pink and white blooms, vibrant tulips stood proud, cherry blossoms abounded, and flower shops were showing off their plump hydrangeas.
Have you ever been in Paris in April?
Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 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, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours,Vintage Clothing Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.
Tours start at 275€ for up to 3 people, and 90€ 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.
Last week I took some tour clients to Giverny and as we were riding in the car, Rich, his wife Michele, and I discovered we had many things in common. Obviously one of us had the same name but we discovered all of us grew up in Brooklyn, that Rich was Italian and Michele was Jewish, just like Vincent and I, and we had the same exact political views of the U.S.
We had lunch in a restaurant just across from the Monet house, in the lovely garden terrace. We were having so much fun, that Michele and Rich asked me to have dinner with them. For dinner, we went to Au Bourguignon du Marais, near my apartment and we savored foie gras, amazing beef Bourguignon, duck a l' Orange, and a perfect Burgundy red wine. By the end of dinner, we were all good friends, and I will see them when I go to New York.
Last week I had the pleasure of taking a client to Giverny. The client’s mother, who had worked in a flower shop, had never been to Paris before, and she loved flowers. I did some tours in Paris the few days before we went to Giverny, but by the continual smile on her face for over an hour when she saw the Monet gardens, indicated that this was the highlight of her trip.
It was cloudy on the way to Giverny, but once we arrived, miracle of miracles, the sky cleared and let through the gorgeous sun through. The colors of dahlias, Black eyed Susan’s, crab apples, and impatiens were brilliant, so much so, it prompted me to take dozens pf photos.
Enjoy the beauty of Monet’s Garden today.
I want to thank you for your comments and feedback emails and Facebook posts about my portrait photos.
Last month I went to see a fascinating exhibition at the Carnavalet Museum in the Marais about the Fontaine des Innocents. Located near Les Halles, the legendary fountain which inspired artists for centuries after it was constructed, has recently been cleaned and renovated.
The fountain was first constructed in 1548 and was designed by architect Pierre Lescot with the sculptures created by Jean Goujon.
The fountain was moved three different times over the centuries, and the current fountain was moved in 1860 to Place Joachim-du-Bellay, on the former site of the Les Halles marketplace. In recent years the fountain hasn’t been functioning and became rundown and decrepit. In 2023 the city devoted 5,000,000 euros to renovate the fountain, and it was completed just before the Olympics, with the fountains now working.
Various nymphs adorn each side of the fountain and the bas- reliefs represent nymph and Triton, Nymph and a little genie on a sea dragon, and Nymph and a little genie on a sea horse.
Place Joachim-du-Bellay, 75001
After posting my Window Boxes 2024 in June (CLICK HERE if you missed it) I discovered a trove of new window boxes which I am sharing with you today.
A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to view the new exhibition at the Musée de Domaine Royal de Marly plus a tour of the grounds.
The noise levels in Paris have become unbearable in the past months, with construction for the Olympics and sirens wailing out of control, so an invitation to leave Paris for the French countryside in a serene setting was a welcome relief.
A small group of journalists and I gathered in Paris, and we were escorted by a van to the Domaine Royal de Marly, about 20 minutes away.
We were welcomed by Karen Chastagnol, the manager of the museum, who had a warm and cheerful manner. She served us coffee and Madeleines, while the people in the group mingled.
A few moments later she shared the history of the chateau.
Located almost equidistant between Chateau de Versailles, and Saint Germain en-Laye, the Domaine Royal de Marly was commissioned to be built in 1679 by King Louis XIV, as a hunting ground and resort to escape his duties and responsibilities at Chateau de Versailles. It became the ultimate playground for the king and only very specially, selected guests, and only between 60 and 100 guests were invited. It was a much sought after invitation by the royal court and the aristocrats, and you had to be on the A- List to be invited. Not only did the chateau serve as a hunting ground, it hosted balls, lavish dinner parties and banquets, concerts, theater, and allowed guests to gamble. One of the other important facts about the chateau was the flamboyant fountains that were powered by a very advanced and elaborate water system that pumped through 14 paddle wheels and 259 pumps that were powered by the Seine River and traveled about .35 miles by to the reservoirs to pump the water to the fountains.
King Louis XIV
The exhibition, The King’s Horses: The Marly Horses, Masterpieces of Equestrian Art, is presented in tandem with the Equestrian Olympic events in Versailles. Focusing on the essential role the horse played in society and culture in that era, with a hundred paintings, sculptures, engravings, and drawings horse accessories, Karen led us through each room, with a very detailed and entertaining presentation and a thorough history.
After the museum exhibition, we strolled with Karen on the huge grounds of the chateau, which measure over 1200 acres. The front garden is highly manicured with topiaries and delicate, white statues on pedestals and the rest of the grounds have wide open meadows, ancient, tall trees, and a massive pond.
Even though the park grounds are open to the public, there was no more than a dozen people there. The stillness, serenity, the heavenly greenery, and the sky dotted with puff clouds, made for an exceptional morning.
The King’s Horses: The Marly Horses, Masterpieces of Equestrian Art
Through November 3, 2024
Musée du Domaine Royal de Marly
1 grille Royale- Parc de Marly, 78160 Marly- Le- Roi
https://musee-domaine-marly.fr/
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 2pm to 6pm
Thanks for all your great feedback about the first series of the Palais Royal Bench and Chair Photos from last week.
Today I am presenting series 2, with a bit of an interactive twist.
In a New Yorker Magazine style contest, I invite you to write a caption for the photos.
You may submit a one-line caption for as many of the photos as you like and email them to me at [email protected]
Please number the photo 1 to 15, using the top photo of the man sitting alone on the bench in the black shirt and white pants, as #1.
I will post the captions for each photo, next Thursday, July 28 and will credit your name next to it. (Please let me know if you don’t want me to use your name).
Good luck and I look forward to receiving your fun captions.
In 2015, I posted a series of photos of people sitting on benches under the trees in the Palais Royal. I captured them from the back rather than from the front for a myriad reasons, including privacy. Here are links to view both series:
https://www.ipreferparis.net/2015/05/palais-royal-bench-portraits-.html
https://www.ipreferparis.net/2015/08/palais-royal-bench-portraits-2-captions.html
I returned to the gardens of the Palais Royal last week on a stupendous sunny day with puffy clouds, the bluest sky, and the perfect temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The garden was teeming with people picnicking, sunning themselves around the fountain, reading books, and just plain relaxing, appreciating the divine weather.
Feeling like a bit like a voyeur and a spy, I clandestinely started takin photos of people on the benches again but this time I took them from different angles rahter than just straight ahead as I did last time. I hid underneath trees, poking my head out at an opportune time, trying not let people find out I was photographing them, which was a tough task.
I am curious what you think of the photos and would love your feedback, so please leave comments.
I will post series 2 next Monday, with a fun interactive element. Stay tuned!
CLICK HERE to read my article about Everything You Need to Know About the Paris Olympics
I'd like to thank everyone who posted a comment to win a copy of Untold Paris last Monday.
CLICK HERE to purchase a copy of Untold Paris: The Secret History of the City of Light.on Amazon (Kindle copies are only $4.99.)
I like to wander into courtyards when the front doors of a building are open. Last week I discovered a garden wonderland at 81 rue des Archives in the Marais. Walking through, there was hydrangea bushes brimming with gorgeous pink and white petals, climbing plants rising to the second floor, low palm trees, and red geraniums, all against the moss-covered cobblestones.
