Sarahs postcardsnaps

Les Egouts

Posted on September 13, 2012 by sarahcondie

Keith and I stood on a busy corner poring over our map. A beautiful, elegantly dressed woman approached and offered to help us. Her face said it all when we told her we were going to “Les Egout”. She looked us up and down and pointedly asked ” You’ve been to the Luxembourg Gardens?” “Oui Madame”. “Le Louvre? Saint Chapelle? Le Pompidou? Montmartre? L’Orangerie? Musee D’Orsay?” Oui we responded to each question. Finally she said “Well, you might as well visit Les Egouts.”

A few weeks ago, I had asked my Aunt what we should see while in Paris. “You must go to the sewers”. I thought I had misheard her. “You mean take a boat trip along the Seine?” I asked. “No, I mean, the sewers – its an important part of Paris.”

Visiting the sewers had not been on my list, but it was interesting to see the underbelly life of Paris. Every city has its hidden side. There are parts of life that we avoid thinking about and talking about – we pretend they are not there – things such as pick pocketing, homelessness, prostitution, poverty and disposing of waste. They are all here in Paris and you don’t have to look far.

Back to the sewers. Paris’ sophisticated system of pipes were built by Haussman – of course – he was an organised man and had an eye for detail such as efficient waste disposal.

There are 2,400 km of pipes that run beneath Paris. They are large enough to stand in and walk along. Indeed, we could walk all around Paris – underground. A population of 4 million rats inhabit these tunnels and when their numbers grow excessively, they are disposed of. These tunnels are used for water, waste removal, electricity and internet cabling. Our tour guide was informative and interesting – and I learnt much about this hidden secret side of Paris. After 160 years, they are working well. It was an aromatic visit and I confess that I was quite relieved to return to the sunshine and fresh air.
This is a new example of street art – I think, we watched it being painted.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Les Egouts, Paris | 1 Comment

A little bit of art

Posted on September 13, 2012 by sarahcondie

Sitting in Rodin’s garden, we had a conversation with an American woman. She told us enthusiastically about her visit that morning to the Musee D’Orsay. We also had just been there, so we shared our experiences. She also told us that she and her husband had been travelling for fourteen days and had visited eight countries. They did England in one day and night.

She told us they would love to visit Australia, and I told her that she needed more than one week to do it justice. When her husband returned, she said “these people are from Australia and they say we can’t see it in under one week”. He smiled and said “well, its a big country”.

After ten days in Paris, we feel we have seen and done many things, but have barely scraped the surface of what can be seen in Paris. When it comes to art, there is no end of galleries and museums, when it comes to art, it is a big city.

L’Orangerie is small and a place to go to escape from the heat, dust and chaos of the streets of Paris. I sat in front of Monet’s water lilies and could feel myself calm down. It was also a joy to see other paintings such as Renoir.

Le Louvre is open late on Wednesdays and Fridays and we heard that if you go in the evenings, the crowds are smaller, making it easier to find Mona and see her in the flesh. Not a good idea if you have been out all day, walking, exploring and seeing other things. I became tired and more than a little grumpy. Keith turned to me and asked “do you want to go home? I really hate it when you become irritable.”

That stopped me as I thought “but we haven’t seen Mona”. I managed to pull myself together, but you really need to feel strong and full of energy to go to the Louvre – even when the crowds are smaller. It is enormous and confusing to work out how to enter the different galleries and navigate your way. We did find Mona – eventually but were more excited to discover a painting by Van Dyck of King Charles I. All things seem to eventually lead back to English seventeenth century history.

We loved visiting Pompidou. Level 5 contains a breath-taking collection of modern art from 1880 to 1940. As you walk from room to room, you are able to look out the glass walls and see the Parisian roof tops and out towards the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre. It all sparkled in the sunshine.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Paris | 2 Comments

Jardin du Luxembourg

Posted on September 8, 2012 by sarahcondie

It’s Saturday. It’s hot. We’ve moved apartments. We have loved our Studio Apartment and these are some views from the window. We were intrigued with the car parking down below. Ah we are sad to pack up and leave here – it has been a wonderful home away from home.

Our kind host Andre offered to drive us into Saint Germain to our new apartment. Our new narrow street is filled with restaurants and we are on the fourth floor. We are very close to St Sulpice and listen to the bells ring on the hour – they are loud and melodic, but perhaps I won’t think so at midnight. The apartment is pocket sized and compact but comfortable and cool – with a washing machine!

