In search of...

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.