Église St Eustache at Les Halles is quite particular. Pretty, but particular. The last Gothic church built in Paris, it took over 100 years from the laying of the first stone of the current building to completion. Well, sort of. It was never completed to its full Gothic glory (hence stumpy spires found today instead of elaborately decorated ones) and during the long construction period, it also transitioned into Renaissance architecture, making it a rather unique building all in all.
This set of doors is but a small part of the cathedral which I thought is rather cool. It’s the perfect symmetry between the wooden doors and the stone walls, around a semi circular nave. I must admit to not have investigate it very closely, but from where I stand, it’s a harmonious matching that had me admiring whomever the mason who came up with this idea.
… l’orage au désespoir.
The poor penguin, lamenting that [it is] waiting for the storm in despair. Is it heartbroken? Or just feeling a bit blue because of the crappy weather? Or a combination of both? Fear not, it doesn’t reflect how I am currently feeling. In fact, we’ve been blessed with a sunny bank holiday Monday, which is promptly celebrated with a trip to Pozzetto for a spot of ice cream and playing spectator at a tango session at Quai de Seine.
And on a side note: I’ve put in place a few small changes in recent weeks to the site. They’re not by any mean complete but at least good starting points, I guess.
– lists for my Big Read Challenge of 2010 and 2011
– tracker on the progress of Challenge Resto A-Z
– the pages above summarised under Coffee Break
– subtle updates to The Ultimate Travel Challenge
I have a couple other things planned (as per friends’ suggestions) that I don’t yet have time to look into, but should I do, I will let you know where to access them. But first, I need to figure out how these would fit in the framework of this site, then how best to present them. Sorry if it all sounds a bit cryptic but I haven’t think through them just yet, so I myself don’t know how it’ll morph into the final presentable state.
I forgot to mention yesterday that the ultimate tips in visiting Luxembourg Ville is to wear comfortable walking shoes (and thanks Cait for this tips too!). The city is small and easy to explore by foot, but also quite hilly in parts. Fancy shoes have no business on such stomping ground. Unfortunately, it also drizzled on and off most of the day, so you’d even want shoes with good grips.
I went walking at Grund in the morning. Sitting in a valley between the two plateau of Haute Ville (where the old town is) and St Esprit, the quarter is picturesque and I bet would have looked even more amazing had the sky been more blue than grey.
After a quick peek at the Natur Musée (i.e. Natural History Museum), I made my way to Musée d’Art Modern (a.k.a. MUDAM) which I absolutely love for the clever conceptual collections in place. In the afternoon, I visited the Grand Duke’s Palace (only open in June-August for 6 weeks for guided group tours) as well as Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art (i.e. Museum of History and Art).
As you can see, two days of activities-packed visit. I wish I had more time to explore outside of Luxembourg Ville though. I like what I’ve seen so far, and certainly would like to see more. Good excuse for another trip in the future? :D
I’ve always had this idea that I’d like to visit Luxembourg, not that I know what’s there to see when anyone asked me “why?”. Errr, just because? When the opportunity presented itself a couple of days ago (major reduction on train tickets) I decided to take advantage of it and play tourist for a couple of days. With very little preparation made, it really is a weekend where I’d be winging it.
One of the magics of a little me-time means treating myself to an al fresco lunch at Les Caves Gourmands, which has been awarded “Bib Gourmand” by the folks from the food bible of Michelin. Without paying much attention to the menu (I was more intent on scanning the tourist guide for things to do in Luxembourg Ville) I ordered the set menu of the day. I was served “caviar” of aubergine to snack with some bread, beautifully cooked calamari with warm tomato salsa and olive oil drizzle that was packed with a Mediterranean-punch of flavour as my starter, roast chicken and crayfish with potato and summer greens for main course (the poor crayfish was left uneaten since I didn’t have any anti-histamine pills with me – such a pity, but I didn’t want to spend any time at the hospital either) and greengage with ice cream to sweeten up the meal.
Having eaten well, I was all ready to explore the city more. The day had began with a visit to Casemates du Bock and Musée d’Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg and after lunch, a walking tour was swiftly organised. I also managed to squeeze in Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’Art Contemporain after the walking tour. And no pastry? Of course not! Oberweis got a visit, courtesy of recommendation by Cait.