Think location – shops, museums, galleries, the Seine and the Luxembourg Gardens. They are all a few minutes walk away. Today is a day for sitting in a shady spot, so we made our way to eat our baguettes in the Luxembourg Gardens. It is a day to be slow.
Going to the gardens is a bit like Sydney-siders going to the beach – the sun shines and you head to the beach. The gardens were filled with people, families, children, tourists, locals all looking for chairs and a place to sit.Even with crowds, there is a sense of peace and calm and the only sounds you hear are people’s voices chatting and laughing – in French, English and many other languages – it is just a soft background lull.

These gardens are large and beautiful. I have never seen oleanders in giant pots, neatly clipped into shape – they look spectacular – as do the pots of pink geraniums and petunias. In the middle of the park is a tiny lake where children sail their boats. The sails are brightly coloured and you need to watch out for the children carrying their long sticks to push their boats around – they run around with gay abandon. I feel like I am watching a scene of Seurat.

While we sit in the park, our niece Laura is celebrating her 21st birthday with a Mad Men party. All our family will be there, so there is a twinge of sadness that we are not there too. C’est la vie! Happy birthday Laura!
We come home via Rue de Conde. How cool is that!

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Luxembourg Gardens, Paris, Saint Germaine | 3 Comments

Paris from a bus top, a boat and from tall buildings

Posted on September 7, 2012 by sarahcondie

We bought Paris passes to use while in Paris – it covers the cost of the metro, entry to art galleries, museums and more than you can imagine doing with the time available. It also includes two days on Les Cars Rouges, a boat trip down the Seine, a climb up Montparnasse Tower and Arc de Triomphe – both of which give fabulous views over Paris. We became tourists and did them all – very happily and enjoyed them.

We sat on top of the bus in sunshine and were driven around in style – it certainly is a little quicker than trying to walk to all these places and you get to listen to some interesting commentary about the buildings as you pass them. You can get off the bus at any stop and the tickets can be used over two days.

The river cruise was a wonderful way to see the buildings along the edge of the Seine and see the bridges – some of them are stunningly beautiful and gleam in the sunlight.

Montparnasse is the tallest building in Paris and gives views in all directions. This was the first time I could see where Montmartre was in relation to Paris and see the little hill – it really is a little hill. They layout of Paris is incredible – long wide boulevards with similar architecture – the buildings are all built from the same stone with the same grey rooftops – we were able to identify different buildings and figure out where they lie in relation to each other. This helped me begin to feel like I understood this city.

On another day we climbed the Arc de Triomphe – 275 steps up and then the same down. With the 85 steps up to our apartment, we are covering quite a few steps. I am not convinced that I want to climb over 1000 steps to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower and the queues to use the lifts are long. Again, the views were wonderful, even though the morning was a little foggy.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Paris | Leave a comment

Versailles

Posted on September 7, 2012 by sarahcondie

Versailles on a crisp autumnal sunny sparkly day – you can’t beat it – but go to the gardens and grounds not the Palace. All the guidebooks tell you to get there as soon as it opens – 9am to beat the crowds, but if everyone reads the guidebooks, guess when they all arrive? We left in plenty of time, but had not factored in peak hour traffic on the metro and travelled like squashed sardines. To get on the train, you abandon all notions of politeness and civility and push with aggressiveness to get on that train – otherwise you get left behind.

There must have been at least fifty buses parked in front of Versailles when we arrived with hundreds if not thousands who had travelled by train at around 9.30am. Already, I was wondering why we had come. We managed to get through the entrance fairly painlessly and entered the Palace – along with the crowds. From then on, you had no choice about where you moved or what direction you walked – you went with the flow.

Each room was palatial, golden and completely over the top – what we could see of it. What made it bearable was this fascinating collection of contemporary sculptures that gave me something to smile at. We moved slowly from one room to another, up the stairs and I wondered how I could get out and leave the crowds.

The glass room is enormous and one wall is lined with floor to ceiling windows with a view to the gardens – and they glistened and sparkled in the sunlight – this is where I wanted to go. Somehow, Keith and I managed to move through the crowds and found “sortie” signs that took us outside. I can’t tell you how relieved I felt.

