Les Passages I

Pierre and I have been playing 'tour guide' for the last few days showing our Australian friends, Kate and Amy, some of our favourite places.

One place that I definitely wanted to show them was Galerie Vivienne, one of Paris' charming passages.  Les passages are easy to miss....you tend to just stumble upon them....so I thought a guided tour of this perfect Parisian space would be just the thing on their last day.....it was raining too....so another good reason to take refuge in this cosy arcade.

I find these hidden passages  intriguing.  There's something about them that really captures old, aristocratic Paris.  

Just a little background....les passages were conceived by town planners in the nineteenth century to give pedestrians protection from mud and horse-drawn vehicles....they were the first arcades I guess....glass-roofed with beautiful floor tiles and lighting, they soon became home to chic shops....just perfect for madame to shop!

Although many of les passages have been renovated and returned to their original chic and immaculate state, some still remain a little dilapidated with peeling paint on shop fronts....but, for me, this just adds to their allure.  

I'd like to do a series of posts on les passages....Galerie Vivienne is the first.

Galerie Vivienne.....it's a real STAR!

Beautiful glass-roofed and intricately tiled arcade....perfect for a promenade (and shopping)!

It's all here...flamboyant clothes, including the 'famous' Jean-Paul Gaultier,
antiquarian bookshops, tea rooms and cosy wine bars.

Antique mirrors....speckled and beautiful.

I can tell you there was no better way to spend a wet, Saturday afternoon
than kicking back at LeGrand.  J'adore!

And, as a little entré into Galerie Véro-Dodat....here's a peek....trés aristocratic.

You may also like my post on:

http://parisallons-y.blogspot.fr/2012/09/parisnoir-et-blanc-with-splash-of-rouge.html

Bohémes in the Autumn

Sunday:  The rain had stopped...at last!

It was a glorious Autumn morning....so we headed out fast, before it turned again.

I wanted to see the new exhibition at the Grand Palais....the one on the theme of the "Bohémes"....you know the myth about wandering, exotic gypsies....I first saw gypsy caravans in the south of France in 2001...but they didn't look that exotic back then....more impoverished.

The free-spirited gypsy (or bohemian)....certainly inspired many of the great artists....painters, writers, poets, composers....and dare I say it, many of our current celebrities.  In one painting, and I kid you not, there was Keith Richards (in head-scarf, earring and torn jeans), Johhny Depp was there too in a voluminous, open-necked gypsy/pirate shirt, as was Michael Jackson in studded boots....incredible!  It was a fabulous painting.

It was the first time I'd ever seen Van Gogh's little gypsy caravans...what a magnificent painting this is....how did he do it?  And to be able to stand so close to this wonderful art....if I reached out I could have touched it.  And you should have seen the painting that Renoir did of his wife as a gypsy girl against a green Summer background....he must have loved her dearly to have painted her so tenderly...the painting is exquisite (even her eyebrows were superb!)

I really liked the exhibition http://www.grandpalais.fr/grandformat/bohemes-le-vernissage/ and afterwards we lingered in the Champs-Elysées area and noticed (and felt) how Autumn is now upon us.

Just as glorious as Spring really.....the golden, russet leaves being the blossoms of Autumn.

There was a fab Van Gogh painting of a pair of weathered old boots in the exhibition too....possibly symbolising the bohemian artist's difficult path through life.....http://www.grandpalais.fr/grandformat/bohemes-la-bande-annonce/....so just for fun, he's a trés jolie clip of the boots.

And with the cool, crisp Autumn air all around us, Pierre and I decided to duck over to the Marais for an early dinner at one of our favourite little cafés....Café des Musées....good honest French cooking at honest prices....and cosy!

You can see that Autumn was on the menu too....duck with quince and creamy pumpkin, aubergine dip, watercress soup, plum tart, warm chanterelle mushroom salad....seriously yummy!

Yes...it was another trés bon day in Gaye Paree.

A bientot.

You may also like my post on:
http://parisallons-y.blogspot.fr/2012/09/parisan-artistic-cornucopia.html

Wishin' and Hopin'

Saturday - 7.30pm

I'm just wishin' an hopin' that the rain will stop very soon.

A little more sun would definitely be nice....just a little for next week please.

We have our lovely neighbour and daughter visiting next week....from sunny, hot Queensland, Australia!  Would love to show them the sights of Gay Paree....but it does become a little difficult in the rain....and the forecast for next week is, shall we say, less than brilliant!

Funny isn't it...at present Australia's as dry as a bone....and they're having bushfires in some dryer parts of Australia.

So I'll just wish and hope that those rain clouds head over to Australia and work their magic.  I reckon we've had enough magic in Paris this week!

A bientot.

In Bruges

We spent two lovely Autumn days in quaint Bruges....and it didn't rain on either day....a little grey at times but this only added to the atmosphere.  Perfect 'atmospheric' photo-opportunities really...so we just followed Bruges' tiny canals and discovered fairytale houses trimmed with lace curtains, narrow cobble-stoned lanes, mossy bridges and walls.....and swans.  The stuff of fairytales!

Flemish architecture....so beautiful...everything seems to be in harmony here.

Gabled buildings...typical of Flemish architecture have been
beautifully preserved in Bruges.

Wandering the back streets of Bruges....getting lost....and
listening to those glorious bells of the Bell Tower....it was a lovely
way to spend an afternoon in charming Bruges.

How much is that doggy in the window?
Isn't he gorgeous and he starred in THAT movie too!

And after exploring Bruges....and sampling more Flemish fries....we'd head home to our B&B....a beautiful 18th century manor house.....De Corenbloem http://www.decorenbloem.be/en/. Relaxed and comfortable...De Corenbloem is a perfect example of Belgian elegance!

Dirk and Hilde, the delightful owners of De Corenbloem, have passionately and lovingly restored this wonderful manor house to its original glory.  

The attention to detail is superb....for example, the cobalt blue vase on the table above...echoes little hand-painted vases of cornflowers on the wall.  Simple beautiful.

De Corenbloem is Belgian style at its best!  

Merci beaucoup Dirk and Hilde...it was a pleasure to stay in your elegant B&B.

Divine hand-painted wall finishes....all beautifully created.

And the bed.........it was like sleeping on a cloud.

A bientot.

You may also like my post on:

http://parisallons-y.blogspot.fr/2012/09/mussels-in-brussels.html