Time Traveller

Last days

2011-08-28T18:00:00.000+10:00

We were dazzled by the flowers in the Jardin des Plantes when we visted this time (in 2009 it looked very bleak but we have since discovered that it was between plantings then) such and profusion of colours and forms all jumbled in together (obviously, but not evidently, by design). Many familiar friends from our owns gardens over the years but also many unknown and interesting ones - it was a pleasure to spend an hour or so strolling amongst them (and occasionally acting as photographer for other tourists who wanted to be photographed together amidst the splendour). It was good to see that they have finally completed renovations of the main greenhouse (only five years late) and it looks spectacular. One can imagine it filled with Australian plants in the 1880's as described in the documents of the time (alas there are but a few Aussies in the garden these days and they are hidden away in another part of the gardens out near Versailles). Caught up with our botanist friend, Maite who was happy to see us back in Paris and happy to hear that my research work goes on (she is hoping to use my findings in a paper later in the year about the use of flora in art - hopefully I will have something useful put together before then).

I wrote before about the numerous passages in Paris and their place in C18 society but it was the opening of department stores like Bon Marche (the largest on the left bank, designed by Gustave Eiffel and opened in 1852 - it is now the Harrods of Paris). The food hall, La grande épicerie, is a foodies wonderland filled with an amazing array of foodstuffs from around the world but especially from all over France - the most fabulous collection of cheeses (hard, soft and medium - cow, sheep and goat) and wines, that one is a little overwhelmed (so hard to choose when time is so short but we have made a decent inroad into it all). The other major department store of the time was called La Samaritaine (first opened in 1869 and expanded over many decades in to the Nouveau/Deco building we see today). The interesting innovation with this store was that it was actually a collection of boutiques operated by individually owned stores who operated, 'in concert yet autonomously' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Samaritaine (sort of like David Jones or Harvey Nichols today).

Met up with some friends from NZ whom I haven't seen for 30 years and spent a pleasent hour or so over coffee catching up (they are doing the usual frantic racing around trying to see as much as possible in a few days before heading off to drive south). Where has all the time gone? Afterwards we wandered off to the Pompidou to look for a book on French Art Nouveau (no luck - the man actually said, 'but that was published in 2002' as though it was 50 years ago!). Heaps of art books at reduced prices but I was strong and walked away without a purchase because I have discovered the Book Depository in London who have reasonable prices and send them postage free (no hassles with exccess baggage).
Just around the corner (actually about two blocks) is the Forum des Halles, a modern shopping complex which replaced the original wholesale markets in 1971. We were stunned to discover that it was in the process of being demolished to make way for a new 21st century complex (it's amazing to think that in only two decades this place had been built, lauded as ultramodern and torn down to make way for the new). In nearby rue montorguil we were surprised to discover that a number of the older cafes and patisseries that we had visited two years ago have also disappeared to make way for 'modern' fast food places (what is this place coming to). We consoled ourselves by buying a quiche and pastry from the patisserie that HM the Queen frequents when in Paris (and jolly good it was too).
Actually we've eaten out and had more coffees this week than the rest of the time in Paris (perhaps we are trying to make sure we imbide enough atmosphere to keep us going for the next year or so). On Saturday we had a Jewish lunch (pastrami, cornishons, bagel and fromage blanc) purchased from a Yiddish shop which specialised in food from cerntral Europe and Russia - it was wonderful. We went to look at but not eat at the very posh Tour d'Argent restaurant on the left bank where you can purchase the obscenely processed 'pressed duck' for only 70 euros (and they have a 22.5 million euro wine cellar which is presented on a 400 page menu)

Friday was a big clean up day getting ready for pre-departure inspection then a farwell drink with Milan who was leaving for London the next day. Back to the Musee Carnavalet (also on Saturday) for a last look at the history of Paris (surprisingly we discovered a whole section of paintings dealing with the Paris Commune of 1871 which we had not seen before - very interesting). Actually it was fascinating to look at the paintings of life during the late C19 and see them in the political context of the times e.g. a painting of a soiree in 1867 (during the Franco-prussian war), then an image of the shelling of Paris by the Prussians in 1870 followed by images of the commune period of 1871 (and the shelling of Paris by the Republican Guards from Butte Montmatre - where they subsequently built the Sacre Coeur) then of the Exposition Universalle of 1878. Sometimes it is hard to comprehend how these things could happen in such quick succession.
Off to the pont Alexandre III (our favourite - and everyone elses I think) for a final photo shoot then to the Musee des Arts Decoratif (saving the best for last) before finishing our packing for an early start tomorrow. It has been a wonderful experience, I have progressed the research somewhat and there is new work in the pipeline but it is now time to bid adieu to Paris and the Cite and head off for our holiday in Prague and Istanbul. Au revoir

Heading into the straight

2011-08-25T01:47:00.000+10:00

Where have those days gone? Here we are with only five days to go and too much still to do. Nancy was brilliant but was almost a disaster - we arrived at the Gare de l'Est (a 14 minute metro ride) with 40 minutes to spare when I realised that I had left my bumbag with tickets, money, etc in the studio - a mad dash, leaping on and off trains and we arrived back with seven minutes to spare (thank goodness the studio is next door to the metro station or we would not have made it). The Musee des Beaux Arts in Nancy had a whole bunch of material for me to go through including copies of newspapers from 1894 with articles about various members of the Ecole de Nancy.
We discovered some Art Nouveau buildings that we had not seen before (and collected a brochure on one of them - now a bank - that had recently celebrated it's 100th anniversary). To top it all off, there was an amazing light show in Stanislas Square each night which told the story of the city - it was projected across the facades of five buildings on three sides of the square and ran for 20 minutes. Anyway, with all that, we managed to get everything done a day early and changed our booking to return to Paris on Thursday (the cost to change our ticket was covered by savings on the hotel and food so ended up costing us nothing - plus, for one extra Euro we could travel in first class - what a bonus). We had a last coffee in the Excelsior Art Nouveau brasserie just near the station which seemed a fitting way to end our visit to the art nouveau capital of France.

Friday was spent chasing up references from the Nancy material at the Bibliotheque Forney (to no avail) and frantically making new work (not a lot of progress on the research but new work is coming along nicely with lots of new ideas). In the afternoon we paid a visit to the Cultural Attache at the Australian Embassy (where we were married 25 years ago) and dropped off a set of prints as a thank you for their assistance both then and in recent years.

Then, a stroll down memory lane as we wandered along Rue Saint Dominique (7er - a short walk from the Champs du Mars and Eiffel Tower). We stopped for a Millefuille and coffee at a fabulous pattisserie next door to the Hotel Saint Dominique where we used to stay in days of yore (absolutely the best pastries in Paris - we even took a Tarte Citron with us for later).
Saturday was the Montparnasse market to stock up on fruit, veg and cheese (we are surprised how the markets change from week to week - some stall holders being there one week but not the next - maybe they are off on August holidays "en famille" like many of the shopkeepers) some work, then off to an outdoor cafe in the Marais for coffee with Milan . It was a very hot day (32) so we were happy to find a cafe that was shaded by trees (a rare find in Paris).
The next day also promised extreme heat so we went out early to visit the famous Shakespeare and Company (bookstore) just across the road from the Notre Dame - an amazing oasis of English writing in the middle of Paris with an extraordinary past (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_and_Company_(bookstore).

Worked on some new images for four hours (the only time I've sat at the computer with sweat dripping off my face - but when the muse calls...). As this was the last day of the Plage we thought we would set off late (when it had cooled a little) and take a last stroll along the 'seaside by the Seine' but alas, we were met at the gate by a security man who told it was ferme. We could only look down on it from above as we worked our way back along the quai de l'hotel de ville to Pont Neuf where we crossed onto the end of the Ile de la Cite and had a lacklustre look around for the bistro where Simenon (and his character Maigret) used to sit with his calvados (a few pleasant eateries but nothing that grabbed our attention).

Across the river to Boulevarde st Michel for a look at the night lights of one of the two famous Haussmann boulevardes on the left bank (the other being B. St Germain). Some interesting art nouveau buildings and the famous Saint Michael fountain in the place st Michel (which is crowded with tourists and students day and night). Just off the square is the most nauseating conglomeration of eating places that I have seen anywhere in the world - every square inch of space in every lane and back alley has been set up as some type of eatery - and it was filled to overflowing with people (it's what Andrew Harper would call food porn). We were happy to escape and made our weary way back to the Cite via Notre Dame which was painted by the sun's dying embers.
In 2009 we visited Guimard's famous Castel Beranger, an exquisite art nouveau apartment block near radio city in the 16th but I had since read about a number of others in that area that he designed so we set off next day, map in hand, to see them. It was a pleasant day and it is a very up market area so we had an interesting walk around but most of the buildings were a disappointment as they had none of the flair of Castel Beranger.

Mostly they were apartment blocks but there was a very nice house along rue la Fontaine which was very impressive (sublte use of Art Nouveau motifs). I think that Castel Beranger, being Guimard's first builing in the new style, was a bit of a showpiece and later commissions probably couldn't afford the extravagance of it and settled for something more reasonable (perhaps they are more extravagant inside, I don't know as we could only see them from the street). Guimard was the man who designed the famousd Metro entrances (although there are only two originals left in Paris). Six days to go and counting.

Here and There

2011-08-15T18:45:00.000+10:00

Paris has a long tradition of street art; as protest or as social comment in a similar vein to that of Banksy in London (http://www.banksy.co.uk/newoutdoors/index.html) (although we have not seen much of it this trip) but like everywhere else the street scene is being marred by tagging - not much on the main thoroughfares and certainly not on the Metro trains like New York but in the back streets it is endemic (we have even seen it sprayed on statuary and marble and, believe it or not on cars and trucks!). It is obviously worse in the poorer outer suburbs than in the inner city areas where we are.
However we have also seen some pretty amazing graffiti in both London and Paris. In London at Southbank under the Queen Elizabeth Hall there is a whole area set aside for skateboarders which is covered with graffiti/tagging and two days ago at Montmatre we came across some pretty amazing stuff.
I suppose it seems a bit pointless talking about tagging when the protests have now turned into riots in London (is tagging a sign of discontent perhaps? should it be seen as an early warning sign? Perhaps someone will do a PhD on the subject and turn it all into an academic excercise!).
It is astounding to realise that we have just over two weeks left here (and four days of that in Nancy). Even though we have been busy, the time just seems to have disappeared and we are left wondering how we are going to finish what we set out to do. The weather has begun to turn autumnal and we can see by the thinning of the trees outside our window as the leaves start to turn and fall that change is on the way. It is a bit strange that we came expecting really hot weather but it has generally been rather mild with only an occasional hot day in the high 20's but it has made it most enjoyable (even the rainy days have not been bad as they have forced us to do more work. It has probably been a bit problematic for those wanting to make the most of the Plage along the banks of the Seine but it seems to be quite busy whenever we visit or pass by (it is open until midnight and even the rainy days tend to clear in the late afternoon).
One day we walked around the Butte Montmatre (according to Wiki, a butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top) and came into the back of the Place Tertre (that's the square where all the artists used to hang out to paint and which is now just a major tourist trap where you are pestered every few steps to have your picture drawn or silhouette cut out). There are some pretty steep roads/steps around the butte but one is rewarded by discovering interesting artist's studios and things such as the last of the windmills which were painted by artists such as Van Gogh. After pushing our way through Place Tertre we avoided the milling crowds around Sacre Coeur and rewarded ourselves with a trip down in the furnicular (covered by our rail pass). At the bottom we turned left toward the old Halle Saint Pierre which looks as though it used to be an artists venue of some sort but now appears to be abandoned (a pity).

Anyway, the street that runs back from there toward the main road with the buses and Metro etc is filled with haberdashery shops (I love that word) and we chanced to wander in to the first one we came to (drawn in by the 1Euro sign). It turned out that it was a very old store of five floors with every imaginable type and style of fabric. We went to the top floor in a creaky old lift with it's own driver (like the big department stores in the 50's in Sydney) to check out the wallpaper but unfortunately it was a very old sign and they no longer stocked it, so we spent the next hour or so making our way floor by floor to the ground and checking out the huge range of fabrics and patterns (we managed to buy some lace curtains for the verandah and some remnants which will probably be turned into shawls). The upshot of this long story is that it has renewed my simmering interest in Toile de Jouy and the possibilities it presents for telling stories in print so I have been developing a couple of themes for new work based on this concept (as well as continuing my research).

On another day we set off with Milan to the bibliotheque of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs to do some research only to discover that it is closed in August (like many places in France, including our favourite Pattisserie, where people take their family holidays at this time) damn. I sugested that we should introduce him to the Passages so that he could get an idea of how life was (for the rich) almost 200 years ago. The oldest of the remaining Passages dates to 1823 and, in a time when the streets were filthy and muddy, it was a way of life for those visiting the city; a place where Madame (or Monsieur) could be dropped at the entrance and spend the day (or days - there are hotels, restaurants and theatres in some of them) shopping (a bit like todays mall really). Apparently, at night time, some passages were frequented by prostitutes and hotel rooms could be rented by the hour for those in need. Some are now in a sad state of repair while others are well looked after (the oldest, near the Palais Royale - which is considered part of the Passage system - is apparently undergoing renovations to become a very upmarket boutique shopping arcade (thankfully they have retained the original architecture and beautifully painted ceilings).

Anyway we found the Passage Vivienne (one of the best maintained) and decided to have a coffee in a fabulous old bar - which was much better than pouring over dusty old tomes in the bibliotheque. Just across the road from the Viviene and leading to the Palais Royale, is a very short Passage where Colette (the writer of Gigi, possible lover of Josephine Baker and performer at the Moulin Rouge - she also wrote an opera which was scored by Ravel) is reputed to have lived during the second world war when she wrote her book, "From my Window", an account of the German occupation of Paris and source of one of my favourite quotes, "The true traveler is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time" (for more information on Colette http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colette).

Just across the road is a beautiful building called the Hotel de Sens (Hotel being the old title for a grande house). Built between 1475 and 1519, the medieval residence originally housed the archbishops of Sens, the order of bishops that Paris belonged to during the middle ages. While it is a magnificent example of the architecture of the time it is also of interest because it houses one of the ten specialty bibliotheques (libraries) of the City of Paris. The bibliotheque Forney specialises in studio arts, graphic arts and decorative arts and covers everything from ancient books and manuscripts up to contemporary books, magazines and journals. This is an amazing repository for anyone studying these subjects so I made sure I got a library card this time and have spent some time trawling through both the archival and contemporary material in the library (there are still another 66 libraries that the card gives me access to that I haven't visited yet!)

Off to Nancy tomorrow to do some sleuthing - will report back in a week.

London

2011-08-04T01:12:00.000+10:00

Dr Johnson said, "...when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life..." Having just returned from six days there I can't say that I agree with him. In fact my comment would be to use the words of Ewan MacColl's song about industrial Northern England, "Dirty Old Town". Although much is being done to spruce up the old place for the Olympics next year (building and road work everywhere) it is very dirty - not just the usual dirt and grime of the old buildings etc but there is rubbish everywhere - people seem to just dump their litter where ever they happen to be - at the railway stations, in the streets, on the trains and buses. Every day when we returned to our hotel we felt covered with the grime of the city (and had the dirty clothes to prove it). Don't get me wrong, London is still an amazing place but we are overjoyed to be back in Paris where the streets are swept every day and the garbages emptied twice a day; it is not as crowded and the people are polite. My grandfather may have been a Cockney but I am a Francophile at heart.
Our trip started with a 4.30 wake up and a walk to the RER station just opposite Notre Dame. Check in went smoothly and by 6.43 we were on our way on the Eurostar (only $100 return). At St Pancras station we picked up our Oyster cards for a week's unlimited travel in zones 1-2 and headed for our hotel in Chelsea (which turned out to be about two blocks from where Marcia had lived in the 60's). After settling in we headed into the city to visit the summer exhibition at the Royal Academy - a mixed bag but two rooms full of prints kept us occupied for some time and there was an amazing piece by Kiefer featuring a 15ft model of a submarine. - it was all a little overwhelming actually so we headed along Piccadilly to Green Park for a picnic lunch. Afterwards it was Regent Street and Hamley's before heading for Leicester Square to catch up on the last episode of Harry Potter (it was only showing in 3D and cost $25 each so we gave it a miss). However, while in the area we discovered that the spoof on the 39 Steps was showing in the Criterion theatre so, for an extra $10, booked tickets for that evening (we had previously missed it in New York and Melbourne in 2009 and 2010). It is a terribly English show so it was good to see it with British actors. Crashed into bed exhausted at 11pm.

