London: St. Paul's Cathedral

According to my official guide book: The present St. Paul's Cathedral is the fifth cathedral to have stood on the site since 604, and was built between 1675 and 1711, after its predecessor was destroyed in a fire.  This was the first cathedral to be built after the English Reformation in the sixteenth century, when Henry VIII removed the Church of England from the jurisdiction of the Pope and the Crown took control of the Church's life.

Queen Victoria once famously complained that St. Paul's was "dull, dingy and undevotional."  The mosaics that now decorate the ceiling and walls to the quire were installed in 1896-1904, in response to this remark, to a design by William Blake Richmond.

These mosaics are very colorful and include a lot of sparkly gold.  The cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren one of England's most famous architects.  Inside and out the cathedral is stunning and worth a visit.

St. Paul's charges a fairly hefty entry fee and provides you with a audio guide.  Currently, construction is in progress on the top tiers of the church.  We could only climb up to the "whispering gallery," which encircles the base of the dome.

Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles were married here in 1981.

Sylvia, Étoile, and Flat Stanley navigate the Underground.

London: Museum of Natural History

The second half of our day we spent at the Museum of Natural History.  The V&A, Museum of Natural History, and the Science Museum are all right near to each other and free.  They were all within walking distance to where we stayed.  The building that houses the Museum of Natural History has lots of animals and plants inside and out.

We did not have the time, energy, or attention span to do this museum justice.  We visited a few galleries and took in some highlights. 

In the hallway outside of the lunchroom, many fossils were hung on the walls.  Sylvia noticed that most of the fossils had been found by Mary Anning and her brother.  The girls knew that Mary found the first skeleton of an ichthyosaur--a giant sea reptile that lived during the dinosaur era--when she was 12 years old.  Mary is mentioned in Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record by Annie Barrows.

London: Victoria and Albert Museum

We are standing in front of one of Nick's displays.  The two cases tell all about some of the first directors of the museum and their travels to acquire objects for the museum's collection.

 My friend, Nick, is an archivist at the Victoria and Albert Museum.  I met Nick at my grad school dorm, where Nick, Pierre, and I shared many a meal.  Nick was kind enough to take the day off to hang out with us.

 The museum has different trails for families and we began with the Tudor Trail.

 The museum is huge and the collection is impressive.  We stopped for a snack in this amazing dining room.  There are three dining rooms (the Gamble Room, the William Morris Room, and the Edward Pynter Room) all designed by famous designers of the time.  We ate in the Gamble Room.  It was designed in part by Henry Cole, the museum's first director.  The ceramics serve to make the room both hygienic and fireproof.  The kitchens were still outside the main building.  Nick is an expert on Henry Cole and one of his displays is all about him.

I was trying to read the sayings around the room and couldn't manage.  The world wide web has come through and provided me with some of them: Hunger is the best sauce.  A good cup makes all young.  

There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy the good of his labour.  Ecclesiastes II, 24

 I was quite happy to be inside with a warm cup of coffee; outside wind whipped and the snow fell.

 Cool chandelier over the information desk

 Earliest Shakespeare folio in existence

The theater area had many costumes from old and new productions and some costumes to try on.

The Architectural Courts feature plaster castes of many of the worlds architectural masterpieces.  There is a full sized model of Michelangelo's David.  I need an expert to explain to me how this process is done.  I don't understand.

I hope to come back to the V and A to take my time and enjoy more of the museum.  The building is amazing and there is so much to see.  Thanks, Nick!

To London by Chunnel

Last Sunday we hopped on a train at North Station and took a train to London.  The entire trip takes about two and a half hours and only about twenty minutes are under water.  I did my best to not think about that leg of the trip, and for the most part succeeded.  I am great at thinking of every possible worst case scenario.

We stayed right near Kensington Gardens.  Here is a photo on the side of Kensington Palace.  Princess Diana once lived here.  We were impressed with London's parks; several connected parks run through the middle of the city.

 The girls enjoyed playing in the Princess Diana Memorial Playground.  There is an enormous pirate ship to explore, swings, and buried treasure.

 

 It was the coldest it had been in London all winter.  We did not have our winter coats, but did our best to layer up.  France and England both got snow and ferry service was halted.

I was proud that I remembered to bring our friend, Kara's, Flat Stanley on our trip.

We warmed up with some tea and few games of Bananagrams and Pass the Pigs.