This Palace is over the top indulgent – I can’t imagine building it, let alone living in it. Louix XIV was living in the Palace at the Louvres which is enormous and had decided it was not big enough. Greed.

Four years ago, we had four days in Paris, staying with friends. They took us to Fontainebleau and they told us it was much better than Versailles – smaller, similar architecture with very few people. I believed them at the time, but wish I had heeded their words and returned to Fontainebleau. However, the gardens and grounds were magnificent and Keith and I had one of the best days walking around and exploring while most of the crowds remained indoors wandering around the palace.

We had taken our lunch – quiches we had bought locally and some fruit and sitting outside in the sunshine was a joy. We did walk and walk and covered much ground. It is possible to hire bikes here and it would be fabulous to explore the grounds on a bike – they go for miles and are flat.

On our return, we went for a walk to shop in Montmartre. We encountered three young girls on their first day of working – they were delightful and it was nice to be able to encourage them – each were a little out of their comfort zone, which I understand, as this is how I feel, I am not sure how things work and I appreciate it when a local takes the time to help and explain something such as how to do the washing at the local laundry – I would have been completely stuck without the help of someone who managed to explain what to do.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Versailles | Leave a comment

Walking tour of Montmartre

Posted on September 6, 2012 by sarahcondie

If you come to Paris as a tourist, you need good walking shoes. Don’t look at how the Parisians dress – they look sophisticated and elegant even when they go to collect their children from school. Accept the fact that you will look like a tourist and put comfortable shoes on your feet.

The other thing you need is a strong bladder. Yes, there are all those cafes where you can sit with your coffee but you will eventually need to find a loo. You will then either stand in a queue for hours or spend ages looking up and down the streets for one – they are not always easy to find. I find it curious that in places with hundreds if not thousands of tourists, they will place one public loo and that is all.

We decided to do the Montmartre walk and our guide was Philippe, a former lawyer, who wears hot pink socks, a pale blue linen jacket and is having a sea change. He has abandoned the long working week and shares his love of Paris with tourists. He has a “Jewish Mama” who called him during the walk – he answered and apologised to us and explained that if he doesn’t answer, she continues to ring until he does.

We had walked the streets of Montmartre ourselves and thought we knew quite a lot, but were mistaken. We stopped outside the place where Picasso lived between 1906 and 1912. He moved here after a good friend committed suicide. This was his “blue” period. he was poor and could only afford white, black and blue paint. He was not particularly fond of these colours.

We learnt about Maurice Utrillo, the son of Suzanne Valadon, a famous artist’s model. Suzanne had been a young single mother who had to work to make ends meet so she relied on her mother, a drunk to look after her young son. She managed by putting alcohol into the the child’s drink, so he became an alcoholic at a young age. Maurice spent most of his life living in mental asylums as he also had severe mental health issues as well. Each week, his mother Suzanne, by then a successful artist sent her son a postcard – usually of a street in Paris. To fill his time, Maurice painted the picture depicted on the postcard and had remarkable talent. We saw some of art at the Musee of Montmartre and later in other Galleries. It is beautiful. He had a sad life.

These walking tours bring the area alive. Philippe showed us a few authentic cafes and where to buy baguettes and explained how to judge a good baguette. Many of the top bakers of Paris are here in Montmartre.

Again, we saw signs of the Invader and other fascinating street art.

Later, Keith and I found the fabric markets of Montmartre. I could have spent hours exploring these stores. Not a good idea with a full bladder.

There are so many flower shops and they are exquisitely beautiful. Each time I walk by, I want to buy a bunch. Keith has figured out that most Parisians live in apartments so this is their way of making up for no gardens – this and their magnificent flower boxes.

There are cheese shops that you could stop and gaze at wondering which cheese to choose.

Returning to shoes and walking. The other thing we have noticed is that there are many dogs and the Parisian’s are not good at cleaning up after their dogs, so the walker must be wary.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Discover Walks, Maurice Utrillo, Montmartre, Paris, Picasso | Leave a comment

Invader in Marais

Posted on September 6, 2012 by sarahcondie

We discovered Discover Walks: Guided tours of Paris quite by accident. Local Parisians take you on a walk around different neighbourhoods in Paris and show you tiny nooks and crannies that you would never find if walking the streets on your own. (Well we wouldn’t.) We have now done three and found them enjoyable and informative. The tour guides are quite a contrast to the guides we encountered in Bath and Bury St Edmunds who were happier to talk about themselves. These guides live in Paris and are keen to share their love and knowledge of the local area with those walking with them. It is a free walk, but you are asked to make a donation at the end – which we were more than happy to do.

