Category Archives: France

June 1, 2014 · 7:30 pm

Out & About in Arras

19th July 2013

grand’Place, Arras, France

I definitely like Arras, I had another leisurely day taking in the Grand’Place, the Cathedral and the Museum of Fine Arts. The Grand’Place was full of sand, palm trees and blow up plastic toys – a pretend beach in the French countryside. Personally, I liked it better without the beach and the Cathedral and Fine Arts Museum held much more interest for me.

Museum of Fine Arts, Arras, France

I arrived at the Museum before it even opened so cooled my heels sitting on the steps in the courtyard drawing windows – I love being able to fill in time like that, and I know if I wasn’t sketching I’d have my nose in my phone trying to look busy! There was a special exhibition called Coaches for Courts with carriages and other exhibits mostly from the Palace of Versailles that I was pretty excited to see. There was a carriage from Napoleon’s wedding day, a carriage from one of the King Louis’s funeral and gorgeous little coaches built especially for royal children

Arras Museum of Fine Arts, France

The normal exhibits are also worth a visit, there’s a huge variety; pottery, coins, costumes, tapestries and goodness know how many 17th & 18th century paintings. The building is amazing, with some really gorgeous rooms and corridors. It was originally the Abbey of St. Vaast, dating back to the 7th century, has a lovely courtyard in the middle of the building and is set behind massive ornate walls. Another few hours spent craning my neck and hurting my brain trying to remember all I read, but what a feast for the eyes, totally absorbing.

The Cathedral was my next stop, although I didn’t take anywhere near enough photos for some reason. Arras was badly affected in both world wars, the Cathedral was shelled and almost destroyed in 1917 but was rebuilt again after the war. The photos of the damaged cathedral are intriguing, and I can’t imagine how many thousands of hours it took to repair the massive amounts of damage. It still feels slightly wrong to be visiting a church for historical and architectural interest rather than religion, but I’m getting more blasé and figure it’s just the strict catholic upbringing nagging me again. Weird isn’t it, how long and how much some things influence us? I found a nice quiet shady spot around the back and sketched a very different part of the building for a while before I wandered back to the place des Heros for my afternoon stint of people watching/drinking/eating.

Coaches for Courts, Arras museum exhibition

Children’s carriage, Museum of Fine Arts, Arras

Childrens carriages, Museum of Fine Arts Arras

Corridor of Museum of Fine Arts, Arras, France

Museum of Fine Arts, Arras

Carriage at Museum of Fine Arts, Arras

Museum of Fine Arts, Arras

Funeral carriage, Arras Museum

Museum of Fine Arts, Arras

Arras Cathedral

Sketching at Cathedral of Arras

Gardens around Cathedral of Arras

Cathedral of Arras

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May 29, 2014 · 7:29 pm

I’m baaaaack – AGAIN!

Isn’t it funny how you tell yourself you’re only doing something for your own benefit but then stress yourself silly trying to make sure it’s wonderful? Well, I really was writing about my travels for my own benefit, but seeing as I made it public, so family and friends could have a look if they wanted to, well, of course, then I have to try and make it interesting and give everyone a chuckle or two, and that’s often easier said than done for me. Soooo, because one of my daughters keeps telling me I seem to be having trouble with my memory (could I be just not taking enough notice of things?), and because it’s getting close to a year ago – I’ve decided to try to add a new post more often, even if it’s mostly photos. Doesn’t sound like much of a commitment, but I really do want to try to commit as much as I can to ~~paper~~ computer before I do forget it all. So here goes, travel back in time with me to France last July.

18th July 2013

When I was thinking of doing this trip, one of the things I was most keen to do was living in Paris for a month – I lasted just short of 3 weeks. I’m not sure why, I really tried hard to love it, but I just didn’t. I’m sure my home stay situation and associated tummy troubles had quite a bit to do with it; and maybe the fact I’d been away from home for 3 months didn’t help either. I’d like to come back again though and give it another go because I know there’s heaps more to see and do. I was a tad sad to say goodbye to my little apartment and the tower but Arras and the WW1 battlefields were calling me.

