What a difference a day makes....

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To paraphrase Will Shakespeare:  "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious spring by this sun of Paris!"

Maybe the double rainbow against the black clouds the other evening was the sign we've all been waiting for. Suddenly there was a shift, temperatures rising, winter coats being shed, a lightness of foot on the streets, and a flurry of events this past week -- all heralding, perhaps, the arrival of spring.

At the Palais Brongniart (formerly the old Bourse, and just down the street from us), the annual Salon du Dessin opened its doors.
Print and Drawing dealers from around the world come here every April, offering their exquisite works of art for sale.

They're all way beyond our pocket book, but it is a great delight to wander from booth to booth and enjoy their display. I fell in love with this Indian elephant, an ink and watercolor and gouache from Nicolas Huet le Jeune from the early 1800s...

...and with a Sonia in our family who is a painter, who could not be in love with the works of Sonia Delaunay!!

Meanwhile, over at the American University of Paris there was a reception to celebrate the latest Cahier, published in association with their Center for Writers and Translators. This one features lovely watercolors by Ralph Petty, accompanied by poems and short prose pieces by Jeffrey Greene -- whose book "The Golden Bristled Boar" we read on KWMR last year!

And then, the Classic & Klezmer group made their return with a smashing concert Saturday night at Reid Hall (Columbia University's footprint here in Paris) in the 6th arrondissement.

With a pianist, clarinettist, violinist, accordionist and percussionist, they were an incredibly lively group. As well as Klezmer, they also played works by Khachaturian, Gershwin and Brahms. See if you can get this clip to play on your computers!

Not to be outdone, the glorious Grand Palais was transformed this past weekend for Le Saut Hermès Show Jumping competition. Riders from around the world stable their horses in specially erected stalls on the edge of the Champs Élysées, for this four-day event. One of these years, I will find a way to buy tickets to actually attend. I spent most of my childhood riding ponies and following the exploits of my show jumping heroine, Pat Smythe and her horses, Prince Hal and Tosca. This year, I contented myself with watching from home, thanks to coverage by Equidia TV. Here's a short clip of a young American rider.

With all this activity in town, we woke up Sunday morning to clear, sunny skies  and decided to take a break and catch the train out to the Chateau Chantilly for the day. We had been here for the horse racing last summer, promising ourselves we would come back to see the Chateau. The train service from Paris is fast and short (24 minutes from the Gare du Nord). Alas, the featured bus service from Chantilly station to the chateau was not to be found -- "jamais les dimanches, Madame" (Never on Sunday!). The featured taxi service was also non-existent. So, it was through the woods, on foot!

We've been amazed at how bare the trees have been since we arrived. Here we are in mid-April and the woods look like January...

...although carpets of these sweet white flowers were everywhere, signalling the arrival of something!

Some 35 minutes later, we came out of the woods, and there was the chateau, serenely situated on its bassin.

Originally there were two attached buildings, one, le petit chateau, built for Anne de Montmorency in the 16th century. The other, the grand chateau, was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s by Henri d'Orleans, the Duc d'Aumale, a son of King Louis-Philippe and a grand nephew of the Duc du Bourbon, who left him the estate, a lot of art, and many millions of francs!

He spent his money well, collecting more and more paintings, sculptures and other objets, that are all housed today in the Chateau in the Musée Condé. He stipulated in his will (he left the entire collection and the Chateau to the Institut de France) that the paintings continue to be shown as they were during his lifetime. The main gallery remains so, with paintings up and down the walls, with no particular order to them. With the light streaming through the skylights above, the effect is quite jaw-dropping!

After a while, you got a bit blasé at seeing several Rafael paintings, along with works by Delacroix, Poussin, Géricault, Watteau, Corot, etc. etc.!

Maybe that's why odd ones caught my eye, like this painting by Edward Lear...

...or this dramatic scene by Jean-Léon Gérome: a New Year's Eve duel has ended badly for Pierrot, as the victor, an American Indian, walks away in the cold morning light!

We were also struck by this wall in a small, skylit antechamber:  a beautiful nude, framed by portraits, including a self-portrait by Ingres on the upper left.

It's no wonder the collection of the Musée Condé is considered one of the finest in France, outside of the Louvre!

Beyond the actual museum, there were the Duc's apartments, with all their restored pomp and glory...

...a mirrored gallery, looking like a miniature Versailles...

...even one room with painted wall panels featuring monkeys serving human figures!

Then, there's the library, literally lined floor to ceiling with over 12,500 printed volumes, medieval manuscripts, and some 40 miniatures from Jean Foquet's Book of Hours.

Whenever it got to be too overwhelming inside, a quick look out of the window reminded us that the gardens were originally designed by André le Nôtre!

 But as well as all this true grandeur and splendor, and the fact we saw it all on the most glorious sunny, warm day we've experienced so far this year, there was still one more treat in store for us at the Chateau café:

Yes, Chantilly is, of course, also famous for its "crême Chantilly". According to some, it dates back to the 17th century, to others not until the late 18th century. Either way, in those days, it was whipped with birch twigs (!), and is flavored with vanilla and sugar. Served alongside this freshly baked Tarte au Pommes, it was a divine finale to our day in the country.

Meanwhile, back in Paris, every scrap of grass was taken up by happy residents, and with just this one day of sunshine, we predict in a couple more days, the trees will all be in full leaf!

A bientôt!