Marie was our tour guide for the neighbourhood of Marais which spreads across the third and fourth arrondissements on the right bank of the Seine. One of the interesting things we learnt about was about the street art of the Invader. She showed us where the Space Invader has left his mark – sometimes they are large, colourful and obvious while others are more discrete.

you have to look very closely to find this one

This part of Paris was left undisturbed by Haussmann, the architect who rebuilt Paris in the mid 1800’s under the direction of Napoleon III. Squatters lived in the buildings left empty after the French Revolution and it became more and more dilapidated and run down. In the 1960s the Mayor of Paris embarked on reviving the area and it was rebuilt, keeping the original character of the area intact, so you will find many medieval buildings and parts of the original wall around Paris.

Marie entertained us with stories of people from the past such as Marie Antoinette and the man who wrote secret letters to her and tried to give her a diamond necklace. Today the Marais has many small art galleries and boutique shops. There are many hidden gardens and open green squares that we would never have found without Marie and they are filled with locals enjoying the open air and local community. It is a really fun area.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Invader, Marais, Paris, Street Art | Leave a comment

Musee de Montmartre

Posted on September 3, 2012 by sarahcondie

I recently read “Luncheon of the Boating Party” by Susan Vreeland – the story of Renoir painting this wonderful painting. The Musee de Montmartre was the home for a number of artists, and Renoir had his studio here for a couple of years.

The swing still hangs in its garden, the inspiration for his painting “The Swing” and he painted “Le bal du Moulin de la Galette” in his studio – a large and ambitious painting, similar to “Luncheon of the Boating Party” in that it captures a moment in time of a group seated at a table amongst other groups. He is a magnificent painter and captures light and movement – and the people look so real – you want to touch them.

At the side of the house, now a museum is a tiny vineyard which produces enough grapes for wine each year. There are black cats in the garden and each room of the house captures a different time in Montmartre’s checkered history. I have been so immersed in the history of seventeenth century England that it dawned on me that there is an awful lot of other history about other people and places that I didn’t know I didn’t know. So we made our way through this small museum very slowly soaking in the stories about events that took place here.

While we were at the museum, it felt like we were in the middle of the country – it was quiet and peaceful and when you looked out of the window, you could see a vineyard and large houses. However, once you come out onto the street and walk along Montmartre’s narrow winding streets it changes in an instant.

There were people everywhere – a crazy cacophony of sound and colour which I found dazzling. If Paris was not so large, and there were not so many things to see and do, I would have simply stopped, found a spot and sat and soaked it in.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Montmartre, Musee de Montmartre, Paris | Leave a comment

A taste of Montmartre

Posted on September 3, 2012 by sarahcondie

We arrived in Paris on a day filled with sunshine and anticipation, tinged with a little anxiety. We were staying in a studio apartment owned by Andre and when I had emailed him asking for directions on how to find his apartment, this is the email he sent:

At your arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport at about 12 am, you have buses in front of the airport ” ROISSY BUS ” live broadcasting for Paris City. terminus OPERA. You stay stop having drunk OPERA and call me téléphone…

He assured me he would come to pick us up, but from where exactly and “drunk opera”? I was a little perplexed, so I asked my cousin Susannah what she thought. She is cool, calm and extremely sensible and after some thought and a look at our guide book explained that we were to catch the bus to “Opera” from the airport and wait there and he would pick us up after we told him we had arrived. Well he managed to find us, after we managed to find a public phone and a phone card and I was accosted by three groups of gypsies assuring me I had dropped a ring. If you have ever been to Opera, you will be as amazed as me that we managed this.

Andre is a kind, thoughtful man and he took us to the studio apartment and showed us around. His English is better than our French and we managed quite well. It is a light, airy apartment that is on the fifth floor, filled with sunlight coming through the large windows. Small but comfortable and recently renovated. Our lounges become our bed – they are comfortable as either.
this is looking up to our apartment – right near the top, with the plants out the front – we have all three windows and can leave them open even when we are out.