Which way to go?

I often say to myself, “today I am not going to get lost, I will find my way with no problems” – and guess what???? I found my way from the train station to my hotel with only one tiny weeny itsy bitsy unintentional detour – woot, woot!! I also stood at an intersection looking from my phone to every conceivable spot a street name could be hiding for a while, before a helpful guy at a café took pity on me and called out the street names. So funny, how sometimes you don’t even need to ask, if you look lost enough, someone will help – AND this was France, where they’re supposedly the most arrogant people on earth.

Arras Town Hall from the Hotel Diamant

The Hotel Diamant was tucked away in the corner of a wonderful big square, the place des Héros, almost next door to the Town Hall. Even though it was only just after lunch, I collapsed on the bed and slept for an hour or so – I almost felt like I relaxed for the first time since arriving in France. Although I love to see the big cities and all they have to offer, it is nice to be out of the rush and crush of Paris, in a small place again where the pace of living is more like home and also where personal security is not such an issue. Feeling quite refreshed after my nanna nap I had a wonderful wander around and found the Grand’Place, another huge square bounded by buildings with the same unusual facades, followed by a mellow couple of hours at a cafe near the hotel having a few wines, some great fresh food and some sketching time.

Goodbye to the hallway full of French wine crate book shelves

Bye-bye Paris and the tower

One of the square of Arras

Quiet streets of Arras

Arras, France

place des Heros, Arras

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April 9, 2014 · 2:10 pm

Quiet Day in Paris – Canal St Martin

17th July 2013

Tour boat on the canal in Paris

With so many possibilities in a city like Paris, sometimes you get spoilt for choice. I’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed most of my time in France – it’s all so……. well…….French. I’ve really immersed myself, heart and soul, in Paris and everything french and it’s hard work on my own.

I think I made a good choice today to go to the Canal St Martin, so very peaceful, relaxed, down to earth and not so hectic. I even stumbled across the very un-French backpacker place, St Christopher’s Inn, where everyone spoke English, the food was very American and they had rugby on the big screen tv’s – made me feel quite at home. Almost right outside the inn was one of the unique bridges, pont de Crimée, across the canal; it’s hydraulic and lifts to let boats pass under – pretty cool to watch, as it’s so tiny.

Underground canal, Paris

After a long walk along the canal, (where I was totally intrigued by the urinals), and back to my starting place, I caught a boat cruise lasting a few hours. We navigated, I think, 9 locks, passed through a couple of bridges that opened to let us pass and under some really pretty footbridges. There’s even a long stretch of the canal between Bastille and Republique that’s been covered, it was quite eerie gliding almost noiselessly along in near darkness.

Gliding along the canals of Paris

It gave me a nice insight into different parts of Paris. In one direction we passed massive new cultural areas with science and music museums and futuristic building. Then the other way was more like the Paris I know, slightly shabby (okay, sometimes more than slightly), sometimes chic, sometimes just everyday ordinary, but always interesting. I enjoyed the commentary, and yet again, I wish I could remember all I heard!

It’s strange to think the canals were the brainchild of Napoleon built back in the early nineteenth century to bring fresh water to the people of Paris – I usually associate him with war! They were also used industrially but now it’s mostly tourist boats using them.

End of the ride along the canals

I wasn’t prepared for the fact I’d finish the cruise at a different place to where I started, but I think I’m becoming quite used to the unexpected. I just followed the crowd for a while, did some window shopping, had a coffee and cake, then found a metro station to take me home – if all else fails, take the metro!!

So ends another day in Paris – actually my next to last day in Paris! Tomorrow I’m off to the French countryside.

Sinema, les anges sont avec toi, neon installation, Paris

Along the Bassin de La Villette

Rue de Crimee bridge

Hydraulic bridge at Rue de Crimee

Detail of the lifting bridge

Canal St Martin – Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie, a huge interactive science museum and planetarium.

Not sure how many people take their pet elephants for a walk

Urinals along the banks of the canal in Paris!!!!

