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Welcome to Camellas-Lloret, a culmination of a love affair with France and a desire by a couple, Annie and Colin, to share it.

All Photos Courtesy of Annie Moore and Camellas-Lloret ©

Design Traveler Visits: Le Domaine de Chantilly, France
When thinking of Paris and châteaux, Versailles, Fontainebleau and perhaps the Loire Valley come to mind. But just a short distance from central Paris lies a gem of a château that has been carefully restored and offers some serious eye candy of paintings, decorative arts, gardens and equestrian displays.



The Domaine de Chantilly passed from different parts of the same family without ever being sold, from 1386 to 1897. The Château first opened to the public in 1898, less than a year after the death of the final owner, Henri d’Orleans, Duke of Aumale. As with the Louvre, the Château de Chantilly was improved, expanded, destroyed and rebuilt over the course of centuries. Its long history is complex, fascinating and, well…very French...

 
Chantilly was at its peak in the 17^th century, when André Le Nôtre (who would be later become the head gardener at Versailles) created a Grand Canal, water features and parterres. Chantilly came alive with grand balls and fireworks displays, visits from Louis XV and plays by Molière.



The fun came to a halt during the French Revolution, when the collections of the Château were seized and carted off to the Louvre and the Château served first as a prison, then was partially demolished. The Château regained its glory in the 19th century when Henri d'Orléans, the fifth son of King Louis-Philippe, inherited the property (and great wealth) in 1830 at the age of eight.


 
Today, a visit to the Domaine includes the Renaissance-style Château, with grand entry hall and hunt theme, intimate chapel, a generous painting gallery, library with over 1,300 manuscripts and 12,500 books, private apartments and gardens. The collections are presented today just as they were in the 19^th century as Henri d’Orleans had arranged them. The collection can be considered a mini-Louvre, with representation by many great French and Italian masters such as Raphael, Corot, Watteau, Poussin, Delacroix and Clouet.



The private apartments have been undergoing extensive renovation since 2005, and the details behind that work are interesting from a design standpoint. The largest expense of restoration work on the Château is gold leaf. Pure, 24 karat gold leaf is used, not paint, and there is a lot of it. The walls and relief are cleaned, to uncover the original colors, and not completely repainted. The paint is made especially for the Domaine with a base of what is called colle de peau, or animal glue, which holds well for centuries and has been used since ancient times.


The Domaine de Chantilly is a marvelous and carefully restored château with its collection of period decorative arts, paintings, book & manuscripts. In addition to being beautiful, it is also fascinating in that it is the personal collection of one man, Henri d’Orleans. If you have visited the Louvre or Versailles, you will love this Château, for the intimate portrait it paints of the tastes and life of one of France’s royal sons after the monarchy. In the spring and summer, the Domaine also presents a series of live horse shows and dressage demonstrations in the Grand Stables.


 
For more information on the Château de Chantilly, visit www.chateaudechantilly.com
Andrea Drexelius is a devoted Francophile and divides her time between Laguna Beach and various destinations in France. In addition to importing classic French market baskets, she writes extensively on France. The first of her e-book series Rêve will focus on Paris (including Chantilly) and will be published imminently.  Information on Rêve and her blog can be found HERE.

 

I was very honored when Christina of Greige Design suggested that I could be a guest blogger while she enjoys time away. Blogging has become a very personal journey as I am able to share ideas, design inspirations, travel stories via words and images, an electronic common place book of sorts. My blog Francine Gardner Art De Vivre is a synopsis of who I am, someone who just loves family, life, nature, far away cultures and brings all these experiences into my design work.
I left the South West of France at the age of 18 to study in United States (Boston), a country that has fascinated me to the point that I am now a US citizen. But I will always love PARIS. I believe if there is a "place one must see before you die",  please make it Paris.


You may, if you wish, follow me on my stroll through my favorite part of this extraordinary city.
Arrive early morning at the small Lenox Hotel on Rue de l'Universite in Saint Germain where I always stay, shower, clean clothes and off I start my free day before meetings, shows etc.. breakfast at Cafe Flore where wealthy locals and tourists meet to chat , see and be seen. Then a long magnificent walk along the Seine to my favorite museum, Musee du Quai Branly.

 Cross the Seine and heads to the Musee de l'Orangerie  where all walls of two large rooms are covered with massive canvases of Monet Water Lillies. A profound beautiful experience not to be missed.


Keep walking through gardens and enjoy a well deserved lunch on the terrace of Cafe Marly, overlooking the Louvre.
Then on to some shopping, all Streets of Saint Germain are filled with art galleries and boutiques but I always end up at the Bon Marche, their food emporium is a treat to all senses, their hip women's fashion department irresistible, let's not  mention the shoes....there, you see french women at work...shopping.
Back to the Flore for a chevre chaud, dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, alone or with friends, then, my nightly walk, through Place de Furstenberg, magical at night, getting lost in the small streets of the quartier latin and crossing the bridge to Isle Saint Louis. Along the way, I spend hours browsing the shelves of the bookstores which stay open until midnight. The french love to read... I usually end up buying boxes of books that I ship back to New York.
My free day is over, off to sleep.

My dear friends Monique Duveau, food critic and style editor at Cote Sud, and artist Jose Esteves have  introduced me to their favorite restaurants, numerous memorable diners that still tease my taste buds.

My favourite place to eat?  Of course there are SO many wonderful little bistrots and restaurants in Paris, I could actually provide a long list.  But my most memorable meal  was shared with my husband and our closest friends at La Méditerranée , fantastic setting, DIVINE food, romantic, elegant LOVE it.