March 8, 2013 = one year in Paris

A year ago today we boarded a plane from Canada to France.  We have had a good and sometimes tough year and are looking forward to the rest of our time here.  I am impressed by people who move their families every two or three years.  After doing it once, I am clear that I am not meant to have that lifestyle.  That said, I am very grateful for the opportunity to live here!

This school year has been great and the girls have wonderful, caring teachers and have made some good friends.  I am amazed by how much they are both learning.  I am so jealous of their ability to pick up French like little sponges.

 Yesterday, we wanted to get outside but we were afraid that it would rain.  We compromised by going to the Louvre and then having a long run around in the Tuileries.  The rain held off and the girls had a great time with school friends from NYC and some tourists from Georgia.

 We got a few kids' books about the Louvre for Christmas.  Sylvia held on to the Egyptian one and kept us informed about the different dieties.  Lillian read all of the French translations of the hieroglyphics and the rest of us checked out this scribe statue.

Sekhmet is one of my favorites.  She was orginally a warrior goddess and then came to be a kind of protector of cities or palaces.  This room has a row of regal Skehmets.

We are headed to London for the second week of March Break and I am looking forward to it.

Salvador Dalí at the Centre Pompidou

The girls have two weeks off of school.  We began our adventures at Centre Pompidou.  Last year, we began our vacation adventures in much the same way.  You can check that out here.  The Dali exhibit has been hugely popular.  As you can see, it is open most nights until 11:00.  The girls and I got there before the museum opened and waited in line.  Once the museum opened, we were able to walk right into the exhibit.  However, the exhibit was so busy that it was hard to see much.  By the time we left the museum, they were announcing that there was a hour and a half wait to enter the Dali exhibit.

Before going to the exhibit, I did a little research and learned that Dali was even stranger than I had thought.  He was obviously a talented artist and some of the painting were amazing.  He was prolific and there was tons of stuff, including movies and very bizarre sculptures.  There is a lobster phone, which I guess is quite famous.  There was also a mannequin bust with a plastic baguette on her head and a fancy pen holder on top of the baguette.  I am sure this is all worth a lot of money.  The Wikipedia entry on Dali talks about how he liked attention.  He went to a New York City party dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his friend went as his kidnapper. 

This Year

                                           Last Year

 

The view from the escalator is worth going into the museum.  Unfortunately, although it was a sunny day the pollution dimmed the view.  The cranes are all working on the new version of Les Halles.

Tutto by Alighiero Boetti (this is just a little piece of it)

We took a little time to investigate some of the permanent collection.  It seemed very calm after the frenzied Dali exhibit.

 

We stopped just here at the time by Ernesto Neto

 This is truly bizarre.  The sacks are filled with some sort of spices so that it is supposed to also be an olfactory experience.

 1024 Farben [350-3] by Gerhard Richter

Lillian said this reminded her of the paint swatches that she and Sylvia used to like to take from Home Depot

On the way out, we stopped at the new hands-on kids' area

  

Last year's photos of the fountain are better because it was a few weeks later and the fountain was filled and functioning.

There are usually lots of buskers and lots of activity in the square surrounding Centre Pompidou.  We ate some ham and cheese crepes, enjoyed the sun, and contemplated the scene.

La Défense

Tuesday, Lillian's class went on a field trip to La Défense; it is the largest purpose-built business district in all of Europe.  La Défense is named after the iconic statue La Défense de Paris, which was erected in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.  The first building went up in 1958.  Lillian's class is studying le paysage urbain (urban landscapes).  In Paris proper, Tour Montparnasse is the only skyscraper. Two years after its completion skyscrapers were banned in the city.

This is La Grande Arche de la Défense.  It was completed in 1989 and is considered a modern version of L'Arc de Triomphe.  The history teacher who accompanied Lillian's class told a long story about how the architect was not very well known and had not expected to win.  The architect was hiking in the mountains when the winner of the contest was announced and he had to be found to accept the great honor.

 

La Grande Arche is lined up exactly with the Louvre and L'Arc de Triomphe.

 There is a large courtyard for concerts and gatherings and lots of modern art.

This is by Alexander Calder.

 

This is by Joan Miró.

 

There was a visitors' center with all sorts of models and information.  The history/geography teacher who led the field trip knew her stuff and had a binder full of information about La Défense.

 Here is Lil's class.  There are 33 kids in her class!  Her teacher is doing a fine job and I do not envy her one bit.