The risk of dreaming is loneliness? At least that the hypothesis postulated by Aerosol in this art-graffiti wall of his.

Dream is a two-edge sword. On one hand, we could not not dream. To not have dreams is to live a monotonous existence, without anything to look forward to and nor something to aspire for. At the same time, to dream also means to put ourselves in a state of fantasy, imagining something that we may put too much hope on, and hurtful when it’s misguided.

What we should aim for is a balance between the two. Afterall, isn’t much of our lives about balance in one way or another? Too much of something is bad enough, too much of nothing is just as tough. However, I don’t see loneliness in either scheme of dream. Am I missing some obvious link?

Now that I know a handful of pâtisseries and chocolatiers of Paris, I’m branching out to another form of soother to my über sweet tooth – candies! I do wonder what would a candy shop be called? Bonbonerie?

Le Bonbon au Palais is a total candy wonderland. Its unique selling point is that they gather candies and chocolates from different regions of France and bring them all under one roof. Imagine to have one stop shop for all your French candy needs… I reckon the owner recognised the sugar-crazed look in my eyes because he was offering samplers of this and that and guess what, I bought them. Such a sucker, right? Still, who can resist candies?! Yum, yum and yum!

Street art in Paris is not just about mural or graffiti pictures. There are quite a lot of tiled and mosaic images too, such as the Invader series (I have a few photos from different locations which I should create a mosaic of sometimes, hehehe) but for today, let’s just work with a single tiled image. Of a knight in shining armour.

I have been joking with friends that I need a strategy to get my paperworks going. I’m still waiting for various documents, running around bugging different people for different attestations etc. Perhaps I should play a damsel in distress, and that I am really really worth rescuing from all the red tape inconveniences. Except I don’t quite know how to. And I don’t even have those huge round eyes à la Shrek’s Puss in Boots to evoke sympathy. Drat.

Now, where is my knight to come to my rescue?

After a series of non-street art photos, you’re getting mural works two days in a row. Not only that, they can be found on adjacent streets. Am I slacking, by going back to the same place for my photos? Maybe. However, with things hopping busy on my end, time is a bit on the premium. Plus, I like this mural. I was debating with myself yesterday, at the junction between the streets, on which mural I should photograph.

I like that the setting is edgy. A Keith-Haring-like background, laced with additional graffiti, they serve to emphasis the rather aggressive passion between the couple. It’s, errrm, animalistic? In my head, I was humming to Savage Garden’s The Animal Song. Of course, on the other side, a reminiscent of a classic pose by Robert De Niro. “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?” (If you haven’t guess it – it’s a scene from Taxi Driver.)

Together, it’s as if a reflection on human psyche living in a big city. Your relationship may burn fast and hard but also short-lived, while a sense of impatience and frustration bubbles underneath, ready to take one’s emotion over to spill. There’s always turmoil aplenty, running circular like an infinite loop. Does taking ourself out from urban living help us to find the balance within? That is the million dollar question.

Tucked in one of the smaller streets behind Port Royal is this creative piece of street arts, which incorporates mural painting to exposed brick façade, along with fake wine leaves snaking around the edges. As a result, my brain is running away with the image of a hot day in the Caribbean where one grabs a cold drink and sit out to watch the world goes by.

In the mean time, the weather in Paris continues to be dull for most part and rather chilly too in the evening. I may have to pull out my little fleece throw from storage so I can be snuggly wrapped up when I sit in my apartment to read. I am just starting to read Harry Potter in French and it’s taking me quite some effort since I don’t always have the vocabulary to understand everything, and the name changes are confusing. For example, Hogwarts has been rechristened Poulards, muggles are somehow Moldus, and even Snape is now Rogue apparently. One word – confusing!

If you ever find yourself crossing River Seine southward at Pont d’Austerlitz, you will see this magnificent building right ahead, surrounded by a beautiful garden. When I saw it for the first time, I wondered whose grand palatial residence could it be. But this is Paris, where real estate is at its premium, so really, who could afford to live in a place like this?