I won't bore you with all the details of every day but here is a precis; Friday - Victoria and Albert Museum (couldn't get to the print room but saw a beautiful dress by Alexander McQueen made from digitally printed silk fabric), Royal Albert Hall (middle of the Proms season but no tickets for anything that interested us), Royal College of Music (beautiful old building but nothing on), Royal College of Art (taciturn porter who advised that all information was available online), then, to avoid the weekend rush, the London Eye (a giant ferris wheel) in the Southbank precinct. It was crowded but they kept everyone moving along fairly quickly and the wait wasn't too long - not sure if it was worth it but they did a good 3D video introduction and you do get great views over London which helps to orientate you to the layout of the place. Afterwards we stumbled across a Vintage festival in and around Festival hall which was celebrating it's 60th birthday. There was a 3 day program over six floors within the hall which included music, dance, make-up and dress (we had wondered why we had seen so many women dressed in 50's clothes wandering about). We didn't pay so we didn't get to see what it was all about. There was a small patch of sand along the broadwalk where children could play and all the usual seaside tat which Marcia referred to it as Blackpool by Thames.
In the adjacent building we stumbled across a band who were playing 60's style music so well that it was like a time warp (except for the incredible bass volume) - these guys not only looked the part but had all the moves - the drummer was brilliant and the lead singer/synth player was like Billy J Cramer on speed. A great end to a great day.
Saturday we met up with our friend Peter, a cockney who we had met on safari in Zimbabwe in the 80's. He had spent most of his early working life in and around the west end of the city so we spent the day wandering about his territory while he regaled us with tales of his London in the 60's - Law Courts, Covent Garden, Charing Cross road, Fleet street, the Old Bailey, the old meat markets, St Bartholomew's and Saint Pauls. What an amazing day, narrow lanes, hidden squares (including one with Dr Johnson's House and a statue of his cat) and very old pubs (one had the smallest bar that I have ever seen but then descended via steps and stairs over about six levels with a larger bar at the bottom - despite the signs I still managed to bang my head twice). Much of the 60's buildings that he remembers have now been replaced by modern concrete and glass towers and of course "Fleet street" has moved to the Docklands precinct. Although we stopped for coffee, lunch and afternoon tea we covered a lot of territory and were grateful to head back to our hotel at 6 and dinner at a local pub (perfect cottage pie with seasonal vegetables).

Sunday was Camden Lock Market (apart from all the tat a very interesting place because it is still an operational lock for the narrow boats that ply the canal and has a great history as a major interchange for goods between the South and the North of England - the old stables, warehouses and workshops have been converted into market stalls and there are bronzes of horses and workmen all over the place - a little too many perhaps). Then the Tate Modern - a converted 40's power station further down river from Southbank which houses a changing selection of the Tate's contemporary art followed by a bus trip down to and across Tower Bridge. This was the hottest day this summer so, once again, we returned home exhausted.

Finally, on Monday, we got to visit the archives at Kew gardens. A disappointing experience in some ways but it did show that the English were not interested in growing Australian flora. Amongst the few archives available there were only three references to Eucalypts and Acacias and one to a Grevillia (the French had dozens over an extended period of time). Anyway we did find a nice pub by the river overlooking the cricket fields where we had a leisurely late lunch before returning to dirty old London for our last night.

I had intended to get back to the V&A print room on Tuesday afternoon but after experiencing the heat and the crowds on the tube and buses we decided, after a picnic lunch in Hyde Park by the Serpentine and a little shopping in Oxford Street, to return to the hotel and head for St Pancras early for our return to Paris.

Only in Paris

2011-07-28T01:12:00.000+10:00

Yesterday we decided to jump on the 69 bus to Champs de Mars to ogle the tourists at the Eiffel Tower - it's a great bus trip as it cuts through the Louvre and around Invalides (Napoleon's tomb) before arriving at it's destination. The tower as usual was most impressive and the flowers in the gardens nearby were magnificent. Afterwards we got the 42 bus to the peripherique where we changed to the PC1 (one of the buses/trams which circle around the city of Paris just inside the Peripherique - the main road which circles Paris and, from memory, is about 25kms across). About three stops later a lady got on and started having a discussion with the driver about the fare. Refusing to validate her ticket she moved to a seat while continuing her discussion with the driver. At this point another four passengers seated near her joined in and it became a major debate between them and with the driver so the driver pulled over, opened the door and got out of his seat to stand on the platform suggesting that the woman either validate her ticket or get off the bus. She eventually capitulated and validated her ticket after which the driver got back into his seat and continued the journey. The discussion however, continued unabated amongst the passengers for the next 10 minutes. There were obviously no hard feelings because when the lady finally got off the bus she walked up to the driver and thanked him with a big smile. Only in France would you find such a spirit of community amongst strangers on a bus - or a bus driver who takes such a practical, non aggresive solution.
When we arrived in Paris the plaza outside the Hotel de Ville (the Town Hall) had been converted into an ephemeral forest with hills, trees, grasses and shrubs and information about the various habitats and their importance to the environment. Then it was converted into a rock stadium for four days and now it is being changed once more - into a beach, complete with sand, beach volley courts and children's play area. During the French Open they build a tennis court for people to play on and an open grassed area with a large screen where the people can sit to watch the matches relayed from Rolan Garros. Nowhere else in the world have we seen a government go to so much trouble to create interactive spaces for the population - we suspect it is because most people live in small apartments and the government recognises the need to provide a living space for them (but then again perhaps it is more like ancient Rome).
There is also an interesting exhibition in the Hotel de Ville called, "Paris in the time of the Impressionists" which not only includes work from the Musee d'Orsay but also has rarely exhibited artist's drawings as well as architectural drawings and models - quite fascinating.
Another unusual thing is the way the French 'wrap' buildings under renovation and paint an image of the building on the outside of the material - this way the view is not disfigured by ugly scaffolding - it also adds an air of mystery as you don't really know what's going on behind the screen.
Work is progressing slowly and we are off to London tomorrow for a few days to dig around in the V&A and Kew Garden archives - perhaps we will find something unexpected and interesting to add to the puzzle.

Things Parisienne

2011-07-24T22:29:00.000+10:00

In 2009 Marcia had read that the oldest house in Paris was located in the 3rd arrondissment near the Musee Arts et Metiers so, since this was not far from a beautiful Metro entrance at Temple which I wanted to photograph (near Place de la Republique) we decided we would make the effort this time (there is also a magnificent building by Paul Auscher for the businesman Felix Potin nearby (which is now a Monoprix store). The house was built in 1407 for Nicolas Flamel (some may remember the name from the first Harry Potter) a scrivener and manuscript maker (and reputed alchemist). It is very hard to get a decent photograph as the building is in a very narrow street and we were surprised to discover that the whole area was full of Chinese shops and businesses. We remarked that the house was very similar to a couple just near the Cite and have since discovered that they do indeed date from the same period but cannot be definitely dated. There are quite a number of remnants of this early period in Paris in the 3rd and 4th arrondissments because these areas were not considered fashionable and thus escaped the wreckers ball.
Did not visit the Musee des Arts et Metiers this time but have done so before to see Foucault's famous pendulum (which was damaged when the cable snapped in 2010 - an exact copy has now been moved back to the Pantheon on the left bank).
The Potin store was still as beautiful as we remembered and we actually did some shopping in the Monoprix store before heading home. Potin was a forunner of the Woolworths "five and dime" chain store business model who opened his first store in Paris in 1844 at the age of 24. It was obviously a good business model because the business continued in it's same form until 1956 when they were converted into mini-markets.
We discovered that the Marche des Enfants Rouge (the oldest surviving market in Paris) which we had set out to discover the previous Sunday was only a short walk from this area in the Marais (it's actually now mainly filled with cafes and exotic food stalls although a few market stall like the flower seller still exist). As we walk around we are constantly surprised at how close the various sights of Paris are. Although it seems to take a long while to get from place to place by Metro or on the buses which twist and turn their way through the narrow streets many places in central Paris are within easy walking distance of each other. For convenience we have basically divided the city up into four areas - two on the left bank and two on this side of the river. This means that we can catch a bus or train to an area then walk around discovering each section.
Also on our Sunday walk around the Marais we came across a group of baltic singers whom we had last heard in 2009 in the metro tunnels - as well as a hat for donations they also have a lady who goes among the crowd selling CDs (they have three for sale but we were resistant to her charms). They must be doing ok with this communal busking to still be going and doing the same stuff.
On our way home we were stopped at the traffic lights as a very large group of roller skaters came racing down the road on their way to central Paris. Roller blades seem to be a popular means of transport here and, although they occasionally race along on the road amongst the traffic they generally share the bike paths with the cyclists. As you are probably aware cycling is a way of life here and many areas have cycle tracks built into the footpaths. There are "Velib" self service cycle hire stations all over Paris. For between 29-39 Euro per year people can pick up a bike at one point and drop of at another anywhere in Paris. It's a great system and makes life much easier for people who generally live in small apartments with very little spare space to store bicycles.

On another occasion we set off to reconoitre the developments of the "Paris Plage" which is a seaside set up for about two kilometres along the banks of the Seine just opposite the Cite. This has been happening since 2002 and includes sandy beaches, deck chairs, beach umbrellas, sand sculptures, swimming pool, boules, beach volley ball, dance stages, rock concerts and of course cafes and ice cream sellers. We had earlier visited an exhibition in the Hotel de Ville about the history of water activities along the Seine so were interested to see how this would turn out. We were fortunate to visit during an hour of sunshine and so could really get the feel of the place and enjoy the spectacle of people doing seaside things (although we didn't see anyone in swimmers - perhaps if we had gone the other way to the swimming pool). It's a pity that it has been mostly rainy since they opened on the 21st but we can still hear the noise of people playing there from our studio window so perhaps they take it all in their stride.

Another thing we discovered walking around the back streets to Bastille was the home of the horses who woke us up that Sunday morning. We had thought that their home was at Invalides up near the Eiffel Tower and were curious as to why they would come riding past the Cite. We have discovered that they are in fact the Republican Guard (part of the Gendarmerie) and are housed in a very large structure called the Caserne des Célestins built in 1895-1901 on the Boulevarde Henry IV. These are the elite forces who guard the President's Elysee Palace and all other major government buildings. At least now we know where they were going that Sunday and why some of them seemed a little frisky (looking forward to getting home to their stables).

2011-07-23T01:22:00.000+10:00

Rain again. Not only has it been raining for the past week (with occasional clear patches and, once or twice, a glimpse of the sun) but the internet connection has also been intermittent - now it has finally dropped out altogether and we have been off the air for nearly 24 hours. This means that, although I can keep writing it is not possible to check or look up references. The rain means that it is difficult to get out and about and one needs to - both to stretch the legs and to get away from the confines of one room (no matter how good the outlook). I keep thinking of the song, "The sun will come out tomorrow..." but unfortunately I know from the weather forecast that it is going to be rainy or showers for at last the next three days (one of the bad things about the internet) and everything always looks worse when the sun is not shining.

Milan and Joy arrived last week after spending a week in London. They both looked well although a little exhausted from dragging their bags through the Chatalet Metro interchange (you seem to be walking forever, up and down stairs, along tunnels and moving footways - to avoid this we caught a taxi from Gare du Nord to the Cite). Anyway, they have now settled in and are busy trying to get to everything before Joy returns to work next week - a pleasant evening sharing cheese and wine in the refurbished McCulloch studio last Sunday. We were amazed to see how much the studio has been changed. Apart from the painting etc the kitchen has been rebuilt and now has more cupboards and bench space ( as well as a good supply of china etc) and the original tall windows and wooden shutters have been replaced with double glazed windows and curtains (very nice and necessary but it some how changes the character of the place - just the romantic in me I suppose).

It was exciting to be part of Bastille Day even though we did not see a lot of the parade because we chose to stay at the back where we had a seat to rest our weary bones (I really don't know how people stood for four hours waiting for the action to begin - although the soldiers, sailors etc were standing in formation on the Champs Elysees even before we arrived at 8am). It was an experience just to be part of the proceedings and to watch everybody getting organised. We were astounded to discover some of the troops doing a Haka on the Champs while they were waiting but read later that these were troops from the Pacific and other islands and that it was performed as part of the Bastille Day celebrations.
While filming the horse parade I managed to capure President Sarkozy riding by in a jeep as he reviewed the troops.

One unexpected benefit of being at the back was to catch the march of the Foreign Legionaires who came down a back road to join their compatriots at Concorde. We heard the beating of the drums and raced over to see strange, bearded men with leather aprons and axes on their shoulders marching by. We discovered later that the reason they march separately or at the rear of the others is because they march to a different beat - 80 steps per minute as opposed to the modern army's 120 (this is to do with their heritage as part of the Ancien Regime). The bearded men were sapeurs who are responsible for clearing a path for the advancing army (a role going back to the time of the Assyrians) and, because they have the shortest life expectancy of all the armed forces, are allowed to grow beards.

The flyover by jets, propeller aircraft and helicopters was pretty spectacular but we had in fact seen them from our balcony the previous week when they did a practice run - that was probably more spectacular because it was totally unexpected.
Afterwards we walked all the way back to the Cite as much of the transport was not running or on reduced operations. Near Concorde we mingled with the troops who were waitng for transport back to their barracks and it was good to see how happy everyone was (even posing happily for photos). This is of course the major French holiday and a celebration of an event which formed the basis of their whole way of life - unlike contrived holidays like Australia Day.

After the parade there were two concerts in the Champs du Mars (the park alongside the Eiffel Tower followed by fireworks at 1130pm. Being old fogeys we decide it would be much more civilised to celebrate in the studio with a bottle of champagne and an early night (although we did hear the noise of the fireworks).

On Friday we finally got to go the Parc des Buttes Chaumont (an old quarry which was made over by Baron Haussmann - the man responsible for the makeover of Paris and the introduction of all the major boulevardes). On the way we stopped off at the famous Canal st Martin which connect the waterways of...... with the Seine. Construction of the canal was ordered by Napoleon I in 1802, in order to create an artificial waterway for supplying Paris with fresh water to support a growing population and to help avoid diseases such as dysentry and cholera. The canal was also used to supply Paris with food (grain), building materials, and other goods, carried on canal boats. Although this used to be a major highway it is now used primarily as a tourist attraction - one can take a trip from Parc de Villette along the canal to the Seine or, for the more adventurous, a day trip from the Seine via canal saint Martin and Villette and into the countryside via the canal l'Ourcq for a picnic. This canal is 108 km long and has 10 locks. It begins at Bassin de la Villette and goes through the woodlands in the northeast of Paris. It was originally built to divert water from the river l’Ourcq into Paris.

Chaumont was quite amazing. It was strange to find this rugged parkland with paths and roads winding up and down hills and around a large lake only ten minutes from the heart of Paris. Lots of joggers and walkers and people just lazing around on the grass and spectacular views back over Paris (it was recommended as a good place to watch the fireworks on Bastille Day). There were also lots of family groups enjoying the open spaces (maybe they knew it was about to start raining for days on end!). We climbed one of the hills and enjoyed a picnic looking back toward Sacre Coeur through the surrounding trees - a very pleasant and relaxed escape from everything

In search of...

2011-07-17T02:31:00.005+10:00

Time is flying, I can't believe that it is nearly two weeks since we arrived but then so much has happened in that time.
My previous work using images from our first stay in 2009 have sold well so I have been searching for other interesting scenes to use (perhaps one in 200 from the old ones was ok - this time I am hoping to do better). Mostly this means getting up at a reasonable hour and strolling about when the streets are less crowded so we have been out and about most mornings by 7.30-8.00.

Had to dash off for a shower - the hot water has been intermittent since Thursday (Bastille Day) and we have had to do with APC's (they were very fast showers because we had the threat of the water turning cold hanging over our heads.) Was then interrupted by lunch consisting of blanched brocolli and capsicum (straight from the market) with spiced olives, four different cheeses, olive baguette and a plain baguette (we are trying to work our way through the 340 varieties of cheese excluding the blue's) and so far we have found nothing that we do not like.

On our way back from the markets we noticed that the preparations have begun for the Plage du Seine (beaches with palm trees etc alongside the Seine) so are looking forward to seeing this amazing sight in the next few days (provided the weather clears up - it was 38 before we arrived but in the past two weeks it has only gone over 30 once and has remained in the low 20's the rest of the time and the next few days are supposed to be 21/19/21 with showers).
In Paris there is a competition each year to find the best baguette. This year the winner is located in a small pattisserie at Abbesses near Sacre Coeur on the other side of the city (fortunately for us the bus that runs past the Cite goes to Pigalle which is a short walk down the hill from Abesses so we have made two trips to sample the winning baguette, breads and tartes (one citron and one chocolate) and everything was brilliant.
We usually buy from the small traditional pattisserie just up the road which bakes several times a day so has the freshest baguettes as well as succulent quiches and tartes (we are definitely not watching our weight while we are here).
Just in case you think we are living at the pattisserie I will add that we have been to the markets twice a week and stocked up on the freshest fruit and vegetables you can imagine (I don't know why Australia can't get stuff to the shops in this condition). Not only that but the prices are as good or better than at home e.g. tomatoes $1.20, large mangoes 2 for $1.60, broccoli $2.00, peaches and nectarines $2.00, lettuce (fancy) $1.20 and the cheese - $16 - $38 but like nothing you've eaten at home (it's mostly made from unpasteurised milk -cow, goat and ewe - and the flavour is amazing). As a comparison Comte cheese sells for $98/kg at home and here it is from $24-$38. We even managed to buy a beautiful potted Basil plant for $4.50 which we pick fresh to add to our salads.
Despite how it may sound we are not spending all our time shopping and eating there has also been plenty of time for exploring and working. My plan was to write up all my notes from my previous visit and then see what still needs to be done to fill in any gaps and I have been speding at least a couple of hours a day on this. So far I have managed to collate the various records from the jardin des Plantes into five separate spreadsheets which will allow me to quickly access statistics for seeds collected and sown between 1885 and 1907. There is about the same amount of information to input covering plants distributed to other Botanical gardens and, crucially, the Australian plants growing in the Orangerie in August/September 1888 (the only reference in the one hundred years of material I looked at). Then I will write up all the references to the artists and the links between them. This will then be the basis to develop my theory and hopefully, complete my paper.

