Good Friday

Happy Good Friday everyone! It's Easter Weekend in Paris and everyone else who celebrate :)

I walked past Le Bon Marche today and spotted these babies on their window display.

Oops the last baby had its bon bon to us.


Aren't they just the most cutey little thing!! in a kinda strange way.

I was curious to check out Musee de la Vie Romantique on the 9th arrondissement today, so in the afternoon I made a quick visit there. It was drizzling when I got inside, the weather been a bit unpredictable today. Hopefully the weekend will be better.

On the way there, I passed l'Eglise Sainte-Trinite, just a few blocks away from Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps. Beautiful old church surrounded by pink spring flowers. I don't know why I always take picture of old churches whenever I pass them around Paris, maybe because the old buildings reminds me of those classic Dracula movies I used to watch with my sister...Oh I'm being so random now. I especially miss watching "Interview With The Vampire"

To quote from the Museum sheet, "The museum used to be a house of Dutch-born painter Ary Scheffer (1795-1858). It was built in 1830, and remained in the Scheffer-Renan-Psichari-Ciohan family, til it was turned into a museum of the City of Paris in 1983"

The museum on 16 Rue Chaptal, is quite hidden amindst the long walkaway gate and situated next to juniour school and hausmannian apartments. I actually prefer going to smaller museums like this, less people inside, I don't get headaches and I can take as long as I want. And I got to chat with the attendants, Non, Je suis en Indonesie (not Japanese, thanks for asking), mais J'habite en Australie (ah..Australie...awkward silence...), et..maintenant, J'etudie francaise a l'Alliance Francaise... bla bla...

Inside one of the five rooms in Musee de la Vie Romantique. So dramatic and too riche European for me. It looks like it came from a scene of Interview with The Vampire...

Look who I met while inside, Lestat and Louis.

Just kidding.
Au revoir, been there done that...

Around Rue Notre Dame de lorette, close to Pigalle.

One of my favourite metro in Paris, St-Georges line 12, it goes straight to my stop too at Solferino. Again, I can't get enough of the pink blossoms in Paris.

Another perfect end to the day when I see one these babies. This one at Rue du Bac.

Le Soleil au Musee d'Orsay

Cafe Les Deux Musees outside of Musee d'Orsay. Very popular with tourists and students waiting for the after-peak hour.

Um..not too sure what is going on about the free museum pass, but I had to pay my way in to Musee d'Orsay today. Je viens d'aller Musee d'Orsay...! there you go, learned about passe recent today just before class finishes! it means the activities that just happened. Emphasis on the just.
After spending some time doing homework by the steps of the museum and watching some hungry birds eating crumbs...and spotting students who were clearly sunbathing in their tank tops, I decided it's probably time to conquer Musee d'Orsay!
Previously a train station. Most of the railings are from the original period.

Standing on top of mini-sized buildings under this transparent glass. Pretty cool.

These are some of the paintings that...if I'm rich enough, I would buy them and hang them in my house.

La Femme a l'Ombrelle by Aristide Maillol, vers 1895.
Look at her expression! the slight frown near her eyes and the pout of the lips, ah exactly the attitude of a french woman.

Naissance de Venus, by William Bouguereau, 1879.

L'atelier de Bazille, rue de la Condamine, by Frederic Bazille, 1870.
The atelier or studio of a painter, with other painters discussing their works, sharing history, making history and painting history. I especially liked the ambiance of the space, ideas being thrown between each other, ideas...random things...and playing a piano in the corner. So alive.

Olympia, Edouard Manet, 1885. Shocked a lot of people at that time, but it is now considered one of the pioneer painting of Modern Art. After all he did created Impressionism...

Soir d'Octobre by Maurice Denis, 1891.

Portrait Mademoiselle L.L by James Tissot, 1864
Cute red jacket, used to have a dress with those little pom poms when I was small and would probably wear it again if I still have it.

Femmes au Jardin by Claude Monet of course. 1867.

Irma Brunner, La Femme au Chapeau Noir by Edouard Manet, 1880-1882.

You can tell by the selection that I am such a sucker for Impressionist paintings :)))))

Grabbed my lunch today at this boulangerie on Rue de Cherche-Midi and Rue Saint-Placide. Cheap and pretty good. Cost me 2.60euro for a sandwich d'emmenthal buerre, rather than the 3.20euro I usually forked out.

A really vintage looking mini on Rue l'Univeriste, for the third time spotted on this particular street, and on my way home! Cool.

Look I managed to catched those two ladies in their balcony! an accidental click on the camera.

Tomorrow its Easter Friday. Jour de Paques is what French people call it. I'm still miserable thinking whether I should go to Belgium or not...and see 'Girl with The Pearl Earring' in Den Haag. Or should I just spend the weekend doing heaps of free museum visits...?

