2011-09 (Sept 2011)
30 September 2011
While H watched the garagiste (mechanic) replaced the car’s dead battery with a new one, I was in the park just ten meters away, practicing my angle shots of this mixed flower display which was hanging high on a lamp post. I thought the colours would better get emphasized if I use the blue sky as the background! Nice!
(Tip: Always bring your camera to avoid getting bored!)
29 September 2011
”My name is Sophie Calle
You are standing in my phone booth
Only I know the number
I will dial it from time to time
But completely out of the blue
Hoping that someone will answer. ”
These letters are engraved on the phone box and if a lucky passer-by hear the phone ringing and picks it up, he or she would hear Sophie’s voice on the other line…
It is called the telephone booth of Sophie Calle.
This flower-petal crumpled paper-shaped work of art was offered by the French artist to Paris, a symbol of communication, the shape of which is distinct from the classic street furniture.
Pont de Garigliano, Paris 15th
28 September 2011
The CNIT* Tunnel of Light
Getting out of the Metro underground and entering the Convention center, you go through this lit-up tunnel that gradually changes colour. I think it’s magical!
CNIT* (Centre des Nouvelles Industries et Technologies or Center of New Industries and Technologies )
27 September 2011
”Interview with the Marquis of Sade” by Noëlle Chatelet.
The book is out. It is getting promoted everywhere, on tv, on radio, on the paper, so when I saw it at the window of this bookshop near Montmartre, I took a photo so I could also promote it here :).
Some of you may already know who the Marquis of Sade is. Born in 1749 and died in 1814, he was a French aristocrat, philosopher and writer whose works depicted sexual fantasies associated with cruelty, violence and blasphemy. Sadism…that’s how the word was coined!
The book is a fictional conversation between the author and Sade where the invented questions and answers were based on Sade’s life and writings.
rue de Clichy, Paris 9th
26 September 2011
That’s Peter Rabbit at France Television studios building.
Only, it is not a painting. Neither a computer pixel art. It is composed of Post-It notes put together to form the shape of the famous hare. They call it Post-It Art and has exploded in the workplace across Paris. Good business, too, for post-it notes distributors!
25 September 2011
We had lunch today at St-Cyr-sous-Dourdan and the sight of these little beans delicately gathered together with a strip of bacon then baked in the oven got me inspired and committed to create the same in my own kitchen. The whole dish was excellent, by the way!
Essone, Ile-de-France
24 September 2011
Is it a spaceship? Is it a giant snail?
No, it is a Mobile Art pavillon created by Zaha Hadid, a Iraqi architect known for his outstanding achievements and winner of the 2004 Pritzker Prize, the Nobel of architecture.
Previously known as the “Chanel Contemporary Art Container”, it is a collapsible, futuristic pavilion which served as a mobile exhibition gallery for artworks dedicated to Coco Chanel and its design was inspired by her iconic Chanel 2.55 shoulder bag.
Through the collaboration of Karl Lagerfield and Zaha Hadid, the pavillion traveled to Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York but had to stop due to the global economic crisis. Chanel wants to sustain this beautiful work of art so it made the decision to donate it to the Institute du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) who will use it as a permanent venue for contemporary Islamic art exhibitions.
1 Rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard, Paris 5th
23 September 2011
The “hands” at number 82, rue Blanche
Building was constructed 1st half of 19th century
Paris 9th
22 September 2011
Van Gogh promoting Absente. Well, he already helped popularize the highly alcoholic drink even when he was alive…..
On display at the shopfront of a liquor shop, Arpajon, Essone
21 September 2011
Drooling to eat this cake, if you ask me, but I get more satisfaction in photographing it. It’s free and zero-calorie!
“Some boulangerie in Arpajon, Essone (91)”
20 September 2011
Our poster of the month……
Seen along Blvd Saint Martin, Paris 10th
19 September 2011
Saw this Panther Kallista parked just outside the open air market of Etrechy and H started feeling patriotic again upon seeing a classic British car in French soil.
Essone (91), Ile de France
18 September 2011
Autumn is the potiron (pumpkin) season and they came in all shapes and sizes at the Fete du Jardin (Garden Festival) in Dourdan.
