"Hotel de Charme"

In the Jardin des Plantes - the largest botanical garden in France - there is an impressive insect hotel called 'Hotel de Charme'.  With urbanization diminishing the insects which play such an important role for the pollination of both cultured and wild plants, these 'hotels' are built more and more.  They can be very decorative and are certainly useful in urban landscapes where insects are on the wane.

This smaller version we found on the roof garden of a hotel (for people) where a roof garden with wild flowers is planted.  Soon flowers will attract insects and now is perhaps the right time to plan building your very own insect hotel.  We know that the snow is piling up in Boston, but eventually it will melt and the insects have to have a place to stay.
http://www.inspirationgreen.com/insect-habitats.html

Pre Valentine's Day

Retail sales play now a large part in the celebration of St. Valentine's day - we all know that.  Therefore a good reason to visit Gallery Lafayette's flagship store in Paris to get some of the excitement of the marketing.  Our profile does not fit well the retailers target group: young, hip and ready to buy.

http://www.groupegalerieslafayette.fr/en/ 

 Nevertheless we delighted in the beauty of the Art Nouveau glass and steel dome high up in the 10th floor.  The luxury goods offered had lines of customers like the bakeries have for the Sunday baguettes.  For baguettes the French, here tourists and to a large part from China.

There is now a Gallery Lafayette department store in Beijing but reasons like price, tax, selection, ambiance - make it attractive to travel to the flagship store.  Since I observed these two women  clicking pictures from outsides and insides of red leather purses I ask myself if this is a new way of giving a Valentine present?  

Looking and seeing

When we visit Museums and admire the art objects we look at and the ones we like, we stop and look longer before we continue our visit.  In general we look for seconds and sometimes for several minutes.  One technique to intensify the looking and learn how to see is to draw the object.

Courses in sketching are offered more and more in museums in an effort to heighten the intensity of looking.  The Medieval Museum Cluny in Paris offers classes on weekends with a teacher who gives basic tips of copying.  http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/index.html
I was one of the participants and was placed in front of this stained glass with the image of St. Jaques (shown above).  After one hour of sketching and then one hour of coloring, the result was this:

Time well spent because I will always remember this particular image of St. Jaques which is on loan by the German Museum Schnutgen for the special exhibition 'Traveling in Medieval Times' which will close now February 20th.  http://www.museum-schnuetgen.de/default.aspx?s=1415