We have also been checking out some of the art and events although not the usual places such as the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay. There are two amazing paintings by Delacroix in the Eglise Saint Sulpice in the Luxembourg Quarter which we didn't get to see last time because the church was closed for renovations. There is also an amazing 100 stop organ there and we are going back on Monday to hear a concert. The other reason for visiting the area was to check out the Macarons of Pierre Herme (the man who taught Adriana Zumbo) and we were not disappointed - like eating exquisitely flavoured bubbles of air.
Also in the area is the Jardin du Luxembourg, the second largest public park in Paris. The palace and garden were built for Marie de Medici in 1612 in imitation of the Pitti Palace in her native Florence.

This is a beautiful formal park and garden but, as usual, our reason for visiting is to hear the free concerts in the rotunda. Last year it was jazz and this year it is a series of piano concerts put on by the Polish government to celebrate 200 years since the birth of Chopin. The first was last sunday and there are two more to go (although we may not get to tomorrows if the rain keeps up). Anyway there are a lot of concerts on all over Paris over the next two months so we should be well catered for with music.
There is still horses and hiking and aircraft and marches and scooters and skaters and cyclists and skateboarders and so much more to cover but I had better close here and try to get back to it in a couple of days or you will tire with the reading.

Surprises

2011-07-10T02:30:00.001+10:00

Back in Paris for almost a week and it has been a week of surprises. Firstly there was the very pleasant flight on Vietnam Airways (which we chose on price and because it code shares with Air France from Ho Chi Minh City) - the Air France sector was brilliant, great service, great food and great staff.

On arrival at the Cite we were astounded to be shown to a large studio on the second floor of the main building (approx 50m with seperate bathroom, kitchen and storeroom when we had been told it would be a petite atelier of 25m with a baby grand piano that could not be moved).

The studio overlooks the Quai de l'hotel de Ville, the river Seine and the Ile st Louis. The front wall is all glass and has two large doors which open onto a small balcony which extends the length of the room - with these open it is like sitting on a verandah overlooking the Seine (great for the summer weather - although we do need to close the curtains in the afternoon when the sun shines in to keep the heat out). Amazingly, this studio is even better than the UTAS studio we were in last time which overlooked a private garden - the trees along the Quai are another two stories higher than us so it is almost like being in a treehouse.

We have been surprised at how long it has taken us to get over the jetlag this time (perhaps it was because we stopped off in New York on our way here last time - absolutely nothing to do with getting older!). Anyway we are settled in, are stocked up from the market and the supermarket and I have even managed to make some headway with my work. There was one major problem with our internet connection - after we had been using it for less than 24 hours I found I could no longer connect despite spending hours trying to fix the problem. After a sleepless night worrying about how I was going to do my research (e.g.online access to the catalogue at the Musee des Arts Decoratif, data bases at Kew gardens and email exchanges) Marcia suggested I try using her logon (what a silly idea, after all it is the same laptop!) IT WORKED - I'M ASTOUNDED. Women's intuition to the rescue once again. We have been out walking, busing and on the metro most days (usually twice) and have been eating extremely well (maybe too well - but the food is so fabulous it's hard to resist (especially the Lapin terrine).

There are things happening all over the city during the summer and we have managed to suss out a few that interest us starting with a free Mozart concert in the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens tomorrow so it will definitely not be all work and no play.

We have also been surprised by the weather which has mostly been fairly mild (23-25) with only one day in the 30's (tomorrow and the next day are supposed to be 26/28) so have been wearing the warmer clothes we brought along for Prague. At least all our surprises have been pleasant and, now that we are settled in, we feel as though we never left but have been here for months already.

The bells of Notre Dame are ringing the angelus so I guess it's time to knock off and settle back with a G&T.

A Continuation

2011-06-09T17:56:00.000+10:00

Almost July again - can it possibly be two years since anything was added to this blog? I guess that that means it is time to return to Paris and pick up where we left off. I will be returning to the Cite International des Arts for two months to immerse myself in Australian flora in French culture during the Belle Epoque period although this time I expect it will be more about collating, cross referencing and filling in gaps. Still not sure where or if Lucien Henry fits in.
The plan is to intersperse the Paris work with a visit to Kew Gardens to follow up on the Joseph Banks connections as well as a return to Nancy to delve deeper into Galle and Berge and the Ecole de Nancy.
Hopefully this will give me enough information to write a decent paper about this interesting little interlude in Australian art history.

Destination Radio France

2009-07-09T00:56:00.017+10:00

The Guimard door that Betty had told us about is located on the right bank of the Seine but beyond Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower and quite near to Radio France. Bus 24 operates from Hotel de Ville to Radio France via a large portion of the left bank that we have not visited before so is an obvious choice for our trip.The re-development around the Centre Commercial Beaugrenelle just opposite is amazing - multi story buildings being torn down by massive machines that can reach up three stories and rip out huge slabs of reinforced concrete and glass and steel buildings going up in their place. As we cross the Pont de Grenelle we see that the small model of the Statue of Liberty that used to live in the Tulleries is now located here to one side in the middle of the bridge. Rue la Fontaine is only a short walk from the bus stop and we are stunned to discover, not just a door, but a whole apartment block designed by Guimard called Castel Beranger built in 1890. It is the most stunning Art Nouveau building that we have seen anywhere. Everything from windows and doors to gates, railings and posts is a tightly integrated design and nothing seems to be overdone - even the small occasional balconies don't look out of place. Very glad that we took the time to visit.
Friday, a big cleaning day before inspection at 4.30 after which we visit our favourite Kosher shop to buy pastrami and pickles for dinner (the best I've tasted since Ben's in Montreal aeons ago). Just made it to evensong in St Gervaise (our local church) for a final listen to the singing and their unique 17th century French Baroque organ.
Next day we set off for Invalides and Pont Alexandre III (last visit to old haunts) considered by many (including us) to be the most beautiful bridge in Paris. It was built for the universal Exposition of 1900 and links the Petit Palais and Grand Palais exposition buildings on the right bank with the old Gare d'Orsay (now Musee d'Orsay) and Champs de Mars and Eiffel Tower on the left bank. The day was perfect and included a surprise visit to the Grand Palais which has just re-opened after a massive overhaul. The Iron and glass work is striking and from inside you get a good idea of what it must have been like at the time of the expo. Despite the refurbishment there is no permanent use for the building and it is used for many different things from car expos to fashion and today, Pandas and roller skaters.
One last Party to attend. The Marche des Fiertés is the Paris Gay Pride march which leaves Montparnase at 2pm and wends its way through the left bank to arrive at Bastille at 5.30pm and we have heard that it is quite spectacular. Since we have only ever seen TV reports on the Sydney Mardi Gras we thought that it would be interesting to compare these with the real thing in Paris. Pont de Sully at the tip of Ile st Louis was where the parade would cross the river and was in easy walking distance of the Cite so we set off at 4pm expecting that the parade would have reached there by that time. There were lots of people milling about with many walking in the opposite direction (to join the parade?) but no sign of the parade itself so we settled down on the footpath to watch proceedings. In the event the parade was something of a let down. The floats were mostly just trucks or vans operated by various organisations such as Amnesty International, AIDS, Centre LTGB and l'Autre Cercle (who had two words to add to the French motto - Légalité and Diversité). Some people had gone to a lot of trouble to express themselves and add a touch of colour but in general it was just ordinary people marching to stand up for their rights and we were very impressed - Sydney certainly has nothing to fear as far as spectacle is concerned. In the end we decided that the easiest way to get back to the Cite was to join the parade and march across the bridge to Bastille - in a way this was an opportunity to march on behalf of our gay, lesbian and transgender friends back home. At Bastille we were astounded to see more than two dozen riot police vans standing by - but by now this should not really surprise us in Paris where any event can potentially become threatening for the Government.
Last day and we finally get to the book market at Vanves which I visited in 2005. The market is interesting not only because of its size but because it caters for all types. From antiquarians looking for early editions to contemporary books, magazines and comics (one man specialised in the journal L'Illustration which goes back to 1843). Prices range from many hundreds of Euro to one Euro so something for everyone (except me as I can't afford any more baggage and can't find any copies of Art et Decoration anyway). Just across the road we discover one of the famous Poilâne bakeries from 1932 and buy a scrumptious almond croissant to eat in the nearby Parc Georges Brassens (a fitting farewell to Parisian pastry and our two month stay in Paris).
Monday is CDG and the start of the journey home and although we are sad we feel that we have accomplished what we came here for and look forward to coming back sometime in the future.

Picnics Indigo

2009-06-28T14:07:00.012+10:00

Last seven days - yikes. There is still some final research to do, people to see and places we want to visit - where has the time gone?
We had arranged to meet Maité at the Jardin des Plantes for a review of the research and decided that a picnic would be much nicer than an office meeting. Marcia prepared the food (we would pick up a baguette on the way) and Maité would bring desert. We gave ourselves plenty of time to stroll around before the meeting as this had not been possible before (and I had another meeting at 3). There are really three parts to the gardens (originally created in 1626 as the King's herb garden and known as the Jardin du Roi) - the formal landscaped area with trees, shrubs and garden beds (including the Rose Garden, created in 1990). the botanical training area, and the zoo.
There are specialised buildings, such as the large Art Deco Wintergarden (which appears similar to drawings of Josephine's large hothouse at Malmaison) ,and the Mexican and Australian hothouses (all of which have been under repair since before 2005 and therefore inaccessible). The Jardin des Plantes runs a botanical school, which trains botanists, constructs demonstration gardens, and continues to exchange seeds to maintain biotic diversity (about 4500 plants are arranged by family on a one hectare plot) but it looked a little sad the day we visited). The zoo was constructed in 1795 to house the animals from the royal menagerie and is now world heritage listed as an example of its type.
Maité introduced us to another artist who works with vegetable dyes and had recently had an exhibition at the gardens. Although she uses a variety of vegetable dyes in her work Betty works predominately with indigo and invites us to visit her studio later in the week to see the process.
The next day we are off to the Bois (wood) de Boulogne which is a large park located along the western edge of Paris. The wood covers an area of approximately 2,090 acres, which is 2.5 times larger than Central Park in New York and 3.3 times larger than London's Hyde Park. There are thirty-five kilometres of footpaths, eight kilometres of cycle paths and twenty-nine kilometres of riding tracks. The wood has a history dating back to 717 and also includes the Longchamps racecourse, the Chateau de Bagatelle and the Jardin d'Acclimatation (now mainly an amusement area for families and children). Sounds a bit daunting but our plan was to visit Guimard's other remaining metro station at Porte Dauphine then head into the wood for a short walk and a picnic. Simple really - Metro to Etoille (Arc de Triomphe) then a stroll down avenue Foch (very wealthy, homes of Princesses and movie stars) take photos of the metro station then cross the boulevarde Peripherique into the wood. It all went according to plan until after our picnic in a shady spot under the trees when we decided to continue on down the path and arrive at Porte Maillot for the metro home. A beautiful day (one of those great to be alive days) and the scenery was most enjoyable - lightly wooded with patches of dense forest and open parkland, steams and ponds and, eventually, a large lake complete with picnickers, lovers and fishermen. The problem was that when we walked out into the street nothing made sense - there were no references that we could link back to our map (which covers all the arrondissements of Paris). It took some time but eventually we realised that we had walked right across the wood (not along the eastern edge as we thought) and ended up in Neuilly sur Seine which is, technically, one of the suburbs of Paris even though it is 'outside' (beyond the Peripherique). It is also, according to Wikipedia, one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe (but very upmarket).
In the evening we attended a performance at the Cite by another Japanese pianist - a contemporary piece by a Finnish composer followed by an absolutely amazing rendition of a piece by Liszt.
Wednesday was a final visit to the Musee des Arts Decoratif to review the first five years of Art et Decoration and say our farewells to the staff who have been so helpful. After a final lunch in the Tuilleries gardens (where a giant ferris wheel had been set up along with other carnival rides for the summer - seemed very incongruous) we set off for Betty's studio. The studio is in a street adjacent to the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise which is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the graves of those who have enhanced French life over the past 200 years. It is also the site of three World War I and WWII memorials. We have been here several times in the past and decide to take the bus to the top of the cemetery and visit some of the graves as we walk through to the studio. Rene Lalique and Sarah Bernhardt (who helped to make him so famous with all the pieces he made for her) along with the writers Moliere and La Fontaine are along the path we choose and, as we near the bottom of the cemetery we find ourselves in the Avenue des Acacias which is probably a fitting end to our Paris journey (not a dead end but a stop along the way).

Betty's studio is narrow and multi level and reminds us of a Japanese workshop. We share tea and she tells us about her work which is primarily focused on using indigo (which is created by the action of bacteria working on the plant in a kind of soup kept at a constant 25 degrees and fed on bran) to dye natural fibres in a traditional Japanese style which she learned while working in Japan for three years - it is beautiful. She also teaches, consults on interior design and exhibits (such is the life of an artist the world over). In a book on Japanese art and Art Nouveau I come across an image of a Paris door by Guimard which she says is quite famous and gives directions on how to find it. Betty was born on the left bank and grew up in Paris so it is fascinating to compare our impressions over the years with her experiences of the city.

Fête de la Musique

2009-06-28T03:02:00.011+10:00

Saturday, time to see one of the two remaining original metro entrances by Hector Guimard at Abbesses (I have a memory of visiting this place after lunching with Raymond in 2005 but it is a little dim - perhaps it was the wine with lunch). Bus from outside the Cite to Pigalle then a short walk up the hill to the "village" which is located on western side of the butte (hill) of Montmartre. The station's entrance was originally used for the Hotel de Ville metro station near the Cite, but transferred to its current location in 1970. Abbesses is also one of the deepest metro stations in Paris at 36 metres and, although you can walk down the stairs and admire the poster images of the area (the original artwork was heavily covered by graffiti) most people (including us) use the lift.
Up a narrow street we spotted the sails of a windmill so continued to climb the hill to look at one of the last remaining examples these workhorses made famous by Van Gogh, Signac and Renoir. We passed an interesting example of brickwork within the wooden frame of an old shop and finally arrived at the gates of the park only to find them closed and marked propriété privée. Disappointed, but happy to at least have discovered this remnant of old Montmartre, we headed back down to the village to use the metro to get to Passy to look at an old covered market.
Just across from the station was an unusual "modern" church which attracted our attention. It turns out that the old church had fallen into such disrepair by the late 1800's that it was pulled down and a new one built and opened in 1900 which is why it has a Nouveau'ish appearance.
The Passy market was a let down but the area was interesting as it is not far from Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower and is very upmarket. By now the skies were threatening and we decided to jump on a bus heading in our direction - just as well, as a few minutes later the heavens opened and we could hardly see anything out of the bus window (thank goodness for the bus/metro pass).
Sunday is the Fête de la Musique when musicians, choirs, orchestras, bands and anyone who has a yen to, are performing in streets, parks, churches, public buildings (including the Opera and Conservatoire). There is so much going on that it is hard to make a choice (I think I read somewhere that there are over 350 performance happening during the day) so we decide to take the easy option and stick to a walkable area from the Cite i.e.within the Marais. We are keen to hear the choir and organ in St Eustache (near Les Halles, the site of the old Paris Markets) so head there first - they are as good as we had heard and I manage a couple of 3 minute videos on my camera before we have to rush off to the Market at Bastille for our weekly shopping before they pack up at 2.
After lunch it is off to Place des Vosges (which was built by Henry IV between 1605 and 1612 and is believed to be the oldest square in Paris). There is so much history attached to this place and many famous people, such as Cardinal de Richelieu (the first 'Prime Minister'), Victor Hugo (writer), Théophile Gautier (poet) etc., etc. have lived here and it was on our list of places to visit. It is impressive, from the first view up the short rue de Birague and through the portico into the garden filled square. The three levels of uniform housing are built over vaulted arcades filled with restaurants, shops and galleries and there is music everywhere - choral groups, lone artists, a rock group and a young family group - it is a feast for the senses. Back home to recharge the batteries and it's time for a classical concert in the auditorium of the Cite - mind blowing performances by a Japanese opera singer and Japanese classical pianist. Afterward we wander around to the Hotel de Ville where an African drum group are performing and up through rue des Archives and back home via rue Vieille du Temple (this is the gay heartland of Paris, the streets were crowded and the music was really pumped up). Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves and just happy to be 'dancing in the streets' but we were happy to head back to our quiet haven for a quiet drink to celebrate the day - a day of musical extremes, a feast for our auditory system and all within walking distance of our home. Unfortunately the camera had died at Place des Vosges so we have no images from the evening.

