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Photos: Enjoying museums, galleries and more in Paris, September to October

One of the first things that you do in Paris after moving here? Making sure to make the take to go to the museums, art galleries, walk around the gardens and get lost and explore the city.

Here are some photos mainly from September and October 2018.

Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature on rue des Archives was the most unique museum that I have been to and highly recommended!

Outside and inside the Archives nationales in Paris:

Inside the Picasso Museum and works by Picasso

An outside garden as part of the Rodin Museum, with sculptures inside

Amazing and iconic outside sculpture at the Rodin Museum

Commissioned sculpture outside a de ville (city hall):

Typical scene at Les Marais:

Two types of art near Les Marais, street art and commissioned sculpture:

Translates to: “Go ahead boss and let me have a dream”:

Boats moored near Cité/Bastille:

Some interesting reflections near Cité:

Just one of the stores selling various knick knacks near Bastille:

The most famous boulevard in the world opened itself up to accept pedestrians only on Sunday:

The public parks and gardens of Paris in summer

Paris may be busy in the summer period, but it is definitely a great place to be to capture the floral and greenery of the major parks here. From the large Jardin du Luxembourg right through to the smaller pockets of greenery, these parks offer a respite from the crowds.

A thing I like to do is to grab some fruit, a bottle of water, and a salad from Monoprix or from any of the groceries, sit in the park and eat lunch. It’s a cheaper way to refuel compared to going to sitting in a cafe (which is also nice!).

There was one such time near the Picasso Museum where I overheard a group of three women talking about perfume scents (I think their job involved coming up with ideas to talk about perfumes), not to mention watching the families and tourists alike mill around.

I highly recommend milling around Jardin de l’Ecole Botanique and so on and taking a look at the descriptions (if you can read the French).

Discovering the Père Lachaise Cemetery

Normally, it would be quiet unusual to add a cemetery in your itinerary, but in Paris it is not. Alongside the Catacombs, there is also the Père Lachaise Cemetery which holds a number graves for famous people (from Jim Morrison to Chopin) as well as memorials, the most affecting one being for the Holocaust victims.

Nuit Blanche 2018 à Paris

Venice, Part 2 and Mostra di Architettura di Venezia

From Naples, I flew to Dubrovnik but with an all day stop at Venice. I made a point of exploring the side of Venice that I have not been to on the previous trip the week before and spent much of the time around the Dorsoduro area instead.

Mostra di Architettura di Venezia

There was also the Mostra di Architettura di Venezia (Venice Biennale of Architecture) and while my time was limited, I was able to go to the Portugal and Montenegro exhibitions.

Portugal exhibition

Homeland, News from Portugal intends to report news about the current architectural, social and economic life of Portugal , reflecting and informing about the wide range of aspects of modernization that has hit the country in the last hundred years.
In particular, Homeland aims to address the issues raised by Rem Koolhaas ( Fundamentals Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014 ) through a critical and determined reflection on living, an area of excellence for experimentation with modernity that has always represented a fundamental element urban and rural environments, as well as a socio-cultural reflection of its inhabitants. (Source)

Montenegro exhibition

I was most affected by the installation of the Montenegro exhibition, but it was very hard to capture on camera. I almost wanted to purchase a book – despite not having any ties to Montenegro or the artists – it was that good!

From the official website: The Montenegro exhibition aims at the multidisciplinary integration of the results deriving from contemporary ecological research and collaborative practices in urban design and spatial planning. The curator Sonja Radović Jelovac proposes to widen the framework of the research of the Montenegrin project, referring to the need to apply the principle of resilience to the local context, as well as the need to adopt shared values. The project of Montenegro at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition consists of three related parts: the book, the exhibition and the networking, each of which, from its point of view, addresses the universal theme Emerging Resilience, varying in size, materiality, duration and propagation method. Together they constitute the vital support for an open debate on the subject within the pavilion and beyond. A new topic is associated with the main theme: Wo / Man under the Umbrella .

“Why do not umbrellas dissolve in the sun – or at least they do not grow in the rain?” Cedric Price

Mt Vesuvius, 2018.

Trying to decide when and where from to go to Mt Vesuvius can be a bit tricky. If you decide to go by train, it can take a while. And there are tours that tend to combine Mt Vesuvius with Pompeii for example.

