Palais de Tokyo

" The newly renovated and extended Palais de Tokyo re-opened its doors to the public after having been closed for several months. The Palais de Tokyo is a perilous destination with its uncertainties, its terra incognita, its dead-ends, but a vital one nonetheless."
This explanation in the museums program says it all.......It is fascinating to see a more edgy and 'raw' concept of exhibiting modern art here in Paris. The renovation work is not yet finished and small cinemas and a restaurant will be added until the Fall.

During the Spring break, school groups flocked around, under and in the installations.

Opening times are from 12:00 to 24:00 every day except Tuesday!

Fontainebleau

Versailles is the second most visited tourist attraction on the Isle de France.  Disney World is on first place! At least that is what they say.

With an advertising campaign on the walls of the Metro, the Chateau de Fontainebleau is now trying to get more attention. This bird eyes view of the castle certainly got ours and  off we went to visit Fontainebleau and its castle.

We drove one hour, took the audio guided tour and three hours later we had taken an intensive course in  "800 years of French royal history in art and architecture". 

 After we past the Salle de Bal we reached the St. Saturnin chapel - and it was there in the grisaille painted trompe-l'oeil ..... a 'Mona Lisa' smiled at us.

Resting on a bench, with closed eyes we reflected on 'ars longa, vita brevis' and then had a meal in Le Bistrot 9 (www.bistrot9.com)

Early Spring Trip (3)

Realizing that the posts about our early Spring trip can go on and on .... I finish with this one from the destination we aimed for before returning the 800 km back to Paris.

Wasserburg at Lake Constance is a bucolic village from which one can admire the Swiss Alps - if there are no clouds. We did not see the snow topped mountains but the cherry trees were blooming.

Worth the trip is listening to the sound the small waves make when they reach the pebbled beach. This sound which reminds me of my childhood I was fortunate to have at this lake.

Early Spring Trip (2)

Freiburg im Breisgau is known for its cathedral which has one of the most beautiful towers from the 15th Century. Not only the outside of this 'Muenster' is worth to admire, but inside

is the master piece of Hans Baldung Grien.

It is possible to come relatively close to look, admire and study both the front and the back of this high altar.

And it is close to a miracle that these paintings are still at the same place for which they were designed and created by master Grien himself.

Early Spring Trip (1)

To travel when Spring is just arriving is so beautiful and we avoided the motorway to see as much of the landscape as possible. First stop (400 km driving) was Colmar where the Isenheimer Altarpiece by Grunewald is exhibited in the Unterlinden museum.

We arrived after it was closed and had to leave before it opened. But we had time for a morning walk in the old town and were happy to spot this stork on a church roof.

"Hello there, remember us, we have seen each other in Tanzania on the Serengeti with all your other friends."

Wednesday in the Park

An oasis not far from us is this park with hidden waterfall, lakes, small hills and large trees. Originally it was a 30 hectare private park which is now owned by the City and is only half its former size because of a hospital on its grounds. Nevertheless, it is still large enough for many different activities for all ages.

On Wednesday it is a common sight to see grandparents with their grandchildren on the play ground. Schools are closed on Wednesday in France and the older children can have riding lessons instead.

A checkered castle

One of the pleasures driving out of Paris is that one always discovers churches, castles, monasteries, villages which are the witnesses of the rich French history.

St. Germain-de-Livet in the Calvados area has both a checkered facade - built of green glazed bricks and stone blocks and a checkered history starting in the 15th Century.

The last owner donated it to the town of Lisieux and it is now one of the main tourist attractions just a short drive outside of town.

Historic farm in Normandy

We visited Normandy over the weekend and got the advice not to miss the farm in a historic domaine. The apple trees in the orchards were not yet in bloom and a cold wind hurried our guided walk through the farm. These are several smaller houses on the farm grouped around the large manor house. This building is a good example of the timbered style

found in both Normandy and Brittany.

The cows were all out on the pastures enjoying the green grass. If they have circles around the eyes it is not eyeliner but the characteristics of a Normandy milk cow.

We were searching for some sheep and lambs as it was Easter Sunday and saw some later on our way back to Paris:

Concert in the chateaux of Versailles

Yesterday the Adagio in C-Dur KV 356 and the Fuge in g-Moll KV 154 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was performed as part of the Thursday concerts in the Royal chapel. Every seat was taken by appreciative baroque music lovers. A wonderful beginning to the Easter weekend.

Listening to the choir of the young voices while looking up to the ceiling of the nave created a heavenly feeling.

"God the Father in His Glory Bringing to the World the Promise of Redemption" painted by Antoine Coypel in 1716.

A jewel of medieval architecture

Walking along rue de Poissy in the 5th we discovered today this renovated monastery from the 12th century. Today, the College des Bernardins has different lecture halls and offers a varied program of conferences, music performances and art exhibitions. Weekdays a bookstore and a restaurant, at the other end of this nave, is open to the public.

Until April 15 "videodrones" by Celeste Boursier-Mougenot is presented in the gothic chapel. Video cameras project the people walking in rue de Poissy in real time. Some of them discovering the building and entering (just like we did).

The Museum of the Thirties

Boulogne-Billancourt is proud to be a 'Town for modern times'. In the Thirties the Renault factory employed thousands of workers. Now the industry is more based on High Tech, Advertising and Film with young creative 'workers'.

In front of the Museum a copy of the cubist tree created by the twin brothers Martel in 1925 is now the symbol for Boulogne-Billancourt which is proud of its history.