Château de Versailles

During the February school holidays we decided to go to Versailles for the day. A chance to get out of the city and enjoy the Château without huge crowds to spoil the experience. That was the plan anyway. We had been there in the July and the queues on the esplanade outside the Château were so long that we opted for the lesser known Trianon and La Domaine de Marie Antoinette, also well worth a visit. When we were there last week there were no queues to get into the Château, the marble courtyard was nearly empty.

They have recently gilded the gates to the Château and also the dormer windows. Who ever heard of gold window frames? The French Kings bien sur!

We started off our visit on the ground floor in the central part of the Palace. We were guided through the Appartements des Mesdames, built for Louis XV's daughters, princesses Adélaïde and Victoire. The restoration of these apartments was completed two years ago in April 2013. 

Here is the bedroom of Madame Victoire. These rooms are very extravagant, but as it turns out they are rather rather low key and discrete as compared to the apartments built for Louis XVI and his entourage.

My favourite part was the pale creamy stone in entrance arcade. Exquisite.

Once we got to the Galerie des Glaces, the hall of mirrors, the place was heaving and it was impossible to take any photos without crowds of people in them, unless you zoomed in to an architectural or decorative detail of which there are plenty!

Or looked up!

I was surprised to learn that back in the 17C the hall of mirrors was mainly used by courtiers and the visiting public as passageway and a waiting and meeting place rather than for special ceremonies. It is so extravagant, it looks like the perfect venue for huge parties.

After the Galerie des Glaces we had to leave quickly as our parking ticket was about the run out. Here is another 'over-everybody's-head' photo. I likes the perspective of bright colours. 

We quickly glimpsed Louis XVI's rather fabulous red bed chamber as we squeezed our way through the crowds.

And then headed out of the gates and back to our car, catching a last glimpse of gold as we ran.

The Château de Versailles is open seven days a week. More details can be found on their website, here.

Sunrise in Montmartre

One recompense of winter is that you can see the sunrise without getting up at a ludicrous hour. Here are a few photos I took post school drop-off.

A timely pigeon.

Bonjour Paris.

Sunlight moving its way along the facades.

Winter lace.

By the time I got to Place Ravignan the sun was fully up, and the light was still beautiful.

The Louis Vuitton Foundation: Gehry rocks the Paris architecture scene

The Louis Vuitton Foundation located at the northern edge of the Bois du Boulogne is a museum and cultural centre dedicated to contemporary art. Designed by Canadian born architect Frank Gehry, it was inaugurated in October 2015. Born in 1929, 86 year old Frank Gehry continues to design astonishing buildings that push the limits of architecture and the use of innovative building materials and techniques. 

We went to visit the Foundation for the first time on my birthday. It was a cold, grey January day and as we approached from the Metro station, Les Sablons, we saw the glazed structure looming out from behind the trees. 

Although the Louis Vuitton Foundation is very photogenic, it is actually hard to do it full justice. I tried.

The building rises from a sunken lake and is reminiscent of a giant sail boat moored at the edges of the Bois de Boulogne.

Water flows down a shallow stepped waterfall towards the sunken lake. At dusk the water looked an inky black.

At the moment there's an Olafur Eliasson exhibition at the Louis Vuitton Foundation until the 2nd March 2015. I'd encourage you to go, it was not only beautiful but a lot of fun as well. Eliasson is an Icelandic artist known for working with water, light and air temperature with a view to seducing the viewer. I was seduced!

Mirrors and shadows kept the kids amused. Well, yes, and us grown ups too!

We left at dusk so got to see the Foundation glowing in the night.

Spectacular!



The Louis Vuitton Foundation is open all days of the week except for Tuesday. All details can be found on their website, Louis Vuitton Foundation.

More Louis Vutton Foundation photos can be seen on my flickr account ... here.

Pretty in Pink

Our neighbourhood spoilt me this morning! Rue de l'Abreuvoir and sunrise.



Half an hour later, the sky and perspective looked like this. A little brighter, a little less pink, but still stunning. Rue André Barsacq.