The Not-So-Grand Summary

I’m not very good at coming up with grand summaries of epic vacation experiences. I can maybe explain why one or two things were really good, but I have issues with overall generalizations of a two week experience. But I can give it a shot now that my body knows what time it is- I had killer jet lag when I came back.

Last time I went on a proper vacation was five years ago. I’ve gone on some adventures for my career since then but it’s not exactly the same. For one thing, going on a trip with other people that you know (like my family) means I can have photos of me in front of historical things like this...

I didn’t get up the Eiffel Tower, but that will have to wait for next time. I also want to go back and see Jim Morrison’s grave. We did get to the very large (and very confusing) cemetery where he is buried but showed up way too late to find Jim. However what I did get to see was beautiful...

 

Paris is such as diverse place I could spend weeks and only see a fraction of what I wanted to. What I particularly like about Paris is the atmosphere- everyone is always out and about that creates a great energy that soaks into you. The weather was also hot but not humid the week I was there which helps draw people out onto the streets. I also saw the coolest things when I was going somewhere else and happened to see it down a side road. For example while taking a photo of this subway station...

I found the Sunday (pet) bird market- sadly I couldn’t bring one home on my carry-on.

The economic downturn is pretty visible in Paris and the poverty of entire families sleeping out on the streets was pretty shocking. I’m not used to seeing small children and babies curling up on blankets for the night with their parents a block away from the apartment.

Holland was similar but different- it was a great vibe but the weather was rather cold all week. The Dutch are very friendly and I didn’t feel awkward surrounded by a language I have no hope of ever learning (now that I think about it I didn’t experience much of that frigid behaviour the French are known for). I could also spend a few more weeks in Amsterdam. There were lots of other museums I want to go back and see, along with the Heineken Experience which is a museum in the old brewery.

And as I have previously posted, I am in love with the architecture of the city, even the more modern facades that take their inspiration from other European styles...

 

I’m not sure what the next adventure will bring, but I know two things... I will take a boat-load of photos and there will be a blog. I’m also going to try (even harder than all the other times I have written this) to occasionally post things on here when I’m at home, either things I see in Toronto or little slices of the projects I am involved with at work. Stay tuned!

Odds and Sods from Paris

Same idea as the previous post- all the little bits of fluff from Paris that didn’t quite make a complete post but is still a story.

If my dream job dropped out of the sky tomorrow, I would still be a textile conservator but I would specialize in displaying costume. So that means I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to mannequins. One night we went for a walk to check out where the Musée des Arts et Métiers was. So I almost fell over when I we walked by this...

 

 

And then when we got closer to the museum we found another with a fetching tree made from mannequin hands in the window...

And when we went back to the museum when its was open it turns out down the street was a third mannequin store..

I couldn’t believe my luck.

On my last full day in Paris was a day for shopping. In the afternoon we went to the flagship store of Gallerie Lafayette, the iconic French department store. The store was finished in 1912 and is a gem of Art Nouveau style.They’re currently doing some remodelling in the store, but the view of the famous stained glass dome was still spectacular...

 

Now that’s shopping in style. It erased the crazy crowds I had to fight through to get any shopping done.

I also saw the ultimate symbol of France’s commitment to smoking outside an antique store. Where else but Paris can you find a very pregnant lady smoking in public? (No photo for obvious reason)

I have one more post to put up but for now I’ll leave you with photos of brigdes from the river cruise I went on the Seine...

 

 

Bits and Bobs from Holland

Part of the reason I write this blog when I’m travelling is I feel like I learn more on my trip. I tend to look around me more carefully when I’m out walking and take my camera with me everywhere in case I find something interesting. It also means that if I find one interesting thing I try to look for something related to help string a narrative together for a post. But sometimes I have a really good idea but I can’t find enough material to make it work. I have enough of these leftover half-ideas that I still want to share. This is all the stuff like that from the first leg of my trip, so these are some random bits of fluff from Holland....

