Tea was served on ancient painted trays with a beautiful teapot and limoge cups. Of course served sans milk and in the most amazing cotton/silk tea bags. Beautiful and certainly fulfilling the romantic theme.
The garden although small, was beautiful and quite romantic - full of green trees, climbing roses and charming flowering plants and matched the style of house perfectly.
We were lucky there was an exhibition on of French Romantic Gardens with lots of beautiful original hand drawn plans of gardens such as the bagatelle and mailmaison and follies and stone edifaces for gardens of the late 1800's. It was a revelation. The paintings and plans were quite superb and I was so excited as I wandered around....they were mini works of art.
The house was built and lived in by the painter Ary Scheffer and both he and his brother had the most amazing studios on the property - enormous ceilings and pannelled rooms of great space. Ary Scheffer was classified as a 'romantic' painter and was reknowned for his Friday salon where special and famous visitors would come for an afternoon of entertainment and socialising.
The house is behind some of the those intriquing large doors one sees all through Paris, down an alley lined with old trees providing green shade and past the studio into a beautiful courtyard where the house is situated. It is very French and secluded from the bustle and madness of the surrounding streets. Once inside the big street doors, it would be your own private oasis.
Tres romantique!
On our travels yesterday we also discovered the Pistacherie.....wonderful nuts in mixtures and plain and these fabulous little ices. Great little pick me up. Yummy. This is the pistachio flavour. We really liked the little boat they came in.
Hi Karen, I've just caught up on all your Parisian news and am trying really hard not to be jealous! Wonderful food, shopping and gardens. Stunning :)
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