Yvelines (78)
The 18th century Chateau du Marais is open today for the Journee du Patrimoine.
Val Saint-Germain, Essone 91
Dancing the quadrilles (cotillon)
Chateau du Marais, Val St Germain, IdF
17 September 2011
The first stop of my Journee du Patrimoine weekend is the Senate, I was at the queue as early as 8am, gate opened at 9:30am.
Palais du Luxembourg
The second stop: Hotel de Ville
City Hall of Paris
The third stop: La Cupoule, historic brasserie-restaurant
Boulevard Montparnasse, Paris
16 September 2011
Thank goodness, it’s Friday!…..time to drive back home to Paris! A 5-hour drive yet I just had to be there in the weekend for my most-awaited ‘Journée du Patrimoine”!
Meanwhile, to come up with my “photo-a-day” entry, I took a shot of this Lotus car driving past us on the motorway. What a British legend! Founded in 1952, it won 79 Grand Prix races, beating Ferrari’s 50.
15 September 2011
Lyon is the French capital of tromphe l’oeils so it is not surprising to see this art genre extending to the suburbs such as this brasserie in Oullins.
Brasserie du Commerce, Oullins
The brasserie in full view.
14 September 2011
“L’homme moderne” (statue of the Modern Man), Cité Internationale, Lyon
I reached this modern glass and red brick building without really planning it (it’s a long story) but I’m glad I did. Its architect is the same one who designed the George Pompidou Center in Paris and is a mixed used development combining residential flats, offices, shops, cafes, exposition center, a hotel, casino, cinema and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Men in corporate suits walk about, in between giant statues of penguins and crumpled newspapers. I like the giant orange man with his mobile phone the most.
13 September 2011
This Gendarmerie office in our town is all closed up and abandoned. I took a photo of it now for remembrance. Who knows, if I come back this area again in few years or so, this would all be gone and replaced with a housing development.
St Genis-Laval, Lyon
12 September 2011
I was surprised to see this sole tomb taking up a corner of a 3-way junction just outside our campsite. The name “Sandrine” is written in big letters followed by a date “2007″. I can only conclude that this is a car accident site that occurred that same year.
Normally, bouquets of flowers are tied on tree trunks or street posts to serve as memorial to those who lost their lives due to vehicle mishaps usually through no fault of their own because the offending driver was either drunk or wheel-crazy. But recently, I have been seeing memorials reminiscent of a cemetery. Where we live in Ile-de-France, there is a white cross a little less than a meter high standing off the highway.
St Genis-Laval, Lyon
11 September 2011
After several weeks of deliberation, planning, then the preparation, we finally towed our caravan from Paris down to Lyon where it will serve as our home until H is re-assigned to another “goodness-knows-where!”.
There’s no other way. Renting an apartment - only to vacate it after few months - is oppresively expensive. Since he started this job three months ago, we have been hopping from one hotel to another, packing and unpacking our bags, eating at restaurants practically twice a day as there’s no kitchen to prepare even a bowl of salad.
Living in a suitcase has been a trend in Europe. Corporations are constantly seeking for expansions to other cities and with it, the management and staff have to follow.
The campsite where we are now is populated by people of similar situation. Our neighbour lives just 200kms away but too far to travel everyday so he bought a caravan and chose to camp during the week then goes home Friday evening.
I see one family whose small children leave for school every morning. The father has just been re-assigned to Lyon and the children have to transfer school. They are living in the campsite temporarily until they could find their ideal apartment.
This is the lifestyle which some Europeans live through each time due to constant job movement. We live in a mobile society so we have to adapt while following where the job is.
10 September 2011
I went to the boulangerie to buy some baguettes and sweets for lunch when I saw a sole pink marzipan piggy left sitting on a tray. It seems to be calling me to try it. I am nota fan of sugary stuff but I thought it could make a good subject for my Daily Photos entry, so I did buy it, expensive though at 2.50euros!
How could I refuse its sweet face. It looks moist and delicious already. Sorry, one eye is messed up because H held it like he was scrutinizing a screwdriver.
Nice body. It has even a piggy-looking tail and a pair of piggy large ears!
And the taste? wow! it reminds me of a wedding cake! Lusciously good!