I have learned from my trip that I will never understand Dutch, ever. It’s a language unlike anything else and the way it’s spoken to me sounds nothing like it’s written. For example, the ads for the movie ‘Despicable Me II’ made some sense in French, but not so much in Dutch...

There were a number of English-language stations on TV that air with Dutch sub-titles at the bottom. It is from this that I learn that in modern speaking some English words have worked their way into the vernacular, although the meaning isn’t quite the same and can mean English words get replaced with other English words in the sub-titles. Two examples...

One: Watching the show ‘Dirty Jobs’, many times in an episode the host inevitably screws up whatever job he is attempting. We were watching a segment on roofers and Mike messes something up as says “Oh Crap!”

Dutch translation: “Oh shit!”

Two: On an ad for a BBC show, James May is surprised by what I remember was an explosion (given that he is a presenter on Top Gear, explosions would make sense). He looks behind him and says “What the hell was that?”

Dutch translation: “Sorry?”

And finally, I was quite surprised to see that parks as a place to hang out in the summer are just as vibrant in Holland as they are in England (the French generally hang out on the patios of cafes instead). Near my hotel was Vodelpark, which is quite large at most nights was packed with people and portable barbeques....

Some of the barbeques were DIY creations- my favourite was made from a one-use roasting pan filled with coals and a flimsy rack above it. Not sure how well it would work but it stood out. There were also lots of food vendors, including more funny little vehicles...

A Post for Alison

My friend Alison is a painter who likes a very specific subject matter- she paints abandoned storefronts. I happened to see her the day before I left for my trip and she reminded me to see if I could find any photos for her. Normally if I find something I just e-mail them to her. Not only did I find a number of empty stores to photograph in Paris for her, one of them has an interesting history so I thought it was worth a posting. Also, it seemed appropriate to write about this the day after Detroit declared bankruptcy- Alison refers to it as her ‘Mecca’ given that the city has 78 000 abandoned building within its limits. But back to Paris...

I found modern-looking storefronts in older buildings, this was located near the Louvre...

I found a burned out building and an empty corner shop near the Cemetiere du Pere Lachaise...

 

 

But I hit paydirt when I found the complex of three empty La Samaritaine department stores near where I am staying...

 

La Samaritaine was expanded from a small store to something that takes up an entire city block (one of the buildings is eleven stories high). The expansion began in 1883 by slowing buying up neighbouring shops and in 1903-1907 the main building was redone, so the exterior is an excellent example of Art Nouveau. This is the entrance to the largest building...

 

And the tile work continues down side of the building...

 

 There were also two other stores nearby that were smaller by comparison but rather larger compared to everything else in the area. Think of an entire department store roughly the size of the Eaton Centre in Toronto and you’ll get sense of scale of the size and number of buildings the department store takes up...

 

 

The company had been losing money since the 1970’s and was finally purchased in 2001 by the luxury conglomerate LVMH. In 2005 the building was closed because it couldn’t meet health and safety regulations and is set to reopen as a hotel and mixed retail in 2016.

Urban Art in Paris

Every city has urban art and I love taking photos of it. Paris did not disappoint in this regard. I found a wide variety of it while I was out and about. This is spraypainted above a storefront not far from where I am staying...

My favourite was this series on the wrong way signs, which are all around Paris...

 

It is also fantastic while he's hanging upside down...

 

And in the stocks (notice the red dots that were added to give a sense of depth)...

The Louvre Round Two

This will be short because I lack photos.

I briefly went back to the Louvre this morning. I went in a few galleries, but my main purpose was to see this...

The statue known as ‘the Winged Victory of Samothrace’ or it is also referred to as the ‘Nike of Samothrace’. It is an incredibly well preserved ancient Greek marble statue, despite the missing limbs and head, because it was originally housed inside a temple on the island of Samothrace. All of the carved edges of her chiton, for example, are still fairly crisp.

