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Day 120: Wedding photoshoot

Choosing a single photo for today is tricky, since I was on a walking tour of Montmartre and saw plenty that are interesting or amusing. I guess that means I need to set up a separate album at some stage. (I am already terribly slow in updating the blog, ooops.) For now though, one from among the firsts of the day – wedding photoshoot at the hill of Montmartre. The poor girl was coooooold, and in between shots, huddled enveloped within a huge furry jacket.

It is not uncommon to see wedding photoshoot around Paris. By the Eiffel Tower, next to fountains of Place de la Concorde, along Champs-Élysées… What is rather curious though, is that usually the couples are either Japanese or Chinese. I have not yet seen any French ones doing the same. Perhaps it has got to do with Asian tendency for establishing an entire album of wedding photo ahead of the big day. If French don’t do that, then it goes without saying they won’t have time to run around the city for posed photos on the wedding day itself.

Day 119: Église Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge

The Church of Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge sits very dominantly at Alésia, pretty much right above the metro station, and the first time I had a glimpse of it a few weeks ago was totally by chance. I was travelling to Porte d’Orléans, the terminus of line 4, but wasn’t paying attention so when I noticed just about everyone in my carriage getting off, I naturally assumed we’ve came to the end of line. To say I was momentarily disorientated was putting it mildly.

Passing by it again this evening (I was at a cinema nearby with Ani – we went to see Detective Dee – Chinese movie!) I thought I should take a shot of it. In particular, to show off the entertwining symbol of SP for Saint Pierre. Afterall, it could easily be looked at as PS and if you think Da Vinci Code and its link to Paris (in the little world of Dan Brown), I wonder if he knew about this church and would write anything about it as part of the story plot?

Day 118: Soirée Angélique

It feels so good to have a solid night sleep. I don’t know how some people can pull one all-nighter after another. I certainly couldn’t, and wouldn’t want to if I can help it. I can make do with the odd sleepless night here and there with huge interval in between, but that’s about all the concession I’m going to make for work.

This evening, Anne and I dropped by l’Occitane for a little soirée Angélique to check out their new range of product. While we were there, the staff conducted a little questionnaire and with just 4-5 questions, she pegged down my personality as “Angélique splash”* which Anne agrees to. Am I that easy to “get”? Never mind… time enough to grab some candies and drinks after a short skincare demo session plus having a funny photo taken. I wonder if they’ll email a copy to us. Maybe not.

* l’Angélique splash: full of vitality and you believe in living life to the fullest

Day 117: Take me away on a choo choo train

This poor girl is really need a good rest. I have had only a couple of hours of sleep in the past two days, and would love nothing more than just to collapse and catch some shut eyes. But the adrenaline is keeping me going, and I found myself still charged up and not in the least settled. My brain is racing and that’s when I told myself, I need to go somewhere.

Cue – Gare de l’Est. I’ve decided I’m going to visit my friends (pictorial clue to where I’ll be travelling to) and in a couple of weeks, I’ll be at this very same station, catching the train out of town. It is pretty exciting and this marks my first French excursion this year. But of course, Efi has also asked me if I would do a 10K run with her. Hmmm… Can I pull off a 2-weeks training for the run?

Day 116: Easter eggs!

In the spirit of Easter and spreading the love of chocolate eggs, look what I’ve found in my mailbox?! I have no idea when these were deposited in my mailbox, probably, over the weekend, by the Resident Committee of my building. (I didn’t check it on days when I didn’t think the postman was working.) Of course, these chocolates are very welcomed. Needed even. Merci!

The past couple of days have been intensed, workwise. Apart from short breaks, I’ve been literally chained to my desk, typety typety type away. A particular and important work deadline is looming over my colleagues and I, and although somewhat stressful, we’re working at a good pace to completing our submission. These chocolates (plus some mini stroopwafels, courtesy of LK) are keeping me going whenever I feel the urge to snack. They make gooooood comfort food. ;)

Day 115: Les impressionnistes at Hôtel de Ville

The Mairie of Paris organises a number of exhibitions every year, housed within the Hôtel de Ville. They are often interesting, and it shows, given the long queues to visit the exhibits. An hour or so of waiting is not unusual. I have, in the past, explored a number of exhibitions, including one of Petit Nicolas. (Don’t know who Petit Nicolas is? Check the Wiki.) Needless to say, I enjoyed them very much.

Two exhibitions are running at the moment, one of which I saw last week – Paris: at the time of the Impressionists. The collection came from Musée d’Orsay (possibly my favourite museum in the city – yes, more than Louvre) and have not often been on display, so it’s a gem to behold even if the number of exhibits are limited. So much so that I bought postcards to some of these masterpieces.

The exhibition runs from 12 April to 30 July 2011, and opens daily from 10am to 7pm (last admission 6.15pm) except Sunday and public holidays. Entry is free.

Day 114: Polly Maggoo

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.

Day 113: Best Coast

When Lih King asked if I would like to go to a concert, I jumped at the chance to get out after holing up most of the day in my apartment, typing away on work documents. An escape? Yes please!

Since I didn’t even have a clue who I’d be seeing at this impromptu night out, Lih King ran a quick band catch-up for my benefits. Best Coast is an Indie Rock band from California which first caught his attention last summer, and their music is characterised as “lo-fi” (the opposite of “hi-fi”?) and fuzzy. Whatever that’s supposed to mean. Ah yes, my ignorance in music is showing, but hey, remember, I also gave it a go and checked it out. ;)

The concert was fun and we managed to get pretty good balcony standing place, affording us great view during the gig. I recognised some of the tunes, and I’m assuming I may have heard them from snippets in tv shows? There were also similarities to the sound of The Blue Pills, a fictional punk band featured in Season 2 of Castle.

I should try out more new bands (well, new to me anyway) like this – randomly, at small venues. You’ll never know what you’ll discover!

Day 112: Sunset, romance

I did something bold today. Sort of. I was out on a photowalk to celebrate Friday and around sunset, on passing the quay, I thought this couple would make perfect subject for photo of the day. I approached them to ask if it’ll be ok for me to grab a shot. Much to my delight, they ok’ed it, wheeeee. (OK, I know this is probably no big deal to a lot of people but it’s major for me – I hate intruding on others.)

While the couple were friendly and cheerfully agreed, I noticed the girl being a tad camera-shy and my doubts started creeping in. The guy, well, he was happy to show-off the romance that they’ve got. So in my hurry (feeding off my anxiety) this is the best I manage to photograph them. I wish I’ve taken a bit more time and composed the photo better. Well, it’s a learning experience anyway. Hopefully next time I’ll fare better than this? ;)

Day 111: Faux Berthillon

When the day is long and warm, a lovely little treat is to get a cone of ice cream/ sorbet and enjoy it while taking a stroll along the quay of River Seine. One of the most famous gelateries in the city is Berthillon on rue St-Louis-en-l’Ile, which I drop by every so often. I loooove their parfum caramel au beurre salé.

Precisely because they’re famous, a large number of “agents” selling Berthillon’s ice cream have mushroomed on Ile-St-Louis, offering more than one location to scout for Berthillon’s goodies. It is particularly handy on an evening like today, when the real deal has closed for the day when we arrived. A few doors away, there you go, an agent of Berthillon’s best. :)

Ps: a delicious alternative to Berthillon is Pozzetto near St Paul – if I am on ice-cream trip with Anne, you’ll always catch us queueing there instead.


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