Nureyev and Sennelier

2009-06-24T02:11:00.010+10:00

Back at the Bibliotheque chasing scraps of information which might make sense of what I already have. We were trawling through back issues of Arts and Decoration from 1895 when we received a call from Lee Vanders who had just arrived on the Eurostar with her partner. We had arranged to meet them at the Cite for lunch so packed up and returned to the studio where Marcia prepared a marvellous salad from our selection of fresh market produce. I know I keep going on about the fresh produce but even Lee was amazed at how fresh and tasty everything was - in fact, I was reading an article recently by an Australian woman who had lived in Paris for some years and she was lamenting the fact that most of the "fresh" food in Australia has been in cold storage for months before it even hits the shelves of the shop. Afterward we strolled around the area and ended up at Berthillon's on the Ile st Louis to sample their famous sorbets - yummm.
Next day it was back to Arts Decoratif for more research (it's now a race against time as we count down the days). At four we went for a stroll through the Tuilleries and across the river to Rue Voltaire to look for the apartment where Nureyev lived out his last years (tragic hero worship, but he was the man who changed forever the way dance was performed in the West).
Nearby I discovered the original Sennelier shop (1865) with 3 1/2 floors of small rooms packed with art supplies - the middle floor had small Sennelier printing presses (too expensive and heavy for the luggage unfortunately). On the top floor was a paper room with sheets and rolls from all over the world which had me drooling and there was another room completely full of easels of every shape and size. Thinking of baggage limitations I settled for a drawing pad and some pencils. From there it was back to the Jardin des Plantes to find out about two books which had been referenced in Art and Decoration. Here I learned that one was in a special library called the Bibliotheque Cryptogamie and that I would need to phone and make an appointment to see it. The other was in the Bibliotheque General upstairs but they were closed so it looked like a job for the following week.
Friday morning we had planned to go the book market at Vanves but when I phoned the Cryptogamie the lady informed me that I could visit straight away so onto the metro, through the Jardin des Plantes to the address in rue Buffon and an unremarkable entrance labelled laboratoire Cryptogamie. A push on the intercom elicited no response so we set off to explore and found another very ornate entrance inside the gardens but everything appeared deserted. Fortunately a door to a lab was open so we asked directions to the bibliotheque only to be given a blank look. I showed them the piece of paper with the phone number on it and they called the librarian who came to collect us and take us to the first floor where I was able to access the book after showing some ID (expired Uni ID) and having it taken from a locked cupboard. We thought the whole thing was a little weird but discovered that the building is in the process of being vacated so that it can be completely renovated and there are only a few people still working there.
Since the trip had been successful we decided to postpone the visit to Vanves and go see the last book in the Bibliotheque General while we were in the area. A short stroll back through the gardens with me telling Marcia about my visit in 2005 and the twice weekly research visits to the Salle de Lecture this time, and we were in the building which I have visited at least twice a week for the past six weeks. BUT as we went to go upstairs to the general library we were stopped by the security guard who told us that we could not go upstairs without a library card. I explained that I had been visiting the Salle de Lecture (on the ground floor) but now needed to access a book on the second floor - no, no card no entry. I should say that the card he was talking about is actually issued on the second floor (so how do you get one if you can't go to the second floor without one) and when I had tried to obtain one on my first visit I was told I didn't need one. Suddenly a smiling face appeared and greeted me like an old friend - it was one of the very obliging young ladies from the Salle de Lecture who vouched for me and offered to escort me to the second floor (Marcia had to remain in the lobby). After showing ID and filling out numerous forms I was issued with a library card (bring a photo tomorrow for the official one) and the librarian went to fetch the book I was after. Sometimes the bureaucracy in France does get to you but usually you are able to work around it - this was the second time I had had a run in with the security people at this particular place so I am extremely grateful for the introductions which made it possible for me to get my work done at the Jardin des Plantes.
Returning to the Cite we discovered that two of the residents were in the process of constructing an installation as part of the weekend Fete de la Musique festivities (it will be interesting to see what the weather and the birds do to it in the meantime)

Dinner with Depardieu

2009-06-19T01:44:00.012+10:00

Saturday we decided to make an early start and stroll down the Champs Elysee before all the tourists arrive (early in Paris means before 10am as most shops don't open before that). A pleasant day and a good opportunity to study some of the surviving Art Nouvea buildings - interspersed with modern travesties including maccas and subway. There were a couple of arcades which we had not noticed previously as well as new ones with all the brand name shops (just like any mall anywhere in the world).
At the end of the main shopping stretch we jump onto a numer 24 bus which is heading across the river toward Sevres-Babylon - perhaps we will get some lunch at the Bon Marche Epicerie. The bus heads down past the old haunts in the 7th, around the Ecoloe Militaire and along ave de Breteuil where we spot a market we have not seen before so we decide to jump off and investigate. This remarkable market is set up like all the others down the centre of the road (ave de Saxe) but unusually, it is staffed entirely by French shopkeepers. This may sound strange for a Parisian market but we have usually found the markets to be staffed by a mixture of French and Arab shopkeepers with lots of noise and shouting (like the Italians at Paddy's Market in Sydney). At most markets there are supplies of plastic bags and you help yourself before handing the bag to the stall holder to weigh but here it is all strictly ne touchez pas and one waits to be greeted and served personally - slow but refreshing. In fact, watching a French woman shop is an education as she discusses the shape, colour, size, etc before agreeing to purchase what the shop keeper presents to her or asking for an alternative. We settle on a lapin terrine and salad piémontaise which, together with a baguette, makes for a very French lunch in the adjacent park. Back on the 24 we head for Montparnasse where we will transfer to the 96 for home.
Walking around the back of the tower we discover that there is another market where the Sunday Art Market is held and, since it is getting late we drop in to see what's on sale - large crunchy spiced, stuffed green olives, a bag full of mixed lettuce and a large bag of zucchini and we're off home at last.
Sunday we stay in waiting to hear from a friend and I work on trying to make sense of the latest gleanings from the Bibliotheque. At 1pm we phone them and leave a message before heading off for the Bastille market - this is undoubtedly the best market in Paris both for quality and variety. Emerging from the metro we discover that we are at the finish line of a fun run (which explains why the bus we were going to catch was diverted). There is a group of Swiss Alpenhorn players playing by the Bastille memorial which is interesting enough to make a short movie of before crossing to the market. We really only visited the markets to get some cheese, oranges and apples but soon discover that most things are marked down because it is near closing time. We collect cheese, corned beef (home made - yum yum) and eggs then load up with apples, oranges, peaches (1 euro/kg) strawberries (2kg/5 euros) and vine ripened tomatoes (1 euro/kg) and struggle back to the metro with our haul.
A friend in Hobart sent us an email telling us about Gerard Depadieu's Le Fontaine Gaillon restaurant which is near the Opera and we have made a booking for lunch on Tuesday. Not sure what to expect but the write up by Decanter (http://www.decanter.com/archive/article.php?id=275270) sounds fascinating and by 1205 on Tuesday we are settled at our table just inside from the terrace where we can catch all the activity. Marcia opts to have just a main but I'm ready for the 3 course menu.
One of the specialities of the house is oysters and I select an entree of minced raw salmon, oyster, echalotte and parsley which arrives in the form of a rectangular mold - exceptionnelle! My main is grilled fish steaks (possibly swordfish) but Marcia's is a whole large whiting which has been filleted by splitting it along the back and removing the bones and then lightly deep fried. The accompaniment is sieved mashed potato and egg mayonaise (with chunks of egg).
Dessert is a triple sorbet and each scoop is enclosed in it's own brandy snap basket . Although Marcia has opted for just the main the waiter had also set a place for her with each course and she couldn't help but share the sorbet which was superb (it has to have been Berthillion sorbet which is the best in Paris). While we had been waiting for the dessert the waiter had placed a small plate on out table with a selection of bite sized petite fours (sesame snap, coffee macaroon and apricot jelly) and he now gave us another (just to push us over the edge while I was enjoying my cafe express).
2 1/2 hours to enjoy the best meal we've had since De Niro's Nobu restaurant in New York and we stagger away from lunch needing a long walk so decide to revisit Galleries Lafayette to relook at the interior design which we have discovered was designed by Majorelle, the famous Art Nouveau artist from Nancy.
Eating out in Paris is definitely something to experience but we would rather buy remarkably fresh produce from the markets and prepare our own and save our money for something exceptional like Depardieu's Le Fontaine Gaillon rather than dine out regularly on average restaurant food - not snobby but we do appreciate excellence.

Nostalgic Paris

2009-06-15T16:26:00.012+10:00

Time seems to be passing even more quickly since returning from Nancy so we thought that we'd better do the nostalgia thing before we run out of time.
In another life we both worked for Qantas and so we travelled quite a lot including coming to Paris in 1986 to get married. The ceremony took place in the Australian embassy (which is not far from the Eiffel Tower) and then we spent a lot of time running around Paris via the Metro taking pictures of ourselves in romantic places before retiring to Maxims for our "wedding breakfast". This was before the days of lightweight digital cameras so we dragged the Pentax SLR and tripod with us everywhere we went, set it up, and stood back waiting for the timer to count down - it was fun, especially having to doff our coats and stand in the chilled air pretending that it was a warm summers day. Now we do the same as everyone else, hold the digital camera at arms length and press the button.
We had always stayed in the same hotel in rue St Dominique in the 7th arrondissment. The hotel is about halfway along this long narrow street which runs from boulevarde St Germaine (near the Musee d'Orsay) to Parc du Champs de Mars (the long grassy park that runs from the foot of the Eiffel tower to the Ecole Militaire where Napoleon was trained as a soldier). Since we are now staying a long way from this area we decided that we would catch the Metro to Trocadero (from where you overlook the Parc and the Tower) and walk down the hill, across the river, under the tower and along the Parc in the opposite direction to our old walks. We hadn't realised before that the tower building at Montparnasse (the first high rise in Paris) is in a line of sight with the Eiffel tower from Trocadero.
It's all changed of course even though it remains superficially the same. The buildings are dirtier, there is graffiti on the granite, the crowds at the foot of the tower are incredible and the grass in the parc is fenced off. Nevertheless it IS memory lane for us and we talk about how it was and what we did and how much our lives have changed since those days. We also recognise that for most of the people crowded around the tower waiting their chance to ride up and look out over Paris from this 109 year old "temporary" structure it is all fresh and new.
By the time we get to middle of the Parc where rue St Dominique begins a light rain starts to fall so we find a bus going in our direction and jump aboard (one of the benefits of a monthly pass with unlimited travel). Amazingly it travels the full length of rue St Dominique and eventually drops us off one block from the Cite.
On Wednesday, on our way back from Porte de Champerret we got off at place de la Madeleine where Fauchon's is located which, as Frommer's Guide says, "is a hyper-upscale mega-delicatessen that thrives within a city famous for its finicky eaters. It's divided into three divisions that include an épicerie (for jams, crackers, pastas, and exotic canned goods); a pâtissier (for breads, pastries, and chocolates); and a traiteur (for cheeses, terrines, pâtés, caviar, and fruits). Prices are steep, but the inventories -- at least to serious foodies -- are fascinating". There is also a Brasserie Fauchon where you can wile away the time (and your money) enjoying things like a "Paris-Brest, a ring in the shape of a bicycle wheel that's loaded with pastry cream, almond praline, butter cream, and hazelnut paste capped with almonds". We decide to conserve our funds and our waistlines and continue on past the church (which is based on a Greek temple design similar to that of the Pantheon) to rue Royale and Maxims. The restaurant is closed but next door they have opened up a gift store where you can buy almost anything with the Maxims label on it - merchandising to the max (another souvenir to take home from Paris!)
In a side street we stumble across an unusual market which seems to have been set up to promote delicacies from various parts of rural France. There are wines and cheeses and dried meats and we are intrigued to discover the largest brioche we have ever seen.
Afterwards we turn up rue du Faubourg st Honore past all the "name" shops including Chanel, Hermes, Lanvin, Cartier, Boucheron (I just discovered a "mimosa" diamond brooch this week made by them for the 1889 Exposition) to the "heavy" end of the street where the British and US embassies are located alongside the Elysee Palace (where the French President resides). Understandably there is more security here than we have seen anywhere else in France. One side of the street is blocked off and there are police everywhere, not only guarding the front of the buildings but directing the traffic and making sure that it keep moving quickly past the palace. Security appears to be a way of life in France today. There are armed security, police or soldiers patrolling on buses and trains and around all important sites such as train stations and buildings like the Louvre. In fact, while we sitting in the bibliotheque at Arts Decoratif this week a group of three soldiers (they all travel in groups of three) with automatic rifles at the ready walked past the window looking very purposeful (a constant reminder of wars that always seem so far away when we are in Australia.
On the way back we turn into Place Vendome where the column at the center was erected by Napoleon to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. It is made from cannon from the battle and the statue of Napoleon crowned with laurels is on the top. It is also the location of the Ritz hotel where we came for afternoon tea the day after we were married. Nothing appears to have changed but if you look beyond the facade of some of the old buildings you see new structures made from very modern glass and steel. As we were leaving a young girl stoops down in front of us and picks up a gold wedding band and asks if it is ours. We tell her it is not and start to move off but she says that we should keep it anyway for luck. We tell her to keep it but she insists and pushes it into our hand. As we go to leave she asks for some money for coca cola and we realise that our first instinct had been correct - she was a nicely dressed gypsy and this is just a new trick for collecting funds.
Thursday, a visit to the old Bibliotheque National de France (BNF) in rue de Richelieu which traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre by Charles V in 1368. By 1896, the library had become the largest repository of books in the world and was sought out by intellectuals from all over the world e.g. it was the place where Lenin came to study before the Russian revolution. Most of the books have now been moved to the huge new Bibliothèque François Mitterrand on the left bank of the Seine (down past the Jardin des Plantes) but there is still an art library here (we couldn't actually get past the lobby as we do not have a readers card which accesses the automatic doors). It is a grand old building and reminds one of the New York public library or the old Mitchell library in Sydney.

Old Favs

2009-06-10T00:52:00.013+10:00

Sunday -we decide to make another attempt on the Louvre as it's the first Sunday of the month and FREE. Out the door at 8.30 and onto the metro at Pont Marie to Rivoli-Louvre where we know there is a connection straight through to the underground Louvre Carrousel entry so we won't have to stand around in the cold waiting to get in. After wandering up and down various Sorties we give up and head for the Rue de Rivoli exit and across the road to the Pyramides entrance - long queue and the wind is blowing so we walk up Rue de Rivoli to the Carrousel entrance from the street. The queue is backed up halfway to the escalators but at least it's warm.
9 o'clock on the dot and everyone begins shuffling forward hurried along by a group of attendants who separate the bagged from the unbagged who have to put their bags through the machine - very efficient and before we know it we are through and into the central area under the glass pyramid.
Having already obtained a copy of the layout and planned our attack we headed straight for the Mona Lisa (well you have to at least have tried to see her while you are there). All the new marble everywhere is a little disconcerting but as we turn a corner and look up the stairs we see the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the top and realise that some things have not changed. However, we are on a mission and pass by with hardly a glance and head down the long familiar corridor to the room where the prize is located. The crowd is not too bad and we see that they have added two extra barriers since we were here last as well as raising the picture up the wall somewhat (I guess so that people can see it over everyone else's head).
A couple of quick pics and it's back the way we came to spend some time with other paintings that we like (seems strange to be going against the crowd but confirms that we made the right choice and are able to enjoy ourselves while others are rushing to get to Mona).
Back to Winged Victory which is a 3rd century BC marble statue of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory) - it has stood the test of time well and still looks great. After a stop in the Apollo gallery to marvel at the early glassware and exquisite enamelled snuff boxes we take a shortcut through the Greeks and Etruscans to get to the French Objects d'Art in the opposite wing. This is not as simple as it sounds even with a plan and maps in every other room because sometimes a corridor runs off from a room that is parallel to but not actually accessible from the room that one is in. Nevertheless after a number of false starts and dead ends we finally make it to the other side. This wing, known as the Richelieu wing, was opened on November 18, 1993 marking the two hundredth anniversary of the museum's creation. It parallels the Rue de Rivoli and ultimately becomes the building for the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and we have not been here before.
Entering from the end farthest away from the Tullieries we find that everything is organised sequentially from C17 to The July Monarchy (1830-1848 - remember Delacroix's Liberty...) and it is an interesting part of the Louvre that we have not had the opportunity to explore before. We end up in the Napoleon III apartments which show the opulence that still remained part of the leadership of the time and was probably something to do the Louis-Phillipe's overthrow.
As it is 11.30 we decide to break for a coffee before the top floor and the Dutch/Flemish painters. We manage to capture a table on the mezzanine floor and decide to eat our sandwich with the "cafe express" while watching the crowds pouring through the pyramides area - Grand Central Station at peak hour cannot compare. The stairs and escalators are completely filled with people arriving but there are some making their way out (probably to rejoin their tout bus).
The Dutch and Flemish painters are not a school we are particularly interested in especially without Rembrandt and Vermeer's Lacemaker is away in Japan which is a pity. Next it's the French paintings which we find more interesting (but Ingres' Turkish Bath is also missing and there is no Liberty...).
By now we are starting to get a little footsore but there is one more "must see" so we head back down to the ground floor and across to the opposite side via Pharaonic, Egypt sculptures to find Aphrodite buried in a sea of people. Actually we are quite lucky because this area is soon to be closed down for renovation and when we get to the statue we see why - it is very dirty and marked from people touching it. I make a short movie to capture the noise and movement of the crowd (even though its too big to post here) and we manage to squeeze into a space large enough to get a photo. Despite the crowd it is good to go out on a high and we head for home to put our feet up and enjoy a well earned cup of coffee. This time we actually do find our way to the metro directly via the Carrousel - it actually comes out on the platform for another line and we need to use a connecting passage to get to our line 7.

