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Project 365 – Week 21

A whirlwind week away can only be matched to a whirlwind week at home, right? Well, it may not look it but it certainly felt like it. As I set my to-do list for the next few days, and reviewed my calendar for the coming weeks, I realised things are liable to be crazier than ever. On the plus side, I manage to sneak in some reading time, which makes me pretty content at the same time.

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Fruit juices

20 May: I know, a photo taken at Marks & Spencer is hardly exciting but have a read at the labels of these bottles. Juices with red pepper or asparagus in them? We tested out the one with asparagus in it and it actually was quite nice. Granted, there wasn’t too much asparagus in it to start with, but enough to give a hint of the taste. Honestly though, I miss the food hall of M&S. There are a couple of them in Paris; the food section in the branch on Champs-Élysées is very limited and the other branch is a bit far in Levallois-Perret (actually outside of Paris), thus why I’ve not yet been there, but it does boast a much bigger food hall so maybe I should at least check it out once!


Abandoned site

21 May: The sight of an abandoned housing site in an affluent area is rather rare, so when we came across this one in Dublin 4, I couldn’t help but peeked into it. Some enterprising street artist had apparently found his/her latest empty canvas right here and went to work, producing this colourful piece that includes sunshine, samurai and other motifs in between. It feels like an unfinished project, so I wonder if the top right corner would be filled by now?


Sunflowers

22 May: These sunflowers look confused. I’m not surprised. While I’ve been away, it seems copious amount of precipitation has been dumped on Paris (on France even?) and the sun has been an elusive figure. Flying back from Dublin yesterday, we descended through three (yes, three!) layers of cloud before we saw any sign of land. The cloud coverage from my window seat on the plane would suggest the entire sky has been taken over by innocent-looking fluffy pillows, some in need of serious time at the laundrette.


Saint-Germain-des-Prés

23 May: Saint-Germain-des-Prés is among the few cultural stations in Paris, and I’ve previously talked about the lack of advertisements on its walls and its use as surface for projection of works of arts and literature. Just on the far end of the platform (direction Montrouge) is this little vent grill that I’ve been eyeing for a while, aptly the representation of the joy of reading. Perfectly in theme with the rest of the presentation of this station. It’s a minor detail but still, in my opinion, an important detail.


Boulevard de Bercy

24 May: Carl has been staying with us for a few days and is due to leave in the morning. After dinner not far away from Nation, the boys had the idea that we should walk to Bercy, mainly because Carl has never really visited the quarter and it also happens to be one of Frédéric’s favourites. Thus, on this late night, escorted by two guys, I found myself walking unfamiliar streets and boulevards which I would not necessarily take if I was on my own. And I would have missed out on this kind of alternative look of Paris.


La Rhumerie

25 May: This was Anne’s place for Friday evening cocktail, but I guess it’s becoming mine too. La Rhumerie on boulevard St Germain is a bustling bar and their specialties are rum and rum-laced cocktails. They can also whip up delicious mocktails too if rum/alcohol is not your thing. While you are at it, they have good Creole dishes to snack on too. We almost never fail to order a plate of accras de morue and another of banane plantin with our drinks. Just the right place for the girls’ evening out ;)


Street protest

26 May: Another week, another protest. Although the bill of equal marriage rights has been passed in France thus legalising gay marriage, the opponents of this project of law are still very unhappy with it and continue to take to the street to show their displeasure. Unfortunately, their messages had now been hijacked by extremist groups that commit anti-social behaviour during and after the demonstrations, including physical assaults of police, journalists and media photographers. The messages of hate that they spread are those aimed at instilling fear. I’m afraid I could never understand such violent opposition against equality.




Category: Europe, France, Paris, Project 365

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4 scribbles & notes

  1. med says:

    Asparagus juice eh…hmmmm kekekek

    n seems like protest are pretty common there…u joined any? plenty of rally back here lately and all for the same reason ;)

    • Lil says:

      Nope, I haven’t take part in any rally. Somehow, each time there was one organised to coincide with the main ones in Malaysia, I had something on and/or away from the city.

      Did you see the news where the Immigration Dept D-G threatened to cancel passports of those living abroad who “tarnish the country’s image” when they go home, so they would be banned for travelling for 3-5 years? When there’s an uproar, he went “oops, I was misquoted by the journalist”. Whatever.

  2. med says:

    ohyes…superbly memalufying u know..sigh….to have such idiots running our govn :(

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