Just when I thought the sculptures by Daniel Hourdé around St-Germain have been removed (given the main period of exhibition in the quarter should be over), I stumbled across a couple more today at rue de Furstemberg, just outside of Musée National Eugène Delacroix. Not that I am complaining. The more I stumbled across his sculptures, the more I admire his body of works.
I don’t know how to explain it, but there is a certain evocation of power and strength beneath every movement of the sculptures, accompanied by an expectation for the fluid movement to be extended and continued. I half expect to see them to come alive before my very eyes. And coming alive gracefully they will.
Ps: the title of this sculpture means blind man’s bluff. And behind this statue, you could see another sculpture. That’s Les epines de la volupté (the thorns of lust).
Boy it feels “heavy” in the city. No wonder everyone seems to have escaped to the beaches, fake or otherwise. Anything for a little bit of fresh air and cooling breeze. On passing Paris-Plages today, the quay was absolutely packed with adults and children alike, and a stroll along the beaches revealed various on-going events. Best to enjoy with ice cream in hand, I believe.
From simple sun-bathing or sand-playing, to enjoying a game of petanque or two, to watching performances by street artists, to enjoying a short massage session at the pop-up massage stands. And giant Disney-inspired sandcastles can also be found, and they’re quite the attraction as various camera (including mine) went a-clicking busily around it. I know, I am such a tourist :p
Most times, sculptures are just that. A piece of art work on display, usually high up on a pedestal of some sort, or protected in some other way. They certainly give an air of “do not touch” although usually when someone do disregard the convention, then the poses are inevitably to (1) evoke humour of some sort, or (2) have photographic proof that one has visited that particular point of interest.
“Interactive” sculptures are less often found publicly. L’écoute by Henri de Miller is not exactly one intended for such, but there’s a certain quality to it that invites people to treat it more casually and to form an interaction of some sort, most commonly to perch in its palm and be photographed. Kids absolutely love it. A bit like the column sculptures in Palais Royal, where they can run about and hop between the columns.
Street arts in Paris are not strictly-wall endeavours. As you can see, footpath is as good a canvas as a blank wall. Not only that, it can be smartly done to incorporate objects present including a drain cover. The grille as rib cage of spray-on skeleton, why not?
And speaking of street art, the artist JR is currently in collaboration with Centre Georges Pompidou to encourage everyone to take part in becoming an art movement. Have your picture taken, printed to a poster size, and you’re then to put it somewhere public as part of the Project Inside Out. Pretty cool idea if you’re open to having your face publicly admired ;)
In order to just squeeze in that extra little side trip before returning to Paris in the evening, my friends suggested we go to Antibes for a short walkabout before taking my train there instead of from Nice. Sounds good to me. Antibes is not that small a town by any means, but flanked by the tourists- (and celebs?-) favoured Nice and Cannes, it just doesn’t get as much mention. Strange, considering the number of expensive yachts sitting at the harbour…
The time came too soon when I had to make my way to the train station. However, as the TGV pulled away from the platform and choo-choo-ed its way along the Cote d’Azur towards Aix-en-Provence before heading for the capital, I was rewarded with amazing view from my window seat. Like a soothing balm to my soul, it was an apt ending to an otherwise perfect weekend getaway. Now, I just have tons of photos to sort and to upload for my friends. Be patient, my dears.
Everyone I spoke to told me there isn’t much in Monaco. Still, I was curious and would like to at least see it for myself. Its proximity to Nice means there is no reason for me not to take a day trip across the border to the principality. Of course, a gazillion other tourists have the same idea in mind as we all packed TAM bus number 100 on this Sunday morning. At €1 for one-way trip, it’s a bargain even just to sit in the bus (take the right side, window seat) to enjoy the view between Nice and Monaco.
Perhaps with my expectations lowered in all way possible, I found myself quite enjoying the quaint central area of this micro-country. Monaco-Ville is the main quarter of attractions (I’m sure most people there were tourists, not Monegasques) including Palais Princier, Monaco Cathedral and the Oceanographic Museum. I also went for a visit along the east of the principality, taking a peek into the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (NMNM), Grimaldi Forum and the adjacent Japanese Garden. All in all, not bad for a day-trip effort, don’t you think? I wished I have more time to explore other parts of the principality but alas, it was time to get back to Nice so I wouldn’t be late for dinner with my friends.