Un Musee Gratuit pour tous

The interior in one of the lower ground corrider in Musee Carnavalet

Great news starting this 4th April!
For all below the age of 26, you can now enjoy free museum visits in Paris. It covers MOST of the big museums; Musee du Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Musee l'Orangerie, Musee du Picasso Oh the list are endless.

This list has most of the museums in Paris.

Entering to one of the alleways on the second floor.

So today I started with Musee Carnavalet in the Marais district, just around the corner from Places des Vosges. My french professeur has been bragging about it in class. Each floor is dedicated to specific French era. Art Nouveau, Romantique, Belle Epoque and French Revolution. A small museum tucked in between pretty French boutiques, it is quite easy to miss. But inside you are transform to different places in history. A calm visit.

In Belle Epoque, this room has all the walls plastered in scenes depicting grey clouds and strange looking people. The red is so French though. So dramatic.

Yes she would be me if I was living in the 19th Century. By George Croegaert.

Saw this fellow a few times already, this one was on Rue de Vaugirard, 6eme.

After walking for three hours straight since lunch, my head was about to explode in the sun.
So lets continue with the museum visits tomorrow okay. And let's try to keep it relax.

Louvre: never to go on a Sunday again

Visiting The Louvre on a free Sunday of the 1st day of the month is so not worth it. The crazy amount of tourists and locals swarmed the museums like hungry ants...Sadly I was amongst them.
The Monalisa is worth a visit though, it looked sooo alive...nothing compares to the photos I see in magazines, books etc...I could not wait to escape, so unfortunately I was only there for an hour... one thing you should know about me, I can't stand big crowds and I get headaches easily. Then I walked to Place de La Madeleine, and upon arriving I remembered that all shops closed on Sundays so it was quite a dissapointing walk because I was food dreaming of all the delicious speciality shops around Plc Madeleine...and I was hungry. Ah this blog is going nowhere...I'm kinda sleepy, it's 11pm now...But I have to tell you, I have included Sonia Rykiel in my most favourite fashion designers, why because I checked out her exhibition at Musee des Arts Decoratifs (a definite museum a go-go) and it was soooooo coool!! again cameras weren't allowed so sorry there are no photos of her stuff to show you but she is the quentessential french chich couturiere I think... amazing stuf..

Everytime my dad calls, I'm always in a museum...and yeah I'll probably end up like one of those old ladies you see that stays so long in the museum, walking behind you, creeping behind you and proding..to see if any of you took any hidden photos to report to the security peeps...ha ha


Some of the other paintings that I find interesting in Denon Wing.. Will have to come back on a weekday..quiet day...



The visit to The Louvre continues...

The Arnolfini Portrait

Two days ago in the afternoon after spending many hours in the studio, I decided to go to The National Gallery to see The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck. I've never thought that I would get the chance to see it ever, since it has always been something that I've seen only in books that if feels too surreal to actually see it in real life...but since I'm in reality and it's here for me I decided to go to room 57 Sainsbury Wing. The big crowd circling the painting didn't deter me to just walk away like I usually do when I just can't be bothered...instead I ploughed my way in and took a good big-eyed look at one of the most celebrated piece of art. I could feel my eyes tearing up seeing for the very first time...oh yeah! it was beautiful!!! I've seen it hundreds of times but the feeling does not compare. You might think that it is just a normal husband and wifey kinda portrait but the use of colour and objects have so many hidden symbols and meanings that you should seriously read it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arnolfini_Portrait has really good section on the symbols. But just to summarize it as quoted in the article, the green symbolises hope of becoming a mother, white cap equals purity, the little dog is loyalty between husband and wife, the mirror showing two figures as an act of legalising the marriage, the one lit candle chandelier above has two theories, one to suggest the idea of marriage and the second controversial one is that the women has already passed away since the candle is lit on the husband side only and aarhh there so much more...I'm blown away

A few hours at The British Museum

Packed! yes it was so full with tourists like me and school kids but I managed to swooshed myself in and get busy....I'm always so interested in Egyptian exhibitions, whether it's about their approach on life after death, their personal beautification and well..everything about their lifestyle is very thoroughly documented in medias that it always grab my attention. There was this corner that showed what high status women would use to store their make up liquids (kohls..etc) and it was so fascinating. The containers weren't just ordinary boxes made of wood or ivories, but it was in shapes of what they thought was feminine animals like ducks, and it wasn't that, the duck was tending little ducklings and has flaps that open up to apply the make up. They are so detailed and ahh you don't see such original things like that anymore...There was also this section on amulets in tiny intricate shapes of animals for them to keep or hold for 'protection' for daily life and burials. I guess no matter what period of time you live in, everyone of us is so consumed with the idea of life after death and being so self centered and all...I'm not sure where this blog is heading but well it was worth going to the museum and seeing all mummies and coffins alike...