Nouveau Nancy

2009-06-08T00:23:00.015+10:00

Well that week went quickly - perhaps it was because of the TGV, 300km in 1.5 hours - and I must say it was a surprise. Not just the city but the people and the attitudes that we encountered.
Nancy is in the north east of France and it was a bright sunny day when we arrived. The walk to our hotel (the cheapest we could find on the internet) led through the main square (Stanislas) which was very impressive with reconditioned buildings (ongoing) and gold shining on everything. We later discovered that the city is known for these World Heritage buildings and Place Stanislas (which was originally built in C18) and was "opened" in April 2005 by Jacques Chirac after refurbishment. It is a beautiful centre for the city with roads leading off on one side to the old city and on the opposite to the new "main street". Our street was opposite the one we had walked down from the station and ran down between the Opera house and a very swanky hotel.
We were amazed to discover that the hotel was really very nice as we had been expecting something less when it was so close to the main square and relatively inexpensive. As it was too early to check in we left our bags and set off to explore the square and surrounding areas (and buy some food). The tourist bureau was located in the square and they were very helpfull with information and directions but unfortunately it was another public holiday - there has been one every week since we got to France. So - no food but we did get maps and orient ourselves somewhat before heading back to the hotel where we could plan our program for the week based on the holiday and opening days for the various museums and businesses that we wanted to get to.
The strange thing about Nancy and the whole of this region (except the fabric museum in Mulhouse and the wallpaper museum in Rixheim - which we did not get to) is that nobody has answered my emails or snail mails. I was expecting to have been able to establish contacts with Daum, Baccarat and Lalique as well as the two museums in Nancy but nothing, so we would be going in cold.
Since everything was closed we decided to treat ourselves to a restaurant meal and wandered back into the old part of town where we found a busy little place where everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. In France, most of the restaurants provide a set menu which is either entree and main or main and sweet so we decided that I would opt for the former and Marcia would get the sweet and we would share. A good idea but in practice it turned out to make for a very rich meal for the both of us and, although it was fabulous, we both left feeling a little overfilled on rich French cooking and in need of a long walk. It was here that we were introduced the the "famous" Nancy Bergamot boiled lolly which the waiter gave us with our bill. We have only ever known bergamot as a component of Earl Grey tea but discovered that this treat was rather unique. We read in the tourist information that the oil comes from a tree which is a freak cross between an orange and a lemon but a quick check on Google when we returned to Paris revealed that it is really a fruit native to southeast asia and is grown mainly in Calabria in Europe (so much for tourist information!!).
Tuesday we set off down the street from our hotel away from the square to find the Daum factory and on the way discovered an arch and a canal with an elevating road bridge to let the barges through (there was also a raised footbridge to allow pedestrians to continue uninterupted while the road was raised. It seemed strange to be just a short walk from the glitter of Stanislas Square and to be walking along a village like road which could have been anywhere in France. Daum was easy to find but there was no information available and they referred us back to the shop in the square (got some nice pics though).
On our way back to the hotel we went via the main markets and brought some food (we were impressed to discover a fridge in our room and so could stock up on fresh food). After lunch we attacked the Daum shop (beautiful glass - and amazing art glass spread over three floors) where I was politely informed that the archives are not accessible to the public but the lady did load us up with catalogues. I returned to the Tourist Bureau to query a comment in a brochure that stated that Emille Galle (the other master glass maker of the region at the turn of the C19) was a noted botanist. The young man was extremely helpfull once he understood my project and brought out a book on Galle in English and showed me the references. I also discovered another book (in French) which contained all the correspondence of Galle as a senior member of the local Horticultural Society and there, in 1880, was a recommendation for the planting of a whole lot of exotic plants including our own Eucalyptus globulus. Bearing in mind that the local Jardin des Plantes had told me that that had no archival records here was an indication that the Eucalypt and Acacia could have been growng here when they were first used in the designs that I am investigating - yes!
Wednesday was a trip to theMusee de l'Ecole de Nancy. It is devoted to the École de Nancy, an Art Nouveau movement founded in 1901 by Emile Galle, Victor Prouve, Louis Majorelle, Antonin Daum and Eugene Vallin designed to develop the relationship between art and industry and promote the the work of local artists. There are examples of Art Nouvea architecture and fittings all through the older part of Nancy but strangely this museum (the former residence of one of the main patrons of the movement) and that of Louis Majorelle nearby are in a later (and poorer) part of the city on the opposite side of the railway station about 4kms from our hotel. It mainly houses the works of Majorelle, Prouve and Galle and is the major display of Galle's work in France. After listening to my story the man on the desk muttered, "tres difficile, tres difficile" but finally telephoned a young lady who spoke English to come and meet with me. She told me that there are archives of Galle's drawings and that she would go through them and email me copies of any references to Acacia or Eucalypt that she finds - I am not holding my breath as I am sure she is the same "communications officer" that I emailed before I left home.
Next day was the Musee des Beaux Arts where we had a similar experience - receptionist very helpfull and then a lady appears who speaks English and tells me, "of course we have archives but they are not kept here...you should have let us know that you were coming and we could have prepared them for you". When I explain that I had emailed and had no response she is very apologetic and offers to show us the information that they have in the museum. This turns out to be exclusively about the Daum collection that is housed there but we do discover another nugget of information about an artist who worked for Daum and was also a botanist and became head of the drawing department at one of the training facilities - another possible link in the chain. We are given a catalogue of the collection and promises to forward more material when it is available (guilt?) and also work our way through the Galle references on the shelves and find another Eucalyptus piece that we had not seen before. On the way out we visit the extraordinary collection of Daum glassware in the basement - we are blown away - and see first hand the Eucalypt and Acacia pieces we had been looking at in the catalogue.
One cannot help but get the feeling that there is a fair degree of parochiaism in Nancy. The people are very nice, courteous and helpfull, but are not willing to provide any real insights into their iconic regional drawcards. All surface but no meat. I could be proved wrong but we certainly came away with this impression.
Nancy is a great place to visit, there is lots to do and see and the people and gardens are very nice - as long as you experience it all as a tourist. Like many places in Europe the often plain facades of the buildings frequently hide beautiful gardens when the street doors are opened. Nevertheless I have come away with some nuggets which have helped to refine the parameters of my research, have new ideas for some work - and we had a great holiday there.

Museums, Markets and Malmaison

2009-05-31T22:36:00.017+10:00

Can't believe it's time to go to Nancy (without the laptop) so I'll recap the past week as best as I can. Saturday we finally got to Bastille market which was as good as everybody told us - lots of Salamanca style stalls as well as very good (French) food stalls. Got a great rye fruit loaf which was almost as good as the ones they used to bake at Peppermint Bay and a very aromatic Bouc Bourgogne (which we realised later was goat - quite tender but very strong).
Sunday was another stroll around the Marais - always vibrant always interesting - purchased a gateau fromage blanc from our favourite shop for afternoon tea - sort of like a really smooth cheesecake without any pastry.
Monday we finally got to visit the church St Germain du Pres (a very historic church which is often mentioned in books and song). There is a well know bookstore nearby called La Hune which I spent some time in looking for anything to do with the artists I am interested in (even though it was terribly overheated) - didn't find anything relevant.
Tuesday was the Musee d'Orsay which is mind blowing. After waiting in line for an hour (watching the black rain clouds gather - without an umbrella) we entered the huge cavernous space of this former railway station (which was the first in Paris and built for the Exhibition Universelle in 1900) and looked out over the marble floor covered with large sculptures - many of them by Rodin. The exhibition spaces rises up for six floors on either side. We headed straight for the Art Nouveau section which was fascinating then on to the impressionist (much more crowded) where there are many examples of Degas' sculptures of dancers and horses. When we left exhausted at 3pm the queue was still just as long waiting to get in (despite the fact that there had been a major downpour while we were inside).
Wednesday - to Malmaison at long last. Metro to La Defense which is a major commercial development with very modern high rise buildings outside the periphery road to the north west of Paris. The whole place is built on a massive scale and is overlooked by Le Grande Arch, a sort of oversized contemporary version of the Arch de Triomphe. Over 150,000 people work in this area and we did finally see fashionably dressed french women (and men) obviously dressed for the office. There is also a modern mall with over 300 shops, 40 restaurants and a number of cinemas. After many false starts we finally found the bus terminal and boarded the bus for our half hour trip to the village of Malmaison to visit the house that once belonged to the Empress Josephine. We did not have a map of how to get there from the bus stop (even Google maps were not too clear) but managed to find a visitors centre where we were given a map and directions as well as information about Josephine and her daughter's tomb in the local church. Having brought cheese and corned beef (from the Bastille market) with us we went in search of a baguette to eat it with before walking the kilometre or so the the "Castle". The boulangerie was in the town square across from the church and had the best looking gataeux that we had seen so we also purchased a chocolate concoction called Opera and sat in the square while we ate it - yuuuuum.
As the church was right in front of us we went in and inspected Josephine's tomb - again a rather feminine feel to the place. In the garden around the fountain oustside we discovered Callistemons and wondered whether they had been planted there because of Josephine's connection with Australian flora or just because the people liked them.
Walking via the back streets we passed a large park which used to be once part of Josephine's estate which was broken up and sold off after her death and we got some idea of just how large the estate was. The house itself was a joy - not large by french chateau standards - and very homey (that probably sounds strange when you consider all the furnishings etc but, apart from the formal areas, it was rather simple). There was evidence everywhere of Josephines love of flowers - from simple ceiling decorations to tapestries to formal porcelain plates to her dress and underwear - exactly what one would have expected.
The chateau closed at 1230 so we wandered around the garden and found a cleared space amongst the wildflowers at the rear of the building where we sat with our lunch and imagined what life must have been like here nearly 200 years ago - about Delahaye who planted the French Garden at Recherche Bay and later became the head gardener here and about discussions between him and Josephine who was a very keen amateur botanist about what should be grown where. Its all in the past of course and cannot be recovered but it is interesting to be in this space and think about what has gone before. Afterwards we scoured the grounds looking for signs of the Australian flora which had been grown here but all we found was a spindly Eucalyptus which was obviously not very old. Any Acacias, with their short life span, would of course have been long dead but I have been told by a French lady in Hobart who grew up in this area that Acacias still grow around here and she remembers them quite clearly from her childhood (were they wild offspring from those original plants carried back by the d'Entrecasteaux and Baudin expeditions and planted by Josephine and/or Delahaye?).
After so much reading about Malmaison and the plant collecting of the early explorers it was a wonderful experience to be able to have the time to actually sit here and think about these things (especially without examinations and deadlines hanging over my head).
Thursday was another museum. I had not really intended to visit the Pompidou but there is a collection of Kandinsky's work on exhibition which I really wanted to see. As usual with these things the actual work is so different to the images one has seen in books etc - some are larger, some are smaller and most are less well defined than I had expected. My favourite section is a collection of small watercolours that he worked on around 1914-15. He worked with watercolour and pen and ink and it appears that he was working through some of the ideas which came out in his later work - to me there is a lack of restraint and a freshness within these that really appealed. Also looked at the modern art while I was there and it was interesting to see so much of the stuff that we had talked about at art school.
Friday and Saturday we set out to explore some of the outskirts of Paris by riding the Periferique buses that circle the city (Paris has a large ring road called the Periferique at a radius of about 5 km with roads leading off at regualr intervals to all the major rural centres). Three buses and one tram complete the full circle and each section takes about 30-45 minutes plus another 40-60 minutes to get to and from them so we broke the trip down over two days. It is very interesting to get away from the tourist areas of Paris and see how the people really live - from the really poor sections to the east to the quite affluent areas of the north west. We also passed lots of stadiums, parks and playing fields and, down around the south east, a massive amount of redevelopment which appears to be commercial (I remember some of this from my visit to the Mitterand library last time). In the south west there is the huge Paris Expo site alongside air force and naval complexes. Just across the river there are masive high rise housing complexes and we wonder whether this was the site of the rioting a year or so back. The western edge is bordered by the Bois de Boulogne. A different but interesting view of Paris. On the way home by metro we came across a band of Russian performers in the Concorde transfer walkways. I remember them from 2005. They are still performing and still selling CDs and we wonder if they ever perform anywhere else. We made a movie and gave them some money in gratitude for their show.
Today we returned to Montparnasse to visit an artist's market. A hundred contemporary artists selling their work in stalls just like all the other markets around Paris - everything from sculpture to painting to photography and prints (interesting chat with a printmaker with good prints and very limited English). Quite stimulating and at least one can see what the current working French artist is doing (unlike the "tourist art" at Montmarte).
There has been researching and art making going on in the midst of all this but I won't bore you with all that. Now it's off to Nancy to see what we can unearth about Daum, Galle, Lalique, Baccarat and the Ecole de Nancy.

Jazz in the Garden

2009-05-31T00:58:00.012+10:00

Big day today - marketing, research at Arts Decoratif then Jazz in Luxembourg Gardens.
Just some cheese and fruit as we intend to try the Bastille market on Sunday so its a quick trip up and back on the number 96 bus then off to the museum.
The Museum Arts Decoratif (MAD) have and interesting way of controlling how much one can do in a day. Firstly they limit requests to 5 items then they only allow you one request between 10-12, one between 12-2 and the last request between 2-4 so one has to develop a strategy to ensure that the time there is not wasted. In our case this means working out which items we are going to request before arriving by searching the catalogue online. Hopefully there will be something of interest in the things we select but often it turns out that there is little or no relevant content e.g. loads of images from the International Exhibition of 1900 but only of buildings, layout etc and nothing specific about artists/manufacturers (even though the title indicates that there could be). So we have a backup list of albums from the Maciet - the 844 volume collection that lines the bibliotheque - which we can select freely and examine while we await our turn to submit the next list (and of course there is always a quick trip to the Tuilleries gardens for a lunchtime snack to fill in some of the time).
Anyway we are off before two today so that we can get home for a quick coffee and jump on the metro for the Luxembourg Gardens where the Ensemble de Jazz de la Sorbonne are presenting a concert as Part of the Saint Germain des Pres Jazz Festival which has been on all week.
It is a bright sunny day (our first 30 degree day) and, unlike the New Yorkers who spread themselves out all over the grass, the French tend to just sit and look. Even though it is an hour and a half before the concert there are no spare seats under the trees where the rotunda is as people have taken most them off to sit in the sun however we find half of a bench seat and make ourselves comfortable - these appear to be the same back to back design that are scattered all over Paris and were designed, I read, by Hector Guimard of Metro entrance fame. It is a beautiful spot with dappled light filtering through the trees and we are happy watching the locals and tourists make their way past as the ensemble is setting up. By 4pm the area is filling up and people bringing chairs up from down by the lake. Suddenly an irate waiter appears in our midst waving his tray around and remonstrating with some of the people. He uproots them from their chairs and starts stacking them right in front of us - it appear that people have been moving chairs from the nearby restaurant and he has a long queue of people with nowhere to seat them. As he goes off to harass more chair takers other people arrive and try to take the chairs he has already stacked but we say - non non non ici pour le restaurant. Out of nowhere a gendarme appears and takes charge, guarding the stacked chairs until they can all be returned to their rightful place. It is an entertaining interlude (for us at least) and at last the ensemble is ready to play.
The concert runs for an hour and includes some old and new numbers as well as a number of singers and is most enjoyable (again I have a video but you must settle for a still image).
Wandering out of the gardens we find ourselves heading toward the Pantheon where most of the really famous people are buried. Opposite is the old Sorbonne building so we wander through as though we are students - appears to have been renovated inside and there is the usual classrooms, cafeteria, etc but at least we can say that we have been to the Sorbonne.
Around the corner is the Eglise st Ettienne du Mont an attractive gothic church which I remember from my last visit as I was staying just down the hill from here. We hang about to hear the bells ring out a carillon but it must have been later in the day when I was here before because there are only a few chimes and then they stop. We are stunned by the beauty of this church when we go inside. It is very light and feminine with beautiful spiral marble staircases winding up either side of a central arch. In a way this reflects the delicate round staircase tower that leads up to the bell chamber on the outside.
Although it is after 6.30 it is still daylight and very mild so we retrace my steps down the hill across boulevarde St Germaine, through to the river and across Ile St Louis (where there is a model pouting her way through a fashion shoot - much more stylish than New York) to home. Another perfect day.

