May 12, 2011 / Linda Hartong

CARMEL’S COURTYARDS AND SECRET PASSAGEWAYS

Carmel is peppered with out-of-the-way Courtyards and secret passageways -42 of them to be exact. They started in the 1920’s when Hugh Comstock’s fairytale houses and shops were built. On this trip to Carmel, I make it my mission to find them. How fun. I get the list from the Visitor’s Center and set out. Of course, Bill and I have been in many of the Courtyards. But by the end of this trip, I am zigzagging around town in a whole new way. I enter Cinderella Lane which appears to a dead-end. The next thing I know, I am popping out in Piccadilly Park.

My favorite courtyard is the Court of The Fountains.

The Court has three entrances. Each announces the wonderful shops I will find inside.

I window shop at Maxine Klaput Antiques.

Her shop features 18th and 19th century period furniture, silver, porcelain and paintings. She specializes in matching sterling silver flatware.

The Parfumerie is next door to her.

But it is the fountain on the back wall,

the reflecting pool,

and the glass gazebos at either end of the pool that make this courtyard so lovely.

The potted plants are beautiful. In late summer, I come here to see the extraordinary dahlias . This time I admire Kangaroo Paws,

Nicotiana,

Gloxinia

and a delicate blue blossom trying to compete with the deep blue of the reflecting pool.

One of Carmel’s noted restaurants , Anton and Michel, looks out on this view, made even better by dramatic lighting at night.

Anton and Michel offers continental cuisine in Old World Elegance. Try their rack of lamb. Anton & Michel Restaurant

The glass gazebo in the northwest corner is my favorite and I press my nose to the window.

This is Lisa’s Studio.Lisa Bryan is one of Carmel’s most prolific artists. I have purchased her book ‘Sketches of Carmel’ and her artistic village map, Her book describes Carmel’s bohemian past and is illustrated with colorful watercolors depicting life on the Monterey Peninsula. If you click on the above link, you can order these as well as other items.