I don’t recommend doing these tours, and instead you can go to Mt Vesuvius on your own by catching a bus from Pompeii. In this instance, I decided to go at 3pm which meant that the sun was not at its highest and it gave me a chance to rest after spending almost half an Italian summer’s day in Pompeii.

Once you arrive, you are taken near the base. You then buy a ticket at the entrance or the bus driver offers it (they do not markup the price). And from there, you proceed to walk.

Most people were appropriately dressed but I even saw some people wear wedges or bowler shoes. Not recommended! You can take your time going up the mountain. There are a few ‘stations’ offering things from souvenirs to water and even alcoholic drinks.

Once you reach the rim of the volcano you have the option to walk around it, then come back and walk down the mountain.

Pompeii

You can read posts about Pompeii below:

Sorrento and Capri, Italy.

After almost a week in Montecatini, we went to Sorrento which is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. To get here, I took the train to Naples and then arranged a hotel pick up to Sorrento. Otherwise, it takes about an hour by train which is quiet long and uncomfortable (which, I’ve had experience in going to nearby areas!).

You can stay near the town which makes going to and from very easy. I also stayed at a hotel situated right uphill which required taking a hotel bus to and from the town centre.

Sorrento is a town that can suit many interests – if you are into shopping, there are many places there, for those that want to go to the beaches and island hop they can do so. For me, I went to Pompeii and Vesuvius (to be covered in another entry) instead.

I was not overly fond of Sorrento, but it was also nice spot to be in.

Capri

I only took a brief day trip to Capri as I then had to go to Naples that night. Unfortunately, either it was too brief or it wasn’t my style, but I was not overly fond of Capri also! There may be other islands that I could possibly like but not in this case.

Somehow, I thought Capri would be a bit like Monaco.

Pisa, Italy including street art by Blub.

I navigated Pisa without maps, which was actually a good idea as the signs to go to the Leaning Tower of Pisa (or Torre pendente di Pisa) was clear and you also had an opportunity to wander around the piazzas of the older part of the city. There are some people that do a tour, but when you ask if they have ever wandered through the other parts of the city it turns out they haven’t.

You will also see a series of street art with a common theme by an artist called Blub. He has a lot of works also in Florence but can also be found in Pisa. See below!

Il Gelato Di Toto is a gelato shop that I recommend because of the flavors!

La Spezial and Cinque Terre, Italy.

From Montecatini, take a train to La Spezial. And then a regional train to one of the several villages known to be a part of Cinque Terre. This is a picturesque set of villages set along the Italian coast.

La Spezia

I was there on a Sunday so it was quiet empty. I highly recommend a gelato place that also serves Sicilian ice treats!

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

I only went to one town, Vernazza, and it was packed. There was a recommendation to go to one of the towns, but I went to the wrong one. Oh well, it was an interesting experience anyway!

Firenze/Florence, Italy.

I was only in Florence for the day, but you can definitely spend more than a day!

I went to the touristic and historical sites (primarily, the Duomo area), and walked along the Gold Bridge or ‘Ponte Vecchio’ with a history from the medieval times. There were a number of museums and galleries which I did not attend but you can satisfy your historical, cultural and artistic curiosities here.

It is easy to wander around the city and think of times of yore with the artefacts from the yesteryears.

Montecatini and Lucca, Italy.

Montecatini is situated in Tuscany. You can take a train from Lake Como to Montecatini but with a stopover in Milan.

Montecatini is a very small village with much of the action happening at the central plaza. You can take a walk somewhere out of the periphery for other shops and restaurants.

I did not have a chance to, but you can take a number of day tours and trips to the wine region. Take care to book since a tour that I wanted to take was sold out.

From Montecatini, you can also take a day trip to Pisa, Firenze/Florence and Cinque Terre.

Lucca

One of the towns to go to is Lucca which is only a short train ride away from Montecatini. I was there on a very short trip on a Sunday so the shops were closed but otherwise it would have been an interesting city to be in for the day.

Lake Como, Italy. July 2018.

From Milan, we went to Lake Como. We stayed at an old fashioned hotel overlooking the lake (and later moved to an apartment somewhere near the Duomo).

