Paris 27.7.12

The front gates

Ceiling paintings!

As today was my last full day in Paris, I did the last thing on my list: I headed down to the Chateau de Versailles. It actually only took about 1h15 to get there from Fontenay Sous Bois - I knew that I was on the right train because the only passengers were tourists :D Once I got into the Chateau after waiting in line for about 30 minutes, I made my way through some of the most lavishly decorated rooms that I've ever seen. Paintings covered slightly domed ceilings, walls covered with the most intricate golden details, embroidered curtains and bedspreads, mahogany cabinets, chandeliers, the wealth was almost unimaginable. The gardens were another thing in themselves. Spanning what seemed to be acres, they contained perfectly trimmed topiaries, gigantic fountains, towering hedges and an enormous artificial lake.  The domaine of Versailles is literally the castle, complete with all the riches imaginable. It consists of the grand chateau, which, from the time of 1670s, contained the all parliament of France, the grand Trianon, the immediate royal family's private 'house', the petit Trianon, which was the queens residence, the hamlet of the queen, and countless gardens. Unfortunately, as I only had the day, I only made it to the chateau and the trianons, with limited time to spend in the vast gardens. There was only so much you could see in 7 hours, and with rainy weather, promenading in the gardens is significantly less appealing. The only disappointment was the fact that the fountains weren't on.

Gardens <3

Following my visit to Chateau de Versailles, I decided to return to central Paris for some last minute shopping and crème brulée. I had realized that I'd been in France for all this time, but still hadn't had my favourite French dessert. Unfortunately, I guess I didn't select the right restaurant for my treat - the crème brulée was average/good, but I had had much better. Oh well, I may still another chance to try some more :) It was a good last day spent in Paris.

The royal bed

Paris 26.7.12

L'église de la Madeleine

Today was another late start. Around 1pm, I headed down to the Place de la Concorde to view the giant obelisk, visit L'église de la Madeleine, tour the outside of Le Grand Palais, and to climb the Eiffel Tower. Believe it or not, I actually completed everything that I wanted to today! L'église de la Madeleine was quite interesting. It didn't look at all like a traditional church, instead, resembling the Parthenon. The interior had beutiful alfrescos on the ceilings and bronze doors weighing 3.2 tonnes! Following my visit to the church, I walked across the street to see the Maille mustard shop. You'd be surprised, they make mustard with basically everything! There was fig and coriander mustard, orange and ginger, mango and thai spices,  and pistacho and orange (http://www.maille.com/moutardes/saveurs-et-fruits-du-monde.html)- I was amazed, it was like Kit Kats in Japan. The Grand Palais was also pretty impressive with the glass ceilings - it must have been utterly breathtaking in 1900 for the Universal Expo. However, it was disappointing to see them watering their lawn in the mid day heat on the hottest day this week...
The view from the Eiffel Tower was pretty impressive - you could see for miles. Due to the fact that summer is peak season, there were so many people! Thankfully I opted to take the stairs - the line up for the elevator would have taken hours.

Swimmers in the fountains of Trocadero

As I finished all that I wanted to achieve today relatively early, I decided to do some leche-vitrine (window shopping) on Champs- Élysée. I have to say, compared to Orchard Road, the luxury goods and haute-couture shops weren't all that impressive.

Paris 25.7.12

Giant clock in the museum 

View from the terrace 

Today, I decided to pay a visit to the Musée D'Orsay (which today, thankfully, was open). Following a short line to get in (an advantage of being >18, is that you don't have to line up for tickets - your passport pretty much is your entrance ticket), I started off towards the symbolists, and then proceeded towards Millet, Cézanne and Monet before 1870, and then headed up to the huge impressionism gallery , Van Gogh, and Neo-Impressionism. It was interesting, as I walked through the museum, I recognized all the paintings that had been lent to the National Museum of Singapore. I leant tonnes about the various styles of paintings - I only wish I could apply my newfound knowledge of art periods to music theory! My favorites were the realist paintings my Millet and the Impressionists. I love Millet's paintings due to the simplistic beauty of the scenes of the country painted without defining lines. I found that the fluidity of the painting expressed the tranquility of a world far removed from the rush of the city. My favorites of his are Les Printemps and L'Église de Gréville - they have that nostalgic feel about them. I also loved how the Impressionists depicted everyday scenes in their paintings, serving as a reminder that our daily lives are filled with beauty. With their non defining edges emphasizing the importance of not one object, but the scene as a whole, it allows the audience to appreciate the flow of nature. I think that I've found my favorite art styles!

Paris 24.7.12

After a slow morning running in the Bois de Vincennes, I finally ended up heading to Montmartre at about 1 pm. Having to use the metro (not the RER) for the second time during my entire stay in Paris, I was surprised by it's efficiency. A train came by every 3 minutes despite the fact it wasn't peak hour!
Once I arrived, I made my way up the hill to La Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. It wasn't as long or steep a walk as I expected - I must say, the travel forums hyperbolize the climb. The church itself was impressive, giant looming white dome overlooking the city. What I found interesting were the multitude of mosaics in the church, depicting scenes from the bible. I found that they were a useful alternative to stained glass, partially because you could actually read what was tiled into the wall. 
After waiting in line for 10 minutes to buy a ticket for the climb to the dome (in France, everyone, even the people at the ticket counters must take their sieste), I climbed the 300 winding steps all the way up to the top. The panoramic view was spectacular. I had come on a good clear day - I could pretty much see all of Paris.