A walk in the park

2009-05-28T01:20:00.010+10:00

Today is another public holiday so we have decided to take a trip to the Parc de la Villette which is the NE corner of inner Paris in the 19th Arrondissment. Not sure what to expect but we do know that the canal which originates just down the river from us flows through the centre of it. (apparently the canal was a major source of supplies for the city at one time). The park is built on the site of the old abattoirs established in 1867 by Napoleon III and was designed by Bernard Tschumi after consultation with Jacques Derrida.
First impression is of something massive built on a monumental Russian scale (but with more flair). The square is immense and dwarfs the beautiful central fountain while the Grande Halle appears to be an immense 1900's railway station but was in fact the original abbatoir building (one can imagine all the comings and goings here 100 years ago when the boucheries from the city came to stock up on supplies). On the left is the Paris Conservatoire of Music and Dance and a very modern walkway leading into the park. We pass an old building which is home for the Theatre Paris - Villette and discover a wonderful play area which has so many activities for children of all ages that is bound to wear them out by the time their parents take them home (what a great idea). I also noticed a rather unique way of parking bicycles. In the park proper there are paths wandering off in all directions, some through lightly wooded areas and others through or around more open space. The cover of the walkway raises up and becomes a bridge across the canal as well as running off in either direction above the paved pathway/cycleway along the canal. From here we get a better view of the park and of the people enjoying their holiday in beautiful green surroundings (although there are many green spaces around Paris this is the largest - 35 hectares - and allows people to put the city out of their minds for a while).
From our raised walkway we spy a large silver dome which, acording to our plan, is part of the Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie so decide to head in that direction. As we approach we realise that the building is much larger than we first thought and extends down at least three floors below the level of the park. The low visual impact on the surrounding environment keeps everything in the park in perspective. The immense dome is created from small triangular pieces of polished metal which reflects the surroundings.
A quick whip around the inside of the building reveals the immensity of the museum and, like every museum we have been to, it has a research library (bibliotheque) where people can study or just read the latest journals on the museum's oeuvre as well as a bookshop (librairie). One gets the impression that there is still a great emphasis on learning in France and both young and old can be seen all the time in these bibliotheques. We decide that we don't need to spend $30 to see the exhibits so head off back through the park taking a different route up through the woods, past a closed water slide and empty pool (obviously not warm enough yet) and come out onto another area where people are picnicing, practicing martial arts and rap dancing, playing ball and generally making the most of a sunny day after all the gloom and drizzle.
This has definitely been a great day and good to get away from the grind of the work and the hustle and bustle of the city. We will try to get back for one of the concerts that are on during June.

The Marais

2009-05-26T17:15:00.009+10:00

A lot of artists in Belleville near where we do our marketing are having an open studio day today and we thought it would be a good opportunity to see what is happening in the local scene. Unfortunately, it is raining and, as we don't fancy wandering around in a strange neighbourhood getting wet, we have decided to stay in and work here.
After an initial rush of "finds" at the Musee des Arts Decoratif things have gone a little quiet. Most of the references that look interesting and/or directly connected to the research turn out to have little or no information. There are occasional nuggets, like finding the name of a ceramacist in a catalogue for an exhibition in Nancy and discovering that he was an Englishman who lived and worked in Paris (although there were no images in the catalogue I had previously found an image of this man's work but had no other information about him). It is the same for many of the images that I have found. Trying to locate the artists geographically and/or in time to see if there could be any connections is extremely difficult - but we press on.
By 3pm the rain appears to have pretty well cleared away and we decide to go for a walk in the Marais and track down the Musee Carnavalet (the history of Paris) which has the jeweller Fouquet's shop from Rue de Rivoli designed by Mucha tucked away in a back room.
This is the second Sunday we have walked in the Marais and are amazed to find that many of the streets are once again closed to all traffic except bicycles and pedestrians (and there are formidable wardens at each entrance to make sure everyone obeys!).
As I have said elsewhere, the Marais is a very old part of Paris (parts of the church near us apparently date back to the 13th century) and there was once a wall that encircled Paris just a few blocks away from here (most of what is now the Marais was then farmland). There are a few remaining examples of old houses and one near the Pompidou centre is said to be the oldest in Paris (these ones near us look similar). The area became popular amongst the aristocracy at one time and large mansions were built here but, after the king moved to Versailles the powerful people moved on and many of their mansions became warehouses. It was all downhill after that until the minister for culture, Malreaux, decided in the 1960's that the area was of historic significance and began the process of weeding out the rotten and restoring the restorable (this was when the Cite was established).
Musee Carnavalet is spread over three levels of a building which appears to be built over two open courtyards and is like a maze inside (entry is free unless you wish to see the special exhibiton). Areas are broken down by century starting from Roman times up to today and are filled with drawings, paintings, maps, artifacts and maquettes - all ather fascinating. The top floor is given over to the revolution and steps you through the background, the key players, the main events and the aftermath (helps to sort out the scene but I'm still a bit confused about the Jacobins).
We finally track down the Mucha display tucked away in a corner room at the end of a dead end corridor (luckily we had directions or we would never have found it). It would appear that the Art Nouveau era is of little significance in the context of Parisian history. However, it is a beautiful display - the whole of Fouquet's shop has been moved here and set up just as it was - totally Art nouveau. There is also a room from the Cafe de Paris with furniture by Majorelle (another Ecole de Nancy designer) and two cartoons by (?) done with tiles. As the attendant did not seem to care I took stacks of photos but, since it faces into a corridor it was almost impossible to get a good shot of the front of the shop. There is also a very nice little bookshop attached to the museum with heaps of stuff on the history of Paris.
Emerging back into the real world at nearly 6pm we find the streets still thronged with people and begin the ramble back to the Cite. Along the way we stumble upon a small area with all kosher shops and decide to try some of the pastries from one that looks really interesting. Hard to choose but we settle on a tarte citron which turns out to be the best we have ever eaten (crisp pastry and lemon filling that tastes just like home made lemon butter that mother used to make - we will definitely be back)

Night of the Museums

2009-05-25T04:23:00.008+10:00

Still grey and drizzly but we are hopeful that it will clear by this afternoon as we are off on a museum run. Once every year the museums of Europe have an open evening when many of them are free or put on special shows - this is the fifth year of the event. We have opted for the Museum of the History of France - National Archives, first - partly because it starts earliest at 1630 and partly because the Hotel de Sourbise is where I was studying in 2005. This will be followed by the museum of Arts and Metiers - inventions etc, then the Baccarat Gallery Museum - hopefully I will be able to get a contact for the factory in Alsace, and last but not least, the Louvre - hopefully by arriving late we will be able to get in without a long queue.
The sky has cleared by the time we set out and it is only a short stroll through the Marais to the Hotel Sourbise. The name Hotel was given to large city residences in pre revolutionary France - they became run down over the years but most have now been restored and many house Government departments such as, in this case, the National Archives. It feels a little strange walking back through the massive doors that lead from the street into the large courtyard where we are confronted by the rear end of a large red container. Nearby on the grass is a tent where they are running a quiz, two chairs facing TV sets and, around the perimeter under the porticos there are food stalls, a book restoration workshop and interactive areas for children.
As I am explaining to Marcia about my daily schedule we enter the main building where I recieve a major shock. Gone are the lockers and the reception desk and the doors to the research area lead through into an impressive timeline mural showing the history of France alongside the history of the National Archives (which go back to the time of the Kings). Upstairs it is the same but here there are historical items displayed in vitrines and through the doors at the back (where previously people would disappear and return with your requested items) there are restored room of the old Mansion. From the windows here I can see the round room in the opposite wing where I went to study the maps from the Baudin and d'Entrecasteaux expeditions. Its all a little disorienting until I find a staff member who explains that all the archives were moved to a new building (the Caran) on the same block twenty years ago and that when I was here the information I was after had been moved back temporarily.
Back home for a coffee before setting out for Arts et Metiers which is sort of like the Power House Museum in Sydney from what we've read. What an amazing collection of old equipment - from tiny clocks to huge lathes - models of Paris, and methods of construction for medieval buildings, an early ornithopter, planes, cars etc. But most amazing is Foucault's Pendulum (I remember this from Umberto Eco's book) which hangs from the centre of the nave in the old church which forms part of the museum. Not sure how it ended up here but the story about the museum goes that during the revolution when all the priests were being done in an enterprising priest converted the church into a museum by collecting any equipment he could lay his hands on and setting it up as a display showing the ingenuity of the French people (and in the process saving his life).
Back to the metro to Place Etats Unis which is at the other end of town - here we take a wrong turn and find ourselves on the banks of the Seine looking across at the Eiffel Tower (brilliant). Retracing our steps we find the building and enter a foyer which has two fireplace made from crystal (complete with fake gas log fires) and a lit electric crystal chandelier which is half submerged in a tank of water - not sure what this is meant to prove but it looks impressive. The building was once the home of art patron Marie-Laure, Viscountess de Noailles (1920-1970) who held fabulous parties here attended by artists like Man Ray, Cocteau and Dali. The downstairs rooms contain all the current Bacarat products including large chunky pieces by their new designer (some combining crystal and ceramic). All very nice but it is the historic stuff we are really interested in and we find this in a series of rooms upstairs. Breathtakingly beautiful, mostly extremely delicate including a long stemmed glass for the Tzar made from blue and clear crystal. After we have finished drooling I find staff member who tells me that I will need to another store in Paris to get the contact details of someone in the manufactory where the archives are kept.
It is now after nine pm and the sun has not quite set so we set off for the Louvre. Whizzing through the tunnels and Marcia remarks on how efficient the Metro system is, how you never need to wait more than five minutes for a train and how nothing seems to go wrong. Alas, we are about to find out that all is not as it seems. As we pull into Concorde station there is an announcement and everybody disembarks from the train which pulls away into the tunel empty. After a short break there is another announcement and everyone heads for the exit - obviously there are no more trains on this line for now. Fortunately Concorde is not far from the Louvre and we walk along the outside of the Tullieries Gardens (strange to see them deserted) to the building which houses the Museum of Decorative Arts then through the gardens at the back to the Louvre where we are stunned to see a huge queue of people which stretches halfway around the square (either lots of people had the same idea as us about coming late or they have been queuing all night). By the look of the line it will be another hour before we even get into the Louvre (after all its not like we haven't been here before) so we decide to call it a night and head for home footsore and weary but our heads spinning with everything we have seen today.

Heavenly Food - Heavenly Sounds

2009-05-18T16:12:00.010+10:00

Friday - market day and black clouds are threatening. Two days ago just after I got back from the JB it started to rain and turned into a tropical downpour (thunder but no lightning) and finally hail so we are a little wary about going outside at the moment.
We had decided to go to the market at Bastille today because everyone who's stayed here recommends it (there are a couple of exercise books here in which people have left comments about their stay including tips about shopping, where to go to get the best deals, etc, etc. - brilliant) but discovered that it is not on until Sunday so we will return to Belleville to day as we need to re-stock.
The skies are a little less threatening at 1030 so we are off to catch the number 96 bus. Markets are not quite so crowded and we head straight for the cheese lady where we add a couple of new cheeses to our collection then wander up and down the aisles to discover where the best bargains are. We end up back at the same stalls as last week (a noisy Arab stall where the men are constantly shouting out their wares) because they have great stock at good prices (strawberries 1kg/$4, tomatoes 2kg/$4, cherries 1kg/$6). Another has cooked food and we by a Moroccan lamb stew (to go with rice or cous cous) and also shredded spinach in a cream cheese sauce (good for pasta). The bread lady has her sons helping today and we collect another round loaf with nigella seeds because it was good for toast (unlike most French breads that we have tried). A carton of eggs (large $4.40/15) and we are back on the bus to home. We realise that we have bought too much fruit but it was so fresh that we couldn't resist and besides the fruit salads will be good for us.
The rest of the day is spent working. I realise that the layout of my research on the wall is too one dimensional and I need to include a timeline which indicates whether things were happening before or after 1900. This makes the scene much more understandable.
Late afternoon and the sky has cleared somewhat (there are even occasional patches of sun) so we decide to go for our usual afternoon walk. I grab the camera as I want to get a photo of the old organ in the Eglise St Gervaise which is nearby. It is a reasonably small organ (by the standard of most of the churches we have wandered into over the past couple of weeks) and has a very modern stained glass window behind it which I also want a photo of (hopefully with the sun coming through). I walked past this church most days on my way to the National Archives in 2005 but never went in until a couple of days ago - it is quite austere inside with new coir matting running from the alter up through the centre of the church to the back row of seats. While we were there the organist played a couple of pieces and it was so beautiful - quite unlike others with a softer more gentle sound.
As we leave the Cite the bells start to ring out the angelus and we realise that it is 6pm. On entering the church via the back door which is closest to us we find it fairly full with a group of white robed monks and nuns kneeling before the alter. As the bells finish they rise to their feet and begin to sing it sounds so beautiful that we stand at the back of the church to observe for a while (I made a short video with my camera but it is too large to upload so you'll have to settle for a still).
Actually, there was soiree for new tenants of the Cite during the week and we met a young man from Nancy who is studying at the Consevatoire de Musique and he said that he had to go look at the organ sometime during the week because it is special. He also said that getting into the Conservatoire is very difficult with four rounds of examinations before selection (and that he has an exam this week that will last for twelve hours - he is taking a chocolate cake with him to tide him over). We also met a girl from Canada (sculpture), a young lady from Japan (painter) and a couple from Slovakia who lived for 30 years in Australia ) she is a printmaker/painter and studied at the NSA in Sydney - she works mostly with collography - she is on the left of the image, then the sculptor, painter, musician (with his back turned).

More work

2009-05-17T00:05:00.008+10:00

Monday - grey with drizzle and this afternoon I have a meeting with the curator of Art Nouveau at the Mussee des Arts Decoratif - very hard to arrange and very important - followed by another session at the Bibliotheque of the Jardin des Plantes(JB) (pre booked before I arranged the meeting with the curator and I dare not miss another booking).
This morning I am trying to assess just what I have found out at the JB so far. I know that from 1895-1928 the JB had a fairly steady supply of Acacia and Eucalypt seeds from Australia and from Thuret and Thouin (in France) as well as (once) from Alsace Lorraine (Nancy?) and Florence (were these from plants grown from the Labillardiere collection? Was it in Florence by then?). Secondly, that Eucalypts and Acacias where planted regularly by the JB during this period - I have one record of germination numbers during this time)
I am told that the JB exchanged seeds and plants with other JBs but only JBs (so no distribution to non botanical organisations such as the city of Paris for example).
Perhaps there will be more information in the records I have requested for this afternoon.
At the Musee des Art Decoratif (MAD) I am given ID and sent to the fifth floor where I am met by the curator's assistant who informs me that Evelyne has gone for a coffee but has no more English. Evelyne's English is on a par with my French but between us we have an interesting discussion about my project. After telling me that Australian flora was being used in design in the time of Napoleon III and after and informing me that the records are enormous, she gives me some references that I must look up in the Bibliotheque - especially the "Etude de la PLante" and "Encyclopedie..." by Verneuil, the works of Grasset and sections of the Albumus Maciet (the large collection of A2 sized books that line the Bibliotheque).
I am then walked down the corridor introduced to Isobelle the archiviste who is instructed to find me some examples of the use of Eucalypts and Acacia in the MAD's intranet and to show me the box of records on the Jeweller Lucien Falize. These records include corespondence between Falize and Emile Galle (the famous glass maker from Nancy) and Evelyne points to the use of Acacia on falize's letterhead and notes that it is dated 1891-92 - so here is my evidence. The artist's name is included within the drawing on the letterhead so I have a reference to follow up.
Isobelle provides me with printouts of the 12 items she has found in the database. It is interesting to note that only one of these is pre 1900 (1898) and also that there is a vase by Sevres - more information to take home and digest. I ask for a photocopy of the covering pages of the Falize/Galle correspondence (€0.20 each, although there is no charge for the stack of laser printout - again, only the French). After offering help on specific artists if I get stuck Isobelle escorts me to the lift and wishes me well with my research which for her is something unusual and interesting.
A quick dash to the JB (which thankfully is on the same metro line) and then home by 6.30 with a lot more information to digest.
Tuesday, Marcia and I arrive at the MAD to begin the research there (Marcia has offered her help which I readily accepted). After registering as users I spend some time with the lady on reception sorting out the reference codes for the books Evelyne has recommended (at this stage I don't know how the system works and have to sort of feel my way so I guess it helps that I have a piece of paper that she has written on as she is someone important in the hierarchy). The request system is basically the same as when I was at the Sourbise in 2005, you complete two copies of the request form (no more than five codes) and hand them to a person at a central desk who also checks your registration card. You then wait for the items to appear on the same desk sometime later. While waiting we start on the Albumus Maiciet - as mentioned before, these are A2 sized books with 1cm thick covers and are very heavy - and are soon rewarded with images in the Vernueil "Etudes..." and "Encyclopedie..." - some photographs and some stylised studies. I also find copies of the images used on the Falize/Galle correspondence in another book. Much of this collection is undated or has handwritten dates penciled in so it is often hard to date what you are looking at but find out that the Verneuil books are 1900 and 1908.
Quietly contented we leave the MAD and find that it has stopped drizzling so go for a stroll in the Tuilleries Gardens before heading for the Arc de Triomphe to do a little sightseeing. The Louve is a U shaped building with a very large central coutryard and the building which houses the MAD is located at the end of one of the long fingers that runs off from the Louvre toward Tuilleries as you can see in the photo of me above.
We stop off at the Printemps roof cafeteria for a very late lunch but like everyhting else it has changed and is now like a greasy spoon (we eat anyway because we are starving and enjoy the view). Also, Bun discovers a whole bunch of new friends also enjoying the view which includes Sacre Coeur.