Along Canal St Martin

Watching the world go by along the canals of Paris

Cute boats on the canal

In the underground canal

Lovely apartment balconies in the 19th

Home again, back in my neighborhood

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February 28, 2014 · 11:56 am

Big day at the Palace

16th July 2014

Arriving at the Palace of Versailles

From Pyrénées to République to Invalides on the metro and then on the RER to Versailles Rive Gauche – I think I was one of about 50 million who decided it would be a good day to visit the palace at Versailles. I had a little trouble getting from the metro station to the train station at Invalides, who’d have thought? But eventually I found someone to ask and off I went on my next adventure. Another place it pays to have pre-purchased tickets I’d say, I queued for about 40 minutes just to buy my ticket. The ticket office is just across the road from the train station at Versailles, apparently you can’t buy them at the palace itself. Then a five minute walk and – whoa, what a line-up, I’ve never seen anything like it, the queue snaked up and down the massive area in front of the palace, absolutely insane – and, it was boiling hot. I decided then and there to go investigate the gardens first and hope the line disappeared later in the day; I’ll let you into a little secret – it didn’t!

The Grand Trianon, part of Palace of Versailles

The gardens are amazing and the fountains are unbelievable, honestly, you could spend days there wandering around and still not see it all. I headed towards the Apollo Fountain, taking little detours along the way, it’s like a big maze, once you take a side track, you don’t really know where you’ll come out again – well, I didn’t, maybe that doesn’t happen to everyone. I just loved it, and once again, was transported back over the years, imagining all the people, apart from us tourists, who may have walked these same paths. All the gardeners who planted, trimmed and loved their charges, the courting couples who might have slipped into one of the secluded areas for some privacy – it’s magical to just let my imagination run riot and immerse myself in the feeling of being somewhere so special, and unbelievable as it might seem, peaceful.

I took a right just after the Apollo Fountain and walked through a forest-like area towards the Grand Trianon, a smaller and utterly lovely palace built in the late 1600’s. Even from the outside it looks peaceful and elegant, much more livable than the huge buildings of the main palace. The gardens are a little like a cottage garden in places, really quite sweet. I must admit I cheated a little from here and caught the little train when I eventually headed back to the main palace.

The line just went forever!!

There weren’t as many people in the queue when I finally joined it – but, it was another hour and a half before I got inside! Thankfully the family in front of me sent one of their boys off to buy bottles of water a couple of times and he bought some for me each time; and thank goodness for the heat in one way – you sweated too much to ever need to go to the toilet. One of the hazards of travelling alone – no-one to keep your place in line. Once inside it was pretty much a free-for-all type of shuffle, shuffle, elbow your way through if you’re game or just hold the camera up and hope for the best. I didn’t do the place justice, I know that for sure, but I tried to absorb some of the smaller details when it wasn’t possible to get close to the main focus. I feel like I’m having a whinge, when I was trying to do the same as everyone else, but I was quite disappointed that it was so overcrowded and would love to return some time to properly appreciate the grandeur, the furnishings and the art. All that aside, in quite a few rooms, I did manage to back into a little corner were I could gaze in wonder at the excesses without fear of being in someones way or getting pushed out the other side.

The unisex public toilets near one of the cafés was an eye-opener, the women all came to the end of the line and stopped. Not the men – they all looked at us in the line then went charging to the front – only to be turned back if someone was game enough to point out it was a shared zone. The looks on some of their faces was priceless, well worth the queue just to see them realize they had to wait too!!

Ahhhh, there it is, just waiting for me to come home

My feet were so sore by the time I headed back to the train, I really, really, wished I could have just stayed where I was, but as is so often the case, the journey home was lightened by my fellow travellers; we all had a grand old time comparing stories. I think by the time I got back to the apartment was the tiredest and sorest I’ve felt so far. I didn’t even go the extra few yards for a glass of wine at my favourite bar down the road, straight upstairs and feet up on the balcony with a Coke to drink in the Eiffel Tower again – how magic can the end of a long day be?