She is believed to be to have been on the bow of a decorative, non-functional ship in the temple (not unlike the carvings Europeans used to put on the front of their boats).I braved the crowds to go see her because it’s one of the most dramatic statues I had ever seen in photos and in person she does not disappoint.

The majority of the day I spent at Les Arts Décoratifs, which is a museum within the Louvre complex. The outside is impressive which, given that it used to be a palace, is not surprising...

 

 

Its permanent collection covers the history of European design from the Middle Ages to the Present.There are also a number of rotating galleries devoted to specific types of items like jewelry, advertising, and toys. I was there to go see this show...

The show is called ‘La Méchanique des Dessous’, showcasing how undergarments and clothing has been used to modify the body to create different silhouettes in Western fashion. The lights are quite low throughout this space for conservation reasons and photos weren’t allowed. It’s a fantastic show of incredibly rare pieces- undergarments are generally used until they are worn and thrown away (or sold to the rag man to make paper centuries ago). There are also a number of replicas with motors that illustrate how they would have been put on. And in one gallery, there were replicas that visitors could try on- I was impressed how heavy some of the pieces were.

Needless to say, I was in my happy place. If you like fashion, you should come to Paris and see this show. But if you can't, watch this video to get a taste of it (the curator is standing in the middle of the replicas you can try on, in case you wonder)...

http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/mode-et-textile/expositions-70/actuellement-447/la-mecanique-des-dessous-une/presentation-3136

A Post for Fahad

My boyfriend is a very particular person. He tends to stick to the things he likes and not stray far from that. And he dates me... silly, silly man. We are a perfect example of opposites attracting. So it’s going to take a lot of convincing on my part to ever get him to go on a vacation like the one I am currently on. So on that note...

Today I went to Fahad’s favourite restaurant...

McDonald’s. They happen to be one of my Mom’s clients, so she likes to scope out the variations that they have in foreign countries. I was pleased I could get a decent side salad (I can’t eat fries) and my burger was actually quite good.

In the Art Nouveau section of Les Arts Décoratifs, there is a display of glass vases with motifs inspired by nature....

 

 The bat is from 1905 and the snake vase from 1900. So I found (non-taxidermy) examples of animals in a museum that are weird enough for Fahad to love (basically, if it’s odd and could potentially eat you, my boyfriend thinks it’s a wonderful pet. I would like a dog).

My favourite thing that reminded me of my dearly beloved back home has to be this piece in an Egyptian gallery of the Louvre. It’s a detail from a Book of the Dead and I had two thought when I saw it ‘ooh, that’s so creepy it’s kind of cute’...

And ‘I’m so happy it doesn’t exist, because Fahad would want it as a pet’.

Love you babe. See you soon!

Musée des Arts et Métiers

Edit to this post: I failed to post my Dad's main comment (which I forgot to add and was pointed out to me at dinner tonight)... 'if you are interesting in steampunk, this musuem is your idea of heaven'. And if you don't know what steampunk is, I highly encourage you to look it up. It's an amazing concept.

This morning I went to the Musée des Arts et Métiers with my Dad. I wasn’t that interested in going, but it nearby where we are staying so I decided to tag along. ‘Science and inventions’ I thought ‘I’m sure there’s something to entertain me’.

This museum is a gem, I’m so happy I went.

It’s a much more manageable size and a lot less crowded then the other museums I have been visiting in Paris. The premises have had some kind of arts institution in it since 1789, comprising of a large building with a church in the middle of it. The church area is breathtaking...

Early planes and automobiles on ramparts that you can walk up and view the pieces from all angles. The other side of the church is Foucault’s pendulum, built in 1851 to prove that the earth rotated. I believe what I saw was a copy, because in 2010 the cable holding the original pendulum snapped causing damage to it and the marble floor below...

The other exhibition areas are just as spectacular, comprising of inventions from many different eras used for a specific purpose- for example construction, scientific instruments, etc. This is the communications gallery...

 

There are many highly detailed models of large machines on display as well as originals small enough to fit in a gallery. Of course I went gaga over the looms and knitting machines...