We had some amazing seafood, including a shrimp tartare pasta.

Activities worth doing around Lake Como is to go all around the towns and villages and to also go to the furnicular at the top!

Venice. July 2018.

We took the train from Milan to Venice, which was quiet uneventful. Except! We sat on the wrong seats throughout the whole trip, the people didn’t mind though.

The last time I was in Venice was in 2013 and it was for the Biennale. Venice in July was .. I have to say, far too hot and crowded. I ended up going for a walk from around 6am as it was cooler and less crowded then.

I was back in Venice again in August, but will do this in another post.

We also had some nice meals around Venice, in particular at the Hotel Grand Carlton which overlooked the Grand Canal.

Milan, Italy. July 2018.

Milan is a very beautiful and chic city. Went to the Duomo and the luxury shopping street. Had a LOT of gelato. Went for a run and walk early in the morning to appreciate the city scapes.

Prague. August 2018.

Prague was a pleasant surprise. It’s a cute and romantic city, with some art deco details around. The language, Czech, is also a lovely language to hear and read with the upward inflections.

Here are some photos from the trip in Prague!

Prague Castle panoramas:

Museum of Communism:

Alfons Mucha exhibition:

Exhibition outdoors:

Beautiful buildings all around:

A park near Legorova overlooking the city, with the Prague Castle in the distance:

Another cute cafe with other travelers, but I was surrounded by bees..

Having a ginger tea to some very cute settings:

For many reasons, Prague was a special trip for me and it was the final large trip before settling into life in Paris.

Pompeii – From Vine Fields to Arenas

This post is just a brief follow up to:

While there are buildings, templates and interiors that are interesting, the Pompeii ruins also had interesting fields and large-scale outdoor arenas that can be explored.

There are three ampitheatres – Teatro Piccolo, Teatre Grande (interior pictured) and Anfiteatro (pictured external).

You can enter these and also explore the outside perimeters.

Near Anfiteatro (the produced is name Villa dei Misteri) are some interesting vineyards. This is where the grapes are planted in the same position on the same soil, are grown using identical techniques in AD 79. These are all based on the studies from the Applied Researches Laboratory. How did they find the locations? It was through the original plaster casts of the ancient roots that were found.

Casa del Giardino di Ercole vineyards:

Orto dei Fuggiaschi vineyard:

It was quiet an experience running into the vineyards after the heat from the ruins and also reading about the history of its cultivation.

Pompeii Highlights – Buildings, Temples and Interiors.

This post is a follow up to my tips and advice post for visiting Pompeii if you are a first-time visitor.

If you have read that post, or if you want to see the highlights, please read on!

I did not do a lot of reading about Pompeii before the visit and decided to purchase a guide book. After entering the site, and maybe a minute or two walk, is a visitor centre with indoor exhibitions and a bookshop.

If I were to do the trip again, I would opt to get a guide instead, but the guide would need to be a historian. Or, hire an audio guide. It is very difficult to make sense of what is in front of you as there is very little written guides available.

However, while photographing these, I would photograph the name of the building or region so that I can later look back on where I have been.

I am not a historian and I used both Google search and my photographs of the building names and descriptions for reference. Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoy this post!

Pompeii Highlights

In terms of regions, I went via an anti-clockwise direction starting from where the public administration buildings are on Regio VII, like below:

And from there, I went around the corners, through the inner layout (which was primarily residences, aristocratic residencies, and commercial districts) before exiting again through the administrative and religious buildings.

There are some very special areas in Pompeii, so if your time is a bit short you may want to make a note of these areas so that you can see them.

Casa del Fauno or House of the Faun features a tranquil green courtyard, statue of a dancing faun and possibly an early example of the square grid design on the floors.

Palestra Dei Luvenes contains a mosaic on the floor that is decorated with mosaic of physical fight between two athletes and interesting paintings within the interior.

Casa del Cinghiale has a mosaic featuring a wild boar:

Tempo di Iside still looks very ethereal thousands of years later:

House of the Cryptoporticus, owned by a wealthy owner.