Paris market

2009-05-14T02:30:00.009+10:00

Friday is another Bank holiday (the second in two weeks) so we decide to follow the advice of the guide book and ride the no 96 bus across town - it runs to Porte de Lillas in the NE and Montparnasse in the SW. Because we are about half way we opt for Lillas - through the Marais past Place des Vosges is interesting but after that we are obviously heading into a poorer part of Paris, more crowded and dirty, most people looking worn down. However, along the way we pass two street markets and decide we will return to the first one on our way back.
Street markets are a way of life in Paris even though there are small supermarkets scattered everywhere. They sell everything from fish to fruit, cheese and bread, meat and vegetables and flowers and it is generally very fresh (the Parisienne woman is very particular). Markets are held all over Paris on different days of the week but usually each one operates for at least two days e.g. Tuesday and Friday and it is virtually the only place one can buy fresh fish. If you have been to Paddy's market in Sydney you will have some idea of the setup.We wander up and down the crowded aisles examining the produce and buy a round loaf of bread with Nigella seeds for lunch. This is quickly followed by a large container of Tiny Tim tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, apples, oranges, pears, zucchini and red capsicum (we can't help ourselves it is all so fresh). About to head for home we come across a specialiste fromagerie (cheese) which is obviously very good because there are long queues of people waiting for service and the three women are flat out serving. After wandering up and down looking everything over we get on the end of the line and await our turn. We end up with a large chunk of French emmental, a red skinned cheese that looks like a washed rind, a hard cheese that everyone else seems to be buying and two small rounds of Chèvre from Rocamadour. I'm not a chevre cheese person but make the decision based on a vist to Rocamadour in 1996. It is a very old village built into the side of a cliff and was on the route of the medieval pilgrim trail though France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain - pilgrims used to climb up the steep stairs to the church on their knees for whatever reason pilgrims did these things (its a long way up). The prices of everything are pretty much the same as at home (in fact somethings are cheaper) and $20 for a supply of fresh French cheese is a bargain.
Since we had not set out to go shopping we have no bags to put things in so struggle back onto the bus with armloads of filled plastic bags and manage to make it home without losing anything.
Lunch is a feast of french bread (although it is round its actually made from the same process as a baguette) lavishly spread with Normandy butter, four varieties of cheese, Tomatoes, grapes and strawberries (you haven't tasted a strawberry until you've had a French one) c'est magnifique.
By now I have started to lay out the information I have on the "work wall" in the studio and pick up a picture of the world from space from a European Space Agency display in the courtyard outside the Hotel de Ville to add an extra dimension. I'm not sure how this will all work out but it does help to be able to spacially identify where everything that I'm researching was happening at the turn of the 20th century.

Montmatre

2009-05-12T16:58:00.011+10:00

Thursday - a beautiful day with clear skies and the garden is full of iris blooms. I have to go the JB library this afternoon but we decide to make a visit to Montmarte this morning for old times sake.
How things have changed - the narrow street that runs up from Anvers station is full of tat and over priced souvenirs (there used to be some upmarket shops here) and the crowds are amazing (I hate to think what it is going to be like in June/July).
Note: we have usually been here in early April so maybe the crowds are normal for this time of year but there certainly doesn't seem to be a recession here.
Fortunately our rail pass covers the funicular and we are soon standing outside Sacre Coeur marveling at its timeless beauty. The view back over Paris is pretty good although there is some pollution.
As we still have a little time we decide to walk the few blocks to the square where artists have traditionally plied their trade only to be confronted every 2-3 metres by a man with a sketch pad wanting do to a portrait (there is obviously an overflow from the square these days - is it because of more tourists, more artists or just more people seeing a way to make a quick buck out of gullible tourists?)
The square has also changed, half of the central part where artists used to work has been taken over by an outdoor cafe (obviously more profitable for the landlord!) and the painters, sketch artists and silhouette cutters are pushed to the margins. There is also a change in the styles and content to meet contemporary art expectations, although we find one old timer who has been here for as long as we can remember. Its very sad really but the same the world over - everything changes to meet the expectations of the tourist because that is where the money is.
On our way back we stop by the building where Ray Arnold worked over several years on his French suite of work and note that it is also being renovated to make way for apartments. It is a great spot adjacent to the top stop of the funicular and apartments will probably sell for a lot of money but the old print studio had stood there for such a long time and seen the birth of great works by Henri Rousseau and others (including many Australian artists) and it seems such a shame that all that history has disappeared (including the ancient litho presses).
When I return to the studio from my labours in the JB library and have a coffee we decide to go for a walk as it is such a balmy evening. we cross over the bridges and up the short street to Boulevarde St Germain. I point out the hotel with the turret room where I stayed in 2005 and, as we proceed up the street, we spot a phone shop that actually has a €29 phone. After some discussion in french the owner agrees to explain all the details to me in English (my French probably grates so much that it is a relief to switch to English). Phone fixed we continue up the boulevarde and return home via Notre Dame. It is about 9.30 and still quite light and warm.

Easing in to Paris

2009-05-12T04:09:00.009+10:00

Monday - overcast but not raining and the third blue iris has come out in the garden for our third day. Time to visit the Secretariat to officially check in to the Cite (Friday was a holiday but they let us move in because we had already booked our flights).
The ladies in the office are quite formal - as only the French can be when they are being "official" - they require more photos (for the Museum pass and for their files) then we are handed over to Rashid who escorts us to our atelier and points out where we can do our laundry, exchange our bedsheets (every second Tuesday) and collect our mail. He then prepares an inventory of the studio which I sign and we are officially part of the Cite.
Most of the buildings in the Cite are reasonably modern (in a Bauhaus sort of way) and were constructed in the 60's but the building where the university's studio is is one of the few very old ones which were not demolished in this process. For this we are truly grateful as they have character and soul (an essence of all those that have lived here before perhaps?)
We then go to the the 7th arrondissement where we used to stay to see if it has changed and if we can find a chacuterie - big changes, no chacuterie - there is still a type of market in Rue Borgogne but nothing like the old days (we are talking 23 years I might add). Return sadly to the studio wondering what else has changed and if we will still love Paris the way we once did.
Tuesday (there are now 11 Iris flowers) and I have an appointment with Maite at the Jardin des Plantes at 9. It is only three stops on the Metro to Stalingrad and I retrace my steps of 2005 when I visited the Museum of Natural History here to the address she has given me. It is an old building tucked away behind newer buildings that front the street but easy enough to find with the map she has drawn.
I lay out all my documentation and present the rationale for my enquiries and my theory about the use of Australian flora in French design. She is very interested and after some discussion she telephones colleagues in the Bibliotheque (library) as well as the Botanical Gardens (JB) in Nancy (in Alsace Lorraine where many of the designs have appeared). Maite also gives me information about the JBs in Thuret and Thouin on the cote d'azur where may introduced species were first tried out.
It is 12 and I am off to the library to arrange for a carte d'identite which will allow me access to the salle de lecture were I can study the old records. A very officious young security officer tells me that the library is closed until 3 and I must leave (even though Maite has arranged for me to meet the librarian). There is a telephone conversation with Maite who apologises that the area I must access to get my pass is closed (because it is Tuesday and Tuesday is a little strange!) Its all too much and I return to my studio to lick my wounds intending to return the following day at 2 (when everything will be open). At 5 I get an email from Maite asking where I am as the librarian has prepared all the documents and wonders what has become of me. I apologise and promise to contact the librarian and explain - she is very understanding and agrees to meet me at 2 tomorrow (this is when I discover that my Optus mobile phone is charging me international call rates for local calls - not what I was told in hobart - and that this 5 minute call has cost me $10 - aaaaaaagh).
We decide that first thing tomorrow we will purchase a cheap prepaid French phone and I check out the options online (€29-39 or €30 for a SIM card with €10 time).
Trying to purchase a phone/SIM card on Wednesdaybecomes so complicated (partly because of my poor French and partly because everyone appears to have 'sold out' of cheap phones(?) and I decide to postpone the idea until after I return from the library.
Wednesday and Thursday at the library are a great success and I am up to my armpits in 100+ years old documents (some typed and some handwritten (mostly) in beautiful copperplate) - although it turns out that I don't need the carte d'identite because the 'librarian has already registered me in the salle de lecture' (only the French).

Picnic a la Chateau

2009-05-09T02:21:00.010+10:00

Saturday is grey and overcast, a little disappointing after yesterday but we notice that one blue iris has bloomed in the garden below and take this as a welcoming sight. I phone Maite who is an administrator at the Jardin des Plantes and has invited us to join her family for a meal over the weekend. She tells me that a friend has arranged a picnic near to where they live and asks if we would like to join them. We agree and she says that she will pick us up at 4pm outside the Cite as they will be in Paris doing some shopping.
We rug up and wander back to the shops. What a change from yesterdays holiday scene, there are people everywhere, all the shops are doing a brisk trade and we are excited to see all the traditional shops (although there is not a chacuterie in sight). We collect bread, cheese and wine for the picnic then head for the supermarket for the boring essentials.
The rest of the day is fairly quiet and we are standing on the steps of the Cite promptly at 4 waiting to meet someone I have only corresponded with by email and one brief conversation this morning. We anxiously scan every car that crawls past (it is a very narrow street) wondering if perhaps this is them but none stop or show any interest in two strangers standing on the footpath. Suddenly stop lights appear on a car that has just passed and a lady emerges with an inquiring smile - we are well met.
Maite introduces herself, her husband and youngest son and says that we will return to their place first for a cup of tea while she collects the food for the picnic. They live just outside Paris in Sceaux in a lovely old 1930's house with 50's additions that they have been renovating - it is a very comfortable house which is obviously made for family living.
The garden is elegant rustic (not exactly what one expects from a botanist and a scientist) and we wander about studying both the familiar and the strange. Maite shows us one of her tree peonies (why can't we grow them like this - ours seem like midgets in comparison).
Soon tea is served and we discover that Maite uses Marriage Freres tea (which we first encountered in Kingston many years ago) although hers is a The de Tibet which is a delicate concoction of green tea and Tibetan flowers - yum.
At 5 we all pile back into the car to head for the picnic ground which turns out to be the 181 hectare grounds of the Chateau de Sceaux which were originally laid out by the famous gardener to Louis XIV André Le Nôtre.
Maite takes us for a walk around the grounds to point out the highlights while Bernard and Thomas go to look for their friends.
The long sweeping vistas, terraces, fountains and canal are reminiscent of the gardens at Versailles and Vaux la Vicomte which we have visited previously but we still marvel at the conception and enjoy this brief overview.
When we return to the place where we are to picnic which is back toward the entrance we discover Bernard having a nap while Thomas has been wandering around trying to find the rest of the group. He borrows his mother's phone and eventually tracks down the others at the bottom of a large open park area dotted with trees.
We are met by Maite's friend Claire who greets us in English and tells us that she spent part of her youth growing up in Adelaide and Perth. Her husband greet us with a small glass of wine and we are introduced to the rest of the group - we are made so welcome that we immediately feel at home. We discover that the fold up chairs that I have been carrying are for us (so that we wont dirty our nice clothes on the ground!) and although we feel a little strange we accept their kind offer.
Claire and her colleague (who has recently returned from two years working in San Francisco) are physical scientists and work on things to do with muscles. Her husband speaks very little english but informs us that he has been to Sydney to attend his sister's wedding and enjoyed it very much.
The rest of the group speak French but are interested to hear about my research so Maite acts as interpreter while we share an apperatif.
All of the children are off playing but soon return when the food is being passed around and we are impressed that they are all so well behaved. It appears that this is the link between all the adults - they have met through the children's school and get together about every six months to catch up.
Too soon it is time to pack up and go as the park closes at 9.30 so we bid farewell to our newfound friends and, after arranging to meet at her office on tuesday, Maite drops us off at the station for our return to the cite - what a wonderful welcome to Paris.

Paris, students riots and police

2009-05-08T04:33:00.005+10:00

By now you will have realised that this blog is a little out of synch with real time. There are a number of reasons but primarily it is because we were without an internet connection for several days - it will get better.
So, to continue on from where we left off on the 1st of May.
After returning from our walk to Notre Dame cathedral we rearrange the studio to make it more livable for us - eg there is one bed downstairs and one on the mezzanine (not a good set up) so we lower the mezzanine bed down to the studio floor and set up the mezzanine space as a work area where we can work with the laptop.
Afterward we go exploring to find somewhere to stock up with essential (thanks to Fiona Lee's helpful instructions this is a simple exercise) but unfortunately all the shops are closed because of the holiday so we return empty handed.
Some previous tenant has left some Lavazza Espresso ground coffee so we settle for a black coffee and some biscuits left over from the flight.
It is such a beautiful evening that we decide to head out again to explore even though it is now 7pm. Heading down Rue de l'hotel de ville we turn into the street at the rear of the Hotel de Ville (City hall - very impressive) and notice four gendarmes in full riot gear on the other side of the road. A little further along we see a group of students gathered around a doorway with a few regular police keeping a careful watch. Suddenly there is a lot of shouting and the some of the students start running away from the building - others appear to have broken into the building - as if by magic the street is suddenly filled with riot police (shields and all) running towards the original group as well as chasing after the running students. Sirens are blasting, police vans fill the street and we are standing in the middle of this melee - without a camera!
We race back to the studio to collect our cameras and on our way back spot a group of plain clothes police leading hand cuffed students back toward the street where it all started. We hang around for a while and get few shots for atmosphere but it appears to have quietened down so after about half an hour we head off. As we cross Rue de Rivoli we notice large crowds of students heading back the way we had come but think it is best to stay away from any further confrontation (enough excitement for one night).
On our way home we find a small corner store which has hardly any room to move but where we can purchase the essentials - including a nice bottle of Burgundy to celebrate our arrival in France.

New York - Paris

2009-05-07T04:00:00.014+10:00

Thursday is much cooler and we rug up for a last stroll uptown before we have to leave New York. First a visit to Trump Tower (the late 20th century equivalent to all the grand marble buildings of an earlier time). A quick coffee to warm up then next door to Tiffanys to see how the other half live.

Down 55th to Radio City Music Hall (closed) and back to to 5th for a visit to the famous Plaza Hotel (it will always remind us of Hubble) before heading back to our hotel via Carnegie Hall.

We have to check out by 12 so spend the time until our shuttle arrives having a final snack in the lobby bar. At last the time has come to say goodbye to the Algonquin and we bid farewell to the staff we have come to know over our short stay and jump into the shuttle bus for JFK airport.

The trip to Paris via Zurich is relatively painless and we arrive just before 10am on Friday at CDG1 (the original Charles De Gaulle terminal which is just like coming home).
Knowing the interminable passages, stairs and escalators we will face if we transfer at Chatelet for Pont Marie (the metro station for the Cite) Marcia suggests that we get off at Gare du Nord and catch a taxi - a wise choice.
The sun is shining and we arrive at the cite at 12 midday and are shown to the university's Rosamond McCulloch studio which is so much more than we expected (formalities will be sorted out on Monday as it is a bank holiday today).