Turns out, a bunch of preserved (or models of) animals and plants. Or so I am assuming since it is the site of the Grande Galerie de l’Evolution, aka the Natural History Museum of Paris, and other NHMs that I’ve been to tend to house items of similar vein. I still have not yet been there for a visit – I should – but I have been told by an ex-colleague in Dublin how wonderful this place is. Certainly, the setting from the exterior has been charming. Now it remains how captivated I would be when I venture in one day.

Summer months in Paris bring out plenty of outdoor activities, one of them being Danse en Seine where daily, from 6pm onwards, the amphitheatres at Jardin Tino Rossi are occupied by dancers and spectators alike. And everyone’s welcomed to join in and wiggle along. From salsa to tango to rock, this spells FUN to me even if I chickened out from taking part today. What can I say? It has been a loooong time since I last danced properly, so I was feeling shy about it. Besides, I was out on a photowalk and not exactly in proper shoes for dancing. I didn’t expect them to be there, since it was only mid-afternoon at that stage.

Four couples were dancing to some pretty pop tunes but well-adapted to salsa dancing with the beats of one-two-three, five-six-seven. This pair were the best among them – with the guy leading very well and the girl dancing so very elegantly. I would be so lucky if I can do a fraction of what she did. They made all the steps and moves seemed so effortless. Anyway, next time I head out there again, I am going to join in. Wish me luck!

Another work week coming to an end, albeit this is a slightly lighter one compared to the past few. Nonetheless, it didn’t mean I could slack off, as I was scheduled to give a presentation today on my work project. However, with this now done, I could have a truly work-free weekend in the next couple of days, so I am happy, happy, happy!

On the way home this evening after dinner – Ani and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant – as we passed by Boulevard de Port Royal, the dim light against this stain window proved irresistable to me. By now, Ani knows what I’m up to and patiently waited for me to whip out my camera, snapped a couple of shots, and be ready to continue our journey. Don’t you agree this stainglass is pretty and rather apt given the season now for tulips to bloom just about everywhere? ;)

Blue is my colour. It draws me like moth to the lamp; anything blue, you’ll get my attention rather quickly. On rue du Petit Pont, the mosaic fronting the bar Polly Maggoo seems like sparkling baubles to me. And the iconic picture of Polly Maggoo from the 60s’ movie Qui êtes vous, Polly Maggoo? has been assembled quite so elegantly, don’t you agree?

Culture is rich in Paris, there is no doubt about it. However, since I started street exploration of the city, I’m learning so much more about random little things with references to movie, literature, history etc that I have been zero knowledge prior to this. For example, I googled Polly Maggoo because it’s the name of the bar and turns out, it’s a reference to a movie of fashion excesses. A few days ago, I have just got acquainted with Arnaud Rimbaud. I enjoy knowing all these little snippets to our civilisation. It makes me wonder – what will I discover next? :D

Ps: I velib’ed in Paris today! First time ever cycling in a capital city (hey, I was a small town girl) and it’s not as bad as I’d imagined it to be. Then again, it is a Sunday on a long weekend so there are less traffic and people around. Still, must try to get a long subscription to Velib so I can try it again.

Some collects shot glasses (my youngest brother), some collects thimbles (one of my best friends), some collects postcards (guilty as charged), and it would appear the owner of this handyman shop on rue Gay-Lussac is a fan of snowglobes. One of the few snowglobes sitting by the window is that of Hong Kong.

At the moment, my pretty collection of postcards from all over the world is sitting in a box back in Dublin, in a haphazard manner. It has been a while since I organised the latest postcards that I’ve acquired, either from friends who were travelling or those that I bought myself. Since arriving in Paris, I’ve received a handful few postcards, so perhaps I should get a new scrapbook and start another collection.

Now, what do you collect?