 

 

I also just about fell over when I saw the beautiful hygrometers on display from the late 18^th century (yeah, only other conservators are going to get excited about this particular kind of nerding, but these are so much prettier than a datalogger)...

 

However, my favourite gallery was this room...

 

It is devoted to 18^th and 19^th century automatons, which are pretty toys for the rich that move and play music. The low light levels meant I couldn’t take any photos, unfortunately. However, I found this link showing one of the pieces in the museum’s collection...

http://museumviews.com/2012/11/extravagant-inventions-the-met/

Objects like this are very difficult to display- in order to fully appreciate them a visitor needs to see them function. However, having an old and delicate piece of machinery being constantly played is a terrible idea for its preservation- it will wear out in a short period of time. Musée des Arts et Métiers have found the right balance. Many of the automatons have buttons that the visitor can press to hear the music the object plays. Two of the pieces are displayed so a video appear superimposed over the piece to show how it worked and hear the music it played. One of those was a mechanical bird cage automaton, which was lovely.

I would highly encourage anyone who likes going to museums to visit Musée des Arts et Métiers when they are in Paris. You can comfortably go through it in a few hours and is diverse enough anyone will find something that appeals to your particular brand of inner nerd.

Musée d’Orsay

This post is going to be a lot shorter than most because I can follow the rules in a museum. You know- rules like no smoking, no eating, or no touching the objects in the galleries (and no licking, you really can’t do that to historic objects). Musée d’Orsay has another rule- no photography of any kind. So I don’t have any pics to share with you inside this beautiful museum, which has been converted from a train station but has retained most of its architectural details. See the outside for yourself...

Musée d’Orsay houses works from the 19^th and early 20^th century. It contains a lot of very famous and important works of art, particularly for Impressionist painters. A visit to many of the galleries is like walking through an art history textbook. Paintings like this...

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/portrait-of-the-artists-mother-2976.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=237ef8c554

Or this crazy famous piece that turned the art world on its head when it was first exhibited...

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire_id/luncheon-on-the-grass-7201.html?no_cache=1&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bsword%5D=manet&tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509%2C842%2C846%2C847%2C848%2C850&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=851&cHash=aa98c55e7b

And this sculpture too...

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire_id/small-dancer-aged-14-2202.html?no_cache=1&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bsword%5D=degas&tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509%2C842%2C846%2C847%2C848%2C850&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=851&cHash=8e36641d95

I also found some pieces that I had never seen before that blew me away. This is one example...

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/severine-2975.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=b4bb31ee0f

Also breathtaking is the view from the 5^th floor, which looks out on the Seine...

 

 

So, generally a day full of pretty. I also bought a book on a textile show written in French. I’m pretty sure that decision is going to haunt me for years to come every time I try to read it. Oh well.

Square et Fontaine des Innocents

Remember the square outside my window?

It turns out to more historic then I realized. The site dates back to the 12^th century, when the church of the Holy Innocents was built. Being a churchyard, there was also a cemetery on the grounds, which is the reason there is no longer a church there.

In its history, Paris has gone through some significant reorganization when the population levels soared high above what was intended. Some of that resulted in entire slum neighbourhoods were razed to be rebuilt in a more organized fashion. It also meant that the cemeteries were filled far passed capacity, which caused health problems for the living inhabitants.

In 1786, the cemetery on the current square site was closed and nearly 2 million skeletons were rehoused to underground catacombs (which is why you generally don’t find cemeteries when you wander around Paris because they were all moved at some point).

The fountain itself dates from 1550 (although the original carvings by Jean Goujon now belong to the Louvre’s collection). The fountain was moved to its current location in the 19^th century and received a facelift- it had been located next to a wall so it only had decoration on three sides. I can’t tell which is the ‘new’ side, see if you can decide...

 

 

Today, instead of a church congregation the square is home every evening to mostly teenager who hang out and skateboard. It’s a loud, busy place that is central to the many bars and restaurants in the neighbourhood.