We are located in the 18th arrondissement right on the edge of Montmartre and off the touristy path. There is a park close by and plenty of shops – we can buy fruit, boulangerie – fresh baguette and pastries, macaroons, fish, cheese and flowers – they all have their own specialty shops and there are many cafes all within about five minutes walk. There is a hospital around the corner so we feel right at home with the sounds of sirens at all hours of the day and night. We can look out our windows and watch the local life – the parking of cars, the locals carrying shopping bags filled with fresh bread and flowers and listen to the sounds of barking dogs, motor cycles and french children playing.

I have to admit, I have lost all sense of direction – no idea where north or south is, let alone how to get to anything – I even have trouble following a map but Keith has been amazing. Normally, he gets in the car and I say “Keith, do you know where you are going?” and he responds “no, I have absolutely no idea” while driving. Here, he seems to have taken these narrow winding streets that go in random directions in his stride and we manage to get to our destination – we would be going around in circles if I was directing.

Montmartre is located on a steep hill with the Sacre-Coeur sitting on its top. Andre had given us instructions on how to walk to the top of the hill by avoiding the steps, so we set off to explore. It was a glorious evening and the light was beautiful. I had thought my mountain climbing was at an end, but I was wrong – to go anywhere in Montmartre, you are either walking up or down and there are numerous staircases.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Montmartre, Paris, Sacre-Coeur | 1 Comment

Escape to the country

Posted on August 31, 2012 by sarahcondie

While we have been in England I have become hooked on a program called “Escape to the Country“. Each episode focuses on a county in England and helps a couple find a new home. We hear what sort of house the couple are hoping to buy and the presenters choose four homes for the couples to explore to see if they might like one enough to buy. Not only have I enjoyed seeing many different types of houses, but the responses of the couples is often hillarious.
This is an example of one of the house we have been shown in this program.

We have learnt so much about what cute cottages look like on the inside, so many couples want a large kitchen with an aga and a large “reception” room, but are keen to find these things in a country cottage. But many cottages have small rooms, low ceilings and tiny windows. Seeing couples bending to enter a room and hearing them say “this is a little smaller than I had imagined” is a fairly typical response to some of the cottages. However, we have also seen restored Mills, large Georgian homes and converted barns. Then there are the gardens and surrounding fields – some have had an orchard, one included a poultry business.

I told my aunt Ursula that I thought they should have done a program on North Somerset as it is so picturesque. Yesterday Ursula returned from her day working in the local cafe in the village where her daughter Susannah lives and said “you will never guess who came for lunch!” “Escape to the Country” had shown a couple some houses in this very village and the film crew and presenter had popped into her cafe for lunch while the couple went to a local pub for lunch. Funnily enough it was the very pub we had been to the day before! I missed my opportunity to be the Aussie interloper.

I can’t tell you exactly why I enjoy this program so much, but I am sure it is because I have always dreamed of doing just that – escaping to the country. I have also been reading a delightful book called “Tales of the Country” by Brian Viner, a former journalist of the Independent. He moved to a small village in Herefordshire – just north of here ten years ago with his wife and three small children from London. He is an amusing writer and each night I have gone to bed giggling at his stories of their experiences. He has a great sense of humour and describes their new life well – it is not a piece of cake and they have often found the transition difficult.

Neither the program or the book have put me off one little bit. We have been in England during the wettest summer in one hundred years. This week, we had more rain and after one particularly heavy shower, Ursula’s garden was inundated with water – it cascades down the hills across the road, and down into her driveway and there is no where for the run off to go. It happened suddenly and by the time the water was rising, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining.

It has been like that all summer – cloud, rain, clearing and sunshine. You just get on with it regardless. We have managed to have a wonderful time in England despite the weather. When the sun shines we have raced out doors, and when the rains come, we put our rain coats on, head out doors and come home with muddy shoes – very muddy shoes!

The mud – our shoes have collected mud from all over England – we each had a brand new pair of joggers, but they have lost that new shiny look. Keith has spent time today cleaning them and they now look almost respectable enough for our next destination: Paris. We leave in the morning. We will be there for ten days. The weather forecast is good, we will wait and see.

Posted in Travelling | Tagged Brian Viner, Escape to the Country, Tales of the Country | 2 Comments

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Join 600 other subscribers
You can search this blog:

Search for:
Sarah’s posts
January 2026

M T W T F S S

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

« Jan
Archives
Archives

Follow Blog via Email

You can search this blog:

Sarah’s posts

Archives