The villa also had a garden on one of the lower level roof terrace:

They expressed their tastes through the sumptuous baths and the art and designs adorning these from the dainty bird designs to something a bit more daring:

Casa dell’Efebo contains some nicely preserved illustrations below:

Casa e Thermopolium di Vetutius Placidus

House of the Orchard was interesting as it had motifs featured on a dark background and was a merge of the Greek cult with the Egyptian. A similar design can be found in the Villa dei Misteri in this post.

Finishing off Pompeii

I finished the site by going through Region VI. This area is a bit rough – with the ruins being overgrown with nature but was among the area first hit. There is not a lot of special notes in this area and not many visitors.

Exploring Pompeii, Italy – tips and advice for first-time visitors.

Region VI street with Mt Vesuvius in the background.

Pompeii was a definite highlight for me. I decided to pay a small premium and buy my tickets online the day before. It still required lining up, but my wait was only for 10 minutes at around 9.20am compared to much longer lines for those who did not purchase in advance.

Advice visiting Pompeii in summertime

Some things I recommend that you do based on the trip to Pompeii mid August:

If you have the time, don’t do the set tours. These only cover a small portion and your entry fees are not covered.
It is worth the premium online to buy your tickets at another provider. You still need to wait in line to pick up the ticket but the line will be shorter.
Have comfortable shoes, comfortables clothes, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses. Sunglasses are a must since the sun reflect off the stones.
Go early, like from 9am. Far less crowds (especially the big tourist crowds). This means some good photo opportunities at places like the Basilica, the Forum, Tempio di Giove and more without much tourist interference like below.
Statue of a centaur at the Forum in Pompeii.
I lasted until 1.30pm, then took a 1.5 hour break before taking a 3pm bus to Mt Vesuvius. You can buy your bus tickets at the entrance to Pompeii near the train station and buy the entrance tickets from the private bus.
It may be worth bringing something light for lunch instead of waiting at the kiosk/restaurants. There was a restaurant up a hill but it was still closed during my visit. There are water fountains around the site to replenish your water bottle.
For cheaper food and less crowds, there is a restaurant that is to your left after leaving the trains, by the parking entrance and away from the groups of restaurant.

I walk through Via delle Tombe (through the Necropoli di Porta Ercolano) and Villa dei Misteri which had some very interesting internal works below like the Egyptian/hieroglyphics inspired motifs:

Heiroglyphic inspired motifs at the Villa dei Misteri, Pompeii.

The exit requires you to walk through a long ‘driveway’ all the way back to the train station. Not a lot of people went through here though, and I suspect that much of the large groups had been either tourists, or people left via the main entrance/exit points.

Continue reading…

Pompeii Highlights – Buildings, Temples and Interiors.

Bosnia-Herzegovina. City of Mostar and Kravica Waterfalls. August.

From Dubrovnik, I made a day trip on my final full day in Croatia to the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Since I did not have much time for mistakes and this involves a number of passport checkpoints, I decided to go with a tour.

It was only the previous week when temperatures peaked at around 40C, but in Mostar I mainly did a walk, a lunch at a rooftop cafe and then a dessert near one of the rivers. I did not swim at Kravica Waterfalls (no bathers, though I did spend much of the holidays debating if I should buy a new one), mainly sat near the edges.

Towards Mostar and back to Dubrovnik, the tour guide gave a LOT of information about history, culture, politics, society and more that I would not otherwise have gleaned, so it was a great experience overall.

City of Mostar

Mostar is quiet known due to its role in the war in Yugoslavia but it has some interesting cultural underpinnings to it. Unfortunately the tour guide we had focused on the war and seemed to not take his role seriously (making jokes, etc). I overheard another guide talking in greater depth and detail, but perhaps the quality that the other one is offering is higher due to a higher price.

Kravica Waterfalls

While I was sitting down, I noticed or heard a group of three woman humming along in what seemed to be some sort of prayer.

Zagreb, Croatia. August

Some photos around Zagreb:

The Westin Zagreb has an interesting promo with New Balance where you can rent out shoes and a gym outfit, which worked out quiet well. It’s given to you by housekeeping and you leave the clothes when you check out.

The gym they have is part of another complex with some nice machines. It’s a big deal if you are into keeping fit…

The new city itself is quiet small and very accessible via the tram network. There is also the village above the city which can be accessed via furnicular or you can walk up/down the large hill.

I took business class Croatian Airlines on the way to Prague!