09 September 2011
We are having a delayed birthday (for me) celebration tonight as H and me had been living hundreds of kilometers away from each other this past week: he, in Lyon, to earn a living, and me, in the South of France, to attend to some urgent matters. Well, the truth of the matter is, I desperately needed some solitude while I went through with my 7-day diet soup plan! And I did it with flying colours! Hence tonight is actually a double-celebration: I did lose some pounds and one more year added to my age!
So where is the best restaurant that could make our few euros go a long, long way? Where else but at a Chinese buffet where we can eat all we can for just 14.95euros per person! For a wide selection of nems (spring rolls), appetizers, barbecues, various dishes of duck, chicken, beef and desserts of the exotic kind, we did the right decision! At the end, we were so full it actually hurt! But thank goodness, the Chinese has a magic potion for those who got carried away in the buffet table.
Served in the most miniscule of Chinese cups, this strong but rose-scented liquor certainly is a winner in digesting your food in minutes! I wonder what the “10 points” card is all about. Hmm.. I have to go back to my diet soup tomorrow!
Went on a photo exploration of Arpajon while waiting for H and this coffret of various whisky names caught my attention. I reckon, this could be a most welcome gift for an uncle or any male of importance back home!
08 September 2011
Inside a TGV train
I have been indulging on my one-seater height of luxury French transporter they call the TGV after downing a miniature cup of espresso served by the galley staff when, I started to wonder why the train had been unmoving for like ages!
Just barely an hour ago after leaving Marseille, destination: Paris, it was gliding smoothly in an extraordinary speed and I was relishing the journey, dozing off once in a while when I soon realized that we have been stationary for quite sometime. H would be waiting for me at Gare de Lyon and I cannot afford to be late as the last RER train to home is at 10pm.
Then an announcement started to resonate from all corners of the train. An accident had occurred and the gendarmes have been called in to investigate the matter.
Total waiting time was 45 minutes before we started moving again.
Watching the news the next morning, that incident was actually the headline story. Someone took pot shots at the train smashing a window and damaging the train body. Fortunately nobody was injured. I count myself lucky.
It’s raining apples! but nobody wants them..save for the ants and worms perhaps!
I love apples. I sprinkle a bit of cinnamon over them, roast them in the oven until they shrink and melt with their own juice (30 mins or so), cool them a bit, then mix with yoghurt and honey…voila! a delectable dessert!
In our mountain village, South of France
07 September 2011
It looks very autumnal in Cuneo today
Italy
06 September 2011
Nice Promenade and beach.
05 September 2011
The clear waters of the Roya River, here seen passing through our village, travels at a stretch of 43 km before it joins the mediterranean in Ventimiglia, Italy. You may see it very calm at this time in the summer but come Winter and Spring when the snow in the Alps melts, it turns into a ravaging river.
Roya Valley, France
04 September 2011
If our neighbour who owns this house -and this staircase - invites me to come in and climb those steps, I’ll probably shriek in fear, unless she throws in a rope where I can hang like Tarzan..
Roya Valley, South of France
03 September 2011
Photographing the interior of a church sans the flash is a real challenge. The shot has to be clear, no blurriness, hence, for the first time, after buying a mini-tripod some 3 years ago, I decided to take it with my camera and actually used it.
Santuario of the Blessed Virgin of the Assumption
Vernante, Italy
02 September 2011
The altar of the Virgin (framed in Piemontese Baroque style) inside the Santuario of the Blessed Virgin of the Assumption in Vernante. The red and blue ribbons pinned on the grills come from parents thanking the Virgin for answering their prayers for a baby.
Piemonte, Italy
01 September 2011
It’s the official first day of Spring in Australia today and giving daffodils to their loved ones is part of the tradition. In Europe, this daffodil-giving day takes place twice: one at Easter and the other, at the fête des grands-mères every first Sunday of March.
Did you know that its scientific name is “Narcissus”? You will remember from your high school World History lessons that Narcissus was a Greek god who fell in love with himself after seeing his reflection in a pool. Notice the daffodils on the photo, they are indeed looking down as if the ground is the pool!
Photo taken in Kent, April 2006
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