The view from the dome

Following my visit to the church, I wandered around Montmartre, getting lost. I came across the old abandoned piano factory where Monet, Pissarro, and other artists founded Impressionism, and tried in vain to find La Moulin de la Galette. I must have spent at least an hour trying to find that windmill! It wasn't where it was marked on the map - I never did end up seeing it. I loved the atmosphere of Montmartre. Despite the fact that it was filled with tourists, the narrow cobblestone streets and ivy covered home held some charm. 

Paris 23.7.12

The inside of the pyramid

I could definitely get used to the weather here. It's the heat of Singapore without the awful humidity. Anyways, today my intention was to head down to Musée D'Orsay, leaving me time to do some research before I headed to the Louvre. Unfortunately, I had abruptly change my plan when I arrived at Musée D'Orsay, and discovered it was closed. I felt so stupid - when I returned back to Fontenay sous Bois, I looked at my notes again to see, in capital letter "CLOSED MONDAYS". Anyways, I ended up heading to the Louvre. It's really amusing: as you approach the glass pyramid, you see an array of people standing on boxes doing 'egyptian hands', to get a picture of them holding the Louvre. Luckily the line to get in at 10:00 wasn't awfully long - it only took 15minutes to get inside the giant glass pyramid. Once I got through into the museum, I headed for the French paintings, getting stopped on the way by some of Michael Angelo's sculptures. In the end, after 4 1/2 hours, I only managed to cover and appreciate a meager part of the gigantic museum  - about 1/4 of the French painting, some of the Italian, German, and Dutch paintings, and a few sculptures. I'd imagine it would take at least a good two weeks to see and appreciate everything.  I have to say that my favourite must have been the French paintings - I found some of the messages the painting displayed summed up some of humanity's problems. I always find that the children are often the most interesting part of a painting. In scenes of war and massacre, they wear expressions of sadness or glare accusingly at the audience, questioning our actions which are so far removed from what we preach.

Nike! Nike! At last, seeing the Nike of Samothrace I learnt about in ROA

Innocent faces

It was a day well spent :D

Paris 22.7.12

Today was a beautiful day back in Paris. Unlike the first few days I spent in the capital city of France, the temperature was a nice, warm 25/30C. After an enormous dim sum in the Quartier Chinois de Paris, I headed to Champs-Elysée to watch the end of the Tour de France. Except, I never made it there. Running a bit late, I stopped by the roadside right before the tunnel between the Louvre and the Jardin de Tuileries, joining the large crowd of people lining the roadside. After a broiling hot hour and a half of waiting (made worse by the fact I was without sunscreen and a hat), the cyclists finally arrived, followed by a multitude of cars piled high with some of the most expensive bikes you can buy. we only glimpsed them for a few seconds - being the third (and probably the second shortest) behind the fencing, I hardly saw anything! However, luck must have been on my side. The people in front of me thought that that was the end of it, and promptly left, leaving me in the prime viewing position. The cyclists actually passed by another 6 times! It was really interesting the view the changes in the pack as various teams strategies became evident. The sky team (with Bradley Wiggins), hung around the front of the pack for the longest time, not taking the lead until the last lap.  It was a really cool experience just to watch them zip past. Unfortunately, due to the fact I forgot to bring my camera, I have no pictures D:

Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux, Ardeche, France

As part of my trip to France, I spent a week in Ardèche with my cousin, her aunt and her grandparents, who have a house in the small town of Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux. The town itself is ancient, with it's history dating back to the 12th century. Not surprisingly, Les Ollières is full of old houses and buildings, in various conditions. I was staying is a house that dated back to the 18th century - a large contrast to my house in Singapore! It was really interesting. The house still had three rooms that used to be used for cattle, that had been converted into storage space. Several houses also had pigeon holes - supposedly, pigeon droppings are good fertilizer for plants (and pigeon makes a good meal in itself).

Lanterns from the Bastille Day (July 14th) celebrations

Bastille Day fireworks

Canoeing into the left bank!

Anyways, Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux, as it says in it's name, is situated in the river valley of the Eyrieux. Throughout the week, we did various things on the river: swimming off of the beach, canoeing/kayaking through the rapids, and doing some pretty scary high ropes over it. With all the mountains in the area, there was plenty of walking, and for me, running. Our high intensity activities were separated by relaxing days of rest lying and swimming by the beach. A few things I learnt from my experience were that, 1) steering a single canoe is a whole lot easier than a double. During the canoeing, I had a spectacular view of the hilarious antics of my cousin and her aunt, as the went from one side of the river to another, and in one particular case, beaching their canoe on a beach of pebbles. 2) running hills actually isn't that bad - I've always detested hills, but after a week of running up them, they have moved to second place on the list of what I dread running, coming in second behind intervals. 3) Traditional French cuisine is almost as if you're eating lunch and dinner at a restaurant. You have your appetizer, entree, fromage and/or fruit, at each meal. I have to say, the cheese was absolutely delicious :D . 4) My visit seriously reinforced the idea that in smaller villages, there is a much larger sense of community. My cousin's aunt and grandparents knew literarily everyone in the village. It was also quite nice to see how neighbors exchanged the produce from their gardens. As almost everyone in the village has a fruit or vegetable garden (or both), they exchange their produce: beans here for plums there.

The "tissage" - now out of use

We also took a few trips out of the village to visit a roman church built in the medieval times, and the caves of Soyons. The symbolism in the church was quite impressive, but the caves failed to impress after those in Vietnam.

Le pont

Garlic at Tuesday morning's market

Market

Stalactite formations in the "Trou du Renard"

Old watchtower in Soyons

Nectarines ripe on the tree!

It definitely was a week well spent in the heart of France - my vocabulary had definitely improved!