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Bonjour My Dear Friends!
The two images above are from the cafe website
I was just reminiscing of my days in Paris (I miss it so) and remembering my old friends that I had to leave there. The hours we would spend in the cafes talking, debating, eating, laughing, and enjoying life! Oh, what I would give to be there for just one day. My favorite place to pick a cafe....St~Germain~Des~Pres. Les Deux Magots, Cafe de Flore, Brasserie Lipp, and of course the beautiful Le Procope.
Absinthe at the Cafe Procope via Flickr
Le Procope opened in 1686 and is believed to be the world's first coffee house and Paris' oldest restaurant. It is an amazing place to visit and enjoy some great food.
The writing on the wallThis gem is steeped in history and it is closely linked to the revolution as well. After its opening it quickly became a very fashionable place to be seen. The city's literary and political elite as well as the actors from the famous Comedie~Francaise would meet here.
I feel more intellectual just stepping over the threshold!
Napoleons hat, he must have forgotten this one!
Ah, Poor Marie... via FlickrIn this famous restaurant, a young and poor lieutenant named Napoleon Bonaparte would be made to leave his hat as security as he went out searching for money to pay his bill!
The next photos are all cafe website photosVoltaire's table is still here among the books and paintings reminding us of the 40 cups of chocolate and coffee mixture he drank every day. There is portrait of a woman hanging above a table with a bayonet tear through it, the cut crystal chandeliers everywhere, the rich colors, and mirrors throughout. it all transports you to another time and place. Oh, if these walls could talk!
Alas my friends, I am here and not there but maybe one day we can meet up for coq au vin ivre de Juliénas, Absinthe, and a cafe creme. We can sit and philosophise, debate, and share stories just like the old Masters! Until then...Good night.
The Carnavalet Museum, is dedicated to the history of Paris, it is located near the Place de Vosges. The museum is built around two adjoining mansions: the sixteenth-century hôtel Carnavalet and the seventeenth-century hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau. It contains over one-hundred rooms.
Pieces of old Paris walls ~ I love this
By MuchaThe Hôtel Carnavalet, after which the museum is named, was once the home of Madame de Sévigné, who wrote a series of famous letters to her daughter. It now hosts the museum’s collections from pre-historical times to the reign of Louis XVI, while the Hôtel Le Peletier Saint-Fargeau contains pieces dating from the French Revolution to the present day.
Re~creation of a Paris BallroomCould you just imagine all of us dressing up in our ball gowns, opera length gloves, diamonds and pearls, top hats, and tails! Oh to dream!
Some particularly interesting exhibits are:
Madame de Sévigné's Gallery;
The 20th century, Ballroom of the Hôtel de Wendel;
The Charles Le Brun Ceiling;
The Hotel d'Uzès Reception Room;
An ancient recipe for frog-leg soup, and;
Robespierre's final Letter
I just love this painting and this photoAlso there, a letter the little Dauphin was forced to write while being held captive (poor little thing), Marie Antoinette's shoes (which I posted in my last post). Also must sees are the salons and rooms of grand hotels that have long since disappeared. They are reproduced in every detail, the 19th century writer Marcel Proust's bedroom, a military tavern and a salon from the famous Cafe de Paris.
The museum is just as beautiful outside as it is insideThe famous painting of the doomed Queen Marie-Antoinette by A. Kucharski is also there, as are toys her children played with while in prison, as is some of the families furniture from the Tuileries that they used while being held there. However, just to see the buildings and petite garden are enough to entice a visit from me! I just love seeing how people lived before and to be in that environment, in a historical home (and such a grand one), it's pure heaven to me.
I don't know these people but they can jump high &have fun in the cold, 
Vernis style wall
These are all examples of the walls found in Versailles
The wall hangings are changed with the seasons. Many of them are original and many of them have been carefully reconstructed from shreds and pieces of the originals using the exact same techniques and occasionally even using the same manufacturer that they used so long ago!
In the Gardens
The writing is on the wall! Incredible
The King's chamber
Along the water
When the revolutionaries stormed Versailles they were said to be looking to for the walls made of Gold and Diamonds, they might not have found Diamonds but Gold indeed!
I remember trying to count how many different kinds of marble there was around the chateau! That's just crazy there are way too many to count. The colors of the marble are exquisite.
This is my favorite
I am in awe, even the arches are made of marble. It makes me wish we could see the original Trianon they called the "Porcelain Trianon"
What a contrast from the opulence inside but still so perfect and beautiful
I remember seeing these, the whole room is lined with them and each panel has a different theme (all just gorgeous), however, I cannot recall the room they lined. I do know there is a story here (I will do some research). I love this color.
The best part about the walls in Versailles is that many are actually secret doorway! For example in the library there is a bookcase (faux) that opens to reveal a hidden doorway and of course we all know of the Queens escape through the hidden door in her bedroom.
A closer picture of the wallcovering. I think I am going to try to hang silk wallcovering in my Powder Room. Growing up the walls in my Mom's bathroom were done in a beautiful Grey textured Silk (almost like Raw Silk but not quite). It was so pretty and reminded me of the walls in Versailles, so opulent, and in a bathroom!?!
The wife of the Dauphin's apartment, notice the Parrot so chic for the time period.I am in the market for a new Chandelier and thought I would share my obsession for these gorgeous, dripping, glittering, splendors of light with you!
dominomag.com The word "Chandelier" comes from the French word for candle holder. These Wedding Cakes of light usually only appeared in churches, mosques, or only in the grandest of palaces. Oh to be in Versailles to witness those famous chandeliers flickering & fluttering with diamond droplets of light!
Source Unknown
Dutch traders began to introduce chandeliers to the nouveau riche in the late 16th century. The first crystal chandeliers were made of transparent quartz. Today, to find one of these irregularly shaped crystal stone pieces is a rare find. By the 17th century, artisans learned how to cut this rock crystal but it was very difficult. The French eventually replaced this rock crystal with glass, but the name "crystal" stuck & continues to be used to describe both kinds of chandeliers.
www.theparisapartment.com http://parisapartment.wordpress.com
You MUST check this site out if haven't already! It's the end all~be all!
Murano, the famous Italian glass makers, upped the ante as they were the first to make chandeliers entirely out of glass. A crazy nugget of info~ they used to threaten to send assassins after any artisan who took their glass making secrets abroad! Can you imagine! Also in the 17th century an English glass maker named George Ravenscroft discovered that by adding lead oxide to glass it would make the glass easier to work with & more reflective. This lead to making more ornate and less expensive fixtures. People could now light their home with incredible chandeliers dangling with pendants in the shape of fruits, bells, beads, and flowers!
The likes of Edith Wharton, Henry James, & Baccarat to name a few, helped to create the popular image of fabulous parties illuminated by glittering, sparkling, chandeliers that hung over ballrooms like shimmering diamond earrings!
www.ZGallerie.comThat's all for today! Have a dazzling day!
Bisou Mon Amis!
Portions of this post excerpted from Traditional Home Magazine October 2004
I have absolutely fallen in love with this Salon! It is in the Hotel Soubise and I am in awe. I love the way the walls meld into the ceiling seamlessly. A true work of art. The huge mirrored panel and gilding is breathtaking. I can picture myself feasting on Fleur d'Oranger macarons from Laduree, lounging on that heavenly Coral silk, & gazing onto that view! Oh my, maybe in a past life that is how I spent my days. That would explain my love affair with all things French & beautiful. 