We know that we have arrived and cannot believe the good fortune that has brought us to this place.
Since the weather is so nice we decide to take a walk and I show Marcia the walk I did every day in 2005 from St Germain to the National Archives which are in the Marais.
We stop in the garden at the rear of Notre Dame to photograph the flowers then proceed around this magnificent building to the front where we are stunned to find large crowds of people lining to enter the church - how can there be so many tourists when it is only the 1st of May? When we go inside we discover that a special service is about to commence so find ourselves a seat to watch the proceedings (the catholic church is great at pomp and ceremony). Afterwards we realise that there were so many people because of the holiday and the special service.

New York, New York 2

2009-05-06T00:14:00.012+10:00

Muesli for breakfast then a quick stroll to 5th avenue where we pay a visit to the magnificent New York Public Library which is just opening for the day - Like all the older public buildings in New York the large, spacious marble interior is very impressive and makes one feel as though you are about to enter on a major undertaking.
Outside we jump on a bus for the George Washington memorial in Greenwich Village. As much as we tell ourselves that it won't be the same as in the biographies we've read or the movies we've seen we are not really ready for the variation that exists between expectation and reality. The contemporary New York university buildings overshadow the area and there appears to be little of the old. Bleeker street and a couple of the surrounding blocks seem relatively untouched but all else has disappeared under the ongoing drive for modernisation that one sees everywhere.

Disappointed, we jump on a subway train and travel two stops to Canal street station and set off in search of "Little Italy" which turns out to be three blocks of one street (Mulberry). Everything else has been overtaken by Chinatown including the famous Mott street and almost everyone you pass offers "rolex", "CD", "handbag (Lou Vitton)". Another disappointment, but we stop for a coffee at a bar which we discover used to be a hang out for some of the local "Wiseguys" (the mob) and such celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Pavarotti, Niel Sedaka, etc. (the coffee is good).

Setting off for Tribeca (TRIangle BElow CAnal street) we come across a massive multi storey concrete building with bars and mesh on the windows and discover that it is the downtown detention centre - it looks like it could have been built in the time of the crime bosses and there are lots of police vehicles and sad looking folk in the area. A strange contrast to the avenue of blossoming trees in the park opposite.

A block further on we come across a squat ornate building which looks totally out of place and discover that it used to be a fire station but is now used as a juvenile centre.
White street leads us into the Tribeca area where we find many old wharehouses. Most of these appear to be in need of repair and we start to understand why much of the old part of Downtown Manhatten has disappeared. Fortunately the buildings here seem to be being restored rather than demolished and rebuilt. Through Finn Square and down Franklin Street and Robert De Niro's Nobu restaurant appears on the opposite corner. This was a landmark we had been looking for but we hadn't really planned to dine here. However, as it is approaching 2, and the prices aren't too high we decide to have a late lunch. What a great dining experience. Nobu is run by a Japanese chef so the food is after the Japanese style but so different to anything we have had before. The food was excellent, the service was immaculate and the dessert was to die for - a confection of panna cotta, lychee ice cream, strawberry creme and a delicate, wafer thin biscotti (yumm).

By the time we leave the temperature has again risen to 92F so we use the subway to travel up to Sheridan Square then walk through tree lined backstreets with walk up apartments to the Meatpacking District where we watch a film crew at work before continuing on to the Chelsea Markets . By the time we get back to the hotel at 5 Marcia's pedometer has counted over 18,000 steps for the day - we are pooped.
At five we venture forth once again to explore Grand Central station which is only a few short blocks away. It is exactly as we expected with people scurrying to and fro in the broad central plaza. Another short video to try and capture the atmosphere and we set off to explore the labrynthine passages. An unappealing food hall on the lowest level is enough to put us off our food but we find a fabulous food market one level up which sells everything for the busy homeward bound worker.

Wednesday and we have decided to visit the print studios (unfortunately Hilary is unable to join us as it is the last week of semester and she is very busy) but first we head back to Zeytinz for brunch (too late for breakfast- we seem to be slowing down) which we carry upstairs to a cafeteria area which overlooks Bryant Park. It is hard to tear ouselves away from this people watching eyrie but eventually we set off for 39th street to the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. It is an old building and the lift is broken so we go up via the goods lift and come in through the back of the studio. We are met by Deborah who is one of the paid managers of the facility. She is very interested and proud to show off the facility and explain the history and how it works (there are about 20-25 people using the studio in any given month). They are well set up for lithography and etching and there is also a digital print facility. As well as the open studio they have two specialised areas for contract printing - one for litho and the other for etching. The classes they provide are run by Master printers who generally have their own studios and are either paid by splitting fees or in studio time (handy if you have an etching studio and wish to do some litho printing). As well as the paid staff there are monitors who supervise/assist in exchange for studio time and we spend some time talking with one of these young ladies who suggests that we visit another studio called Dieu Donne in 36th street which specialises in pulp paper art.
Two blocks further down is the Eastside Print Studio which turns out to be less interesting than the previous one. We are met by Sei who tells us that they moved into the current fairly spacious premises from a much smaller facility just a few years ago. It is quite austere and I get the feeling that they left some of their soul behind in the old facility. LIke the previous studio they rely for much of their income on grants from foundations and supplement this with exhibitions, sales and contract printing (they retain half the edition of any contract printing that they do). Suprisingly, the studio caters mostly for screen printing and some etching (they have the largest vacumn screen printing table that I have ever seen).
In the next block is the Dieu Donne pulp paper facility but they are loath to show us around as artists are working and it is very wet. They use a hollander beater and work mostly with paper linters. However, when pressed the young lady admits that they do sometimes work with fabric and natural materials.
As it is not too late we decide to walk back to 5th Avenue and ride a bus all the way to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. It is fascinating to see the changes in buildings and shops as we move through the various areas of downtown Manhattan - from the smaller poorer areas of NoHo and SOHO to the grandeaur of City Hall, the Woolworths building (the only building ever built in New York which was paid for in cash) and the Financial district (Wall street and all that). At the end of the line we find the old Customs House building (another grand marble stucture) which is now part of the Smithsonian and houses the National Museum of the American Indian. It has an exhibition of American Indian female clothing called "Identity by Design" with explanations of the meaning attached to the various parts (only women were able to boast about their warrior's exploits by drawings on their dresses). Marcia studies the history of the Customs House while I immerse myself in Indian culture.
The subway takes us back to Grand Central Station and we buy a small loaf of bread covered with sunflower seeds and some cheese at the markets for our dinner. What a great end to the day and to our stay in New York.
Although we have been very careful we seem to have collected a number of catalogues and brochures during our stay and spend the evening sorting through everything and repacking our bags before going to bed so that we will be ready to check out the next day.

New York, New York

2009-05-05T00:53:00.011+10:00

The Algonquin hotel is one of those grand hotels after the style of The Windsor in Melbourne. Small but tasteful rooms and lots of atmosphere (I wonder if the appreciation of these things is a sign of getting older?) This is the place of Dorothy Parker's infamous "round table" (also known as "the vicious circle") a group of writers, actors and critics who met regularly to discuss (pull apart) the latest happenings in New York from around 1913. Many of them were regular contributors to The New Yorker and today the walls of hotel (not the rooms) are covered with wallpaper made up from cartoons from the magazine.

A late start to a vey hot day but we headed to the subway to purchase an unlimited trips four day bus and train pass ($25) and then decided to find our way to the Circle Line jetty and do a 3 hour trip around New York because it would be cooler on the water.Unfortunately we arrived 10 minutes after the boat had left so head uptown for the MoMA then on to the Guggenhiem and Metrolpolitan Museum of Art. The Guggenhiem was mostly closed down because they are getting ready for the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition. Loved the modern art in the Metropolitan especially seeing the Georgia O'Keefe originals.

After all the drama and art the highlight of the day was strolling in Central Park in the early evening with all the spring flowers and trees in blossom.

Bun discovered a furry friend who seemed reasonably content to carry on almost as though we weren't there.

A quick refresh and change back at the hotel and we joined the crowd in the lounge for the "open mike" evening (old and young cabaret performers just jamming together) - what a perfect end to our first day in New york.

A leisurely breakfast at the Algonquin sitting at the "Humphrey Bogart" table and we head off down 42nd street again to the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise terminal for the three hour, round New York cruise that departs at 1230.We are in plenty of time and are queued up waiting to purchase our tickets when a lady comes over and asks if anyone wants a ticket for the cruise. When I ask why she is giving it away she says she no longer needs it, hands it to me and walks away. I'm so stunned and it happens so quickly that she is gone before I can even offer her something for the ticket. Afterwards I realise that it had probably been purchased with a coupon from one of the many packages available to tourists but still, it was a saving of USD34 to us and perhaps a consolation for just missing the boat the previous day.
When we finally board we find that it is very spartan (this is no Captain Cook Cruise on Sydney Harbour). The seating consists of fold up chairs in two rows with an aisle down the centre - nothing more. We are lucky enough to find a couple of chairs on the outer deck which are under cover (it is another unseasonally hot day) then realise that we will be on the wrong side for viewing the island as the boat will be travelling clockwise down the Hudson River then back up the East River. The only seats on the port side are inside and we decide to stay where we are where we will at least have the benefit of a breeze and can still see through the people opposite to view landmarks.

The commentator is an older gentleman who sounds as though he has been doing this for the past thirty years or so but the information he provides as we circumnavigate New York makes for an interesting journey.

We bus up 42nd street and discover Bryant Park on the corner of 6th Avenue (almost more Paris than New York). It's so nice to see New Yorkers enjoying the open spaces (there is even a corner for children with books for them to read). Across the road there is a great design shop with more design/fashion books/magazines than I have ever seen before - it is difficult but I resist buying some Art Nouveau/Art Deco design books even though they are on sale. Two doors up is a deli named Zeytinz were we buy oranges, apples and milk to last us through to Thursday - the food is so appealing that we plan to return for breakfast.

We return to the hotel and, after putting our feet up for an hour or so, can't resist venturing forth again to take another look at Times Square. As it is Monday the place is less crowded and we are able to take in more of the surrounds (not being so jetlagged probably helps as well). I shoot a short video to try and capture some of the atmosphere and we stop to watch an Italian model on a fashion shoot who keeps disappearing into a big white van in a side street only to reappear in a different outfit, pose for the camera then repeat the process again (I guess things like this go on all the time in New York but it is all rather exciting).

Up and (almost) Away

2009-05-01T06:58:00.007+10:00

It started badly. After all the planning, packing, unpacking, repacking, emails, phone calls and
correspondence the taxi did not arrive. There we were bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4.40am with our bags on the footpath and a flight departure at 6.10 but the taxi had forgotten us. Fortunately a quick call to another company produced a cab which got us to the airport in time.
Excess baggage! Damn, after all that careful weighing on the bathroom scales. Never mind, pay the money and go - but no, there is a delay because of the weather in Sydney.
Arrived in Sydney one and a half hours late but the good thing is that the hotel checks us straight
in so we can freshen up before heading off to meet Andrew for lunch.

Bun loves the view of the airport and stays behind to keep an eye on things.

Lunch at the Sydney Law Courts - great food - then back to Andrew's to see his pix of Nepal. What an amazing experience he has had.
Saturday we get to the international terminal at 8am to join our Qantas flight to New York and are amazed at the changes to the check in area. Gone are the clearly marked airline counters that we remember - instead there is a clean, clinical arrangement with crowds of people milling about and very little signage. A helpfull employee directs us to the right place where we are checked in by a long serving QF staff member who (after finding out we are ex QF staff) tells us that there is a move by Qantas to get rid of staff and employ contractors - maybe it doesn't matter any more but we remember the fierce loyalty of staff in our time and see this as a cost cutting exercise which does not auger well for the future.
Clear immigration then off to the lounge for breakfast before boarding the flight.

Slipping into seats 11a and b seems just like the old days but Bun has obviously become scared of
flying since her last trip and spends her time hiding in the corner.

Clearing customs and immigration in Los Angeles is a trial when you are jet lagged. The airport is
so utilitarian and everything is soooo far away. Finally collapse in the Qantas lounge and try to
prepare ourselves for the next leg of the journey.
Re-boarded, in our old seats but with a new crew. Elegant prawn salad for lunch and we sleep most of the way to New York.

Pre-booked transfer works well and we arrive at the hotel at 6.30pm to discover that I have left the laptop on the shuttle bus. Panic, stress levels shoot up when I realise that the only information I have about the bus company is a ticket printed out at the airport. Hotel staff contact the bus company and I am soon speaking to the controller who organises the drivers. He tells me that they will contact the driver and get back to me shortly. After waiting and hour I phone back and am advised that the driver has found the laptop under the back seat but after he got home and will return it the next day.

A little relieved but not exactly sure we head off to explore Times Square. It's Saturday night and the crowds are amazing. The lights, the noise, the touts, the hustlers, the hot food vendors - you know you've arrived in the Big Apple.

Next morning, a quick call to the bus company to check when the laptop will be delivered (around midday) so we hang around till then to reward the driver for his kindness - one of the staff at the hotel says how lucky we are because it usually takes weeks to get back lost luggage. It's only then that I realise the extent of my good fortune because my research documents and the French translation of my catalogue are also in the laptop bag.

Bun Bids Farewell to Mt Wellington

2009-04-23T09:23:00.002+10:00

Bun, the intrepid traveller, bids farewell to Mt Wellington before setting off on her latest adventure knowing that she may never see this view again as they are building a two storey house opposite us after demolishing the old one.
Nevertheless she is brave and looking forward to seeing old and new places. For the past 25 years Bun has travelled with friends in Europe and Asia but has not visited the Americas before. New York will be quite different from Paris, London, Rome or Moscow but she is excited about seeing all the art galleries and places that she is so familiar with from the movies and such - in fact she has made a special note of Robert De Niro's restaurant in Tribeca where he has hung all his father's artwork (he studied at Black Mountain with all the famous American abstract expressionists).
Staying at the Algonquin Hotel will also be exciting as it was home to the writer and critic Dorothy Parker and her "Round Table" group in the early 1900's. They were the ones who helped to get "The New Yorker" magazine going and now the hotel's walls are papered with specially commissioned wallpaper featuring cartoons from the magazine. Maybe she will even get to see a show on Broadway or the Radio City music hall.
Anyway it's another adventure and Bun will handle it with her usual aplomb.

News from Nice

2009-04-20T17:15:00.003+10:00

Iv'e heard from the director of the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle de Nice regarding my work. He apologises that they do not have anywhere to exhibit it but is very impressed and has passed the information along to the Parc Phoenix, a floral park with which he is in regular contact and which possess the necessary buildings. A tantalising response and, one hopes, one that augers well for the other museums/galleries which I have contacted.

Big day of sorting out documents - tickets, accomodation (in New York and Shanghai) transfers, tours, insurance (E-tickets come attached to the intinerary so are in fact much bulkier than the old style airline tickets) and collating all the emails received from France so that they can be transferred to laptop and thumb drive (belt and braces). Then a review of baggage - have we got everything we need ? are we taking things we don't need? have we left room for things we might want to bring back with us?
All very exciting but it will be a relief to just get on the plane and go.

God's in his heaven - all's right with the world

2009-04-16T08:02:00.005+10:00

Well it is spring in France and I'm sure there are, "...lark's on the wing" and "...snail's on the thorn' all over the place.
The smile on the face is because all things French are starting to come together.
I have just heard from the Cite that all is well for us to arrive on May 1 although they had originally said they were not expecting us until May 4. No one had told me when I was awarded the studio that I would not be able to move in on the first of the month (or on Saturday or Sunday) and I had booked flights months ago. Anyway a phone call yesterday appears to have sorted that out and I am extremely grateful to the staff at the Cite for being flexible. (here's a link to the Cite's English version and you can search for it on the Google map below http://pagesperso-orange.fr/citedesarts/cite-internationale-des-arts-english-presentation.html )
Also heard back yesterday from the Musee des Arts Decoratif in Paris with information and a contact there, and from the curator of the Musée de L'Impression sur Etoffes in Mulhouse (lots of references in Stafford Cliff's 'French Style and Decoration') . Still nothing from the Musee de l'ecole de Nancy but I'm sure it can't be far away and I'm hoping they will have contacts for me at Daum, Lalique and Baccarat as I've not been successful contacting them using the internet. I already have an appointment for May 4 with the librarian at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris (who has in fact invited us around for dinner on the weekend we arrive) so will be able to determine plantings of Australian flora there at the time I'm targetting (1895-1925). With this I can start to construct a plan of attack for my other research which will include time in Alsace Lorraine where I also hope to visit Zuber Cie who still print wallpaper using 300 year old engraved woodblocks (now that's amazing).
Thought I'd better include some images of the type of work I will be looking for in France.

Lalique perfume bottle (Power House Museum, Sydney)
Stopper is in the form of drooping eucalyptus leaves surmounted by a group of seed pods

Baccart crystal tumbler (Power House Museum, Sydney)
Acid etched on very fine crystal.

I'll try to include more images as I go along

Only one flight change by Swissair so far but we really expect more over the next couple of months as the airlines try to deal with the implications of the economic downturn - but then that's just adds flavour to the adventure.