Monet’s ‘La rue Montorgueil à Paris’, is a painting depicting a jubilant celebration during the French festival of 30th June 1878.
The painting doesn’t only confirm the historic significance of this market street; it also manages to capture, to some degree, the spirit of this vibrant and colourful street.
Rue Montorgueil is a pedestrian market street, home to some famous restaurants, cafés, bars, bakeries and other excellent food markets.
Stohrer has been making fine pastries at their 51 Rue Montorgueil location for nearly 300 years.
And of course, L’Escargot, which seems to be in a bit of trouble at the moment, has been around since the late 19th century.

It truly is the food lover’s paradise; charming and lively with so much to explore from little cheese shops, fish markets, green grocers to candy shops, and patisseries.
It’s where to go to people watch; and observe regular Parisians go about their day, which naturally involves a lot of time in cafés
This is one of my absolutely favourite places in Paris, although I haven’t explored it enough to offer any helpful insights, save for pretty pictures – but David Lebovitz has a handy post on the awesomeness that is Rue Montorgueil.

 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – 1000 5th Ave, NY

One of the first things I did when I visited New York during the Easter break was go to the Met.
I’d put off the Met for years. It was always one of those things on my itinerary that I never seemed to get to.
I decided to do it first this time… because when it’s between spending my last day in New York on the High Line and a museum, chances are I’ll choose the park over the museum every time.

With scant hours to spare, I did a few collections from a section of the museum and decided to leave the rest for another time (a tip I got re the Louvre).
I loved everything about the Met; from the stairs, to the collections I saw, to afternoon tea at the café with the views of Central Park.

The American Wing Courtyard

I spent most of the time getting through the amazing collection of ‘Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas’ – nine galleries in all, which was about all the time I had.
It reminded me of Quai Branly, which is probably my favourite museum.
I find that I’m drawn to ‘indigenous’ art (not surprising, really), it’s inspiring and motivating, I come away wanting to create.

The African galleries includes an extensive collection of pieces from the Dogon people. Fascinating people…
I loved seeing was El Anatsui’s ‘Between Hell and Heaven’ – his installation ‘Akua’s Surviving Children’ is one of the most moving works of art I’ve ever seen.

And here are a few photos from the Met…

Entrance – The Met Stairs

Art from Oceania & Sunlit courtyard

Necklace - René Jules Lalique

Between Earth and Heaven – El Anatsui

Couch and footstool with bone carvings & More art of Imperial Rome

Marble Sarcophagus

Afternoon Tea at The Petrie Court Café

The Struggle of the Two Natures in Man

Photoquai is a biennale photography exhibition founded in 2007 by the Quai Branly Museum to showcase ‘non-western’ photographers.
The term ‘non-western’ sounds vague, but these are mostly emerging photographers from countries that aren’t usually included in larger photo exhibitions.
The 2011 exhibition, held outdoors on the banks of the Seine, right across from the museum in the 16th arrondissement, ran between September and November last year, and I was lucky enough to have caught it while on vacation.

The photos are snapshots of the world; unique and intriguing, showcasing a world perhaps different from many at the exhibit.
I imagine the photographers are fascinating too; their photos are varied and moving, they tell complex tales of people and places in Africa, Asia, Australia, Eastern Europe and South America.
The photos connect you to these places and make you inquisitive…. It leaves you wanting to learn more about the people and places in the pictures.
Vibrant and beautifully shot, the exhibition felt impressive under the open sky.

AutoPotraits – Hélèn Amouzou / Togo
Hélèn took these self-portraits for an art school assignment, at a time when she was also seeking asylum in Belgium.

Waiting Little People – Sergey Loier / Russia
This set on orphans was my favourite of the exhibition; the pictures are beautiful, haunting and poignant.
It’s almost like a fairytale with the bit in the notes that all the children in the pictures found homes
I hope they are happy

Alter Gogo Getters – Andrew Esiebo – Nigeria
The Gogo Getters are a football team made up entirely of grandmothers

Adrián F. Milanès / Cuba

Spring Summer Collection 2018 – Hassan Hajjaj / Morroco
I loved these playful photos from Hassan Hajjaj

And the picture I didn’t take… is young Mack Magagane’s ‘I’ll Be Gone Soon,’ black and white pictures shot in Johannesburg which shed light on teen suicide in South Africa

The next Photoquai exhibition happens in 2013

 
I’ve already talked about my thing for cemeteries… and how I find them calming and centering.
So it probably wouldn’t come as a surprise that I went to the world’s most visited cemetery while in Paris last year.
Père Lachaise Cemetery is in the 20th arrondissement in the eastern part of the city, it was about a twenty-minute walk from our little apartment in the Haut Marais.
Pere Lachaise is evocatively beautiful, a place of soothing solitude, the ultimate resting place.
It’s laid out like a city; with its named cobblestone streets, and rolling hills, tall trees and house-like mausolea, with views of the Eiffel Tower.
Many famous people are buried here, Edith Paif, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Mollière, etc, etc etc…
Colette’s grave was among the many I loved seeing; her life always intrigued me.
And many more interesting graves… like this

What becomes of the dream when the dream is over?

I’ll always associate my first time in Brussels with the Belgian bank Dexia; for days prior to the trip, Paris was abuzz with news of the bank’s demise.
When the lovely Belgian couple on the train asked what we were looking forward to the most in Brussels, I almost said the Dexia tower – suddenly I wanted to see what a failing bank looked like, but I said the Manneken-Pis, of course.
I loved every bit about Brussels, even getting there was fun…
Seriously, if I lived in Europe I’d visit a new city every weekend – travelling around Europe by train is so convenient and painless. The journey from Paris Nord to Brussels Midi took a relaxing 1:20mins.

It was still early when we arrived, so we found a quiet spot at Galeries Royales St. Hubert and had an unhurried breakfast.
We spent the first part of the day sightseeing, we went through Palace Royale, Palais de Justice, Parc du Cinquantenaire and the triumphal arch, AutoWorld and the Great Mosque of Brussels.
Then to the magnificent Berlaymont Building, home of the European Commission and explored the rest of the European district.
We then ventured further away from the city to Heysel Park to see the Atomium.

The second part of our day was spent in the shopping district, starting out at Boulevard de Waterloo a wide street lined with trees and luxury shops with beautiful window displays.
But first, we chanced upon Parc d’Egmont and decided to take a little break.
Tucked away from busy streets and boulevards, this lovely park is a refuge of calm and respite.
This was my favourite moment of the trip, and the L’Orangerie du Parc d’Egmont.

The Avenue Louise area has a good variety of restaurants and stores; notable French, Italian and (of course,) Belgian designers/brands line the street.
It’s a nice area to wander about; nice long stretch of street, with wonderful architecture and lots to see, and if you got tired, you could always take a break at the bar at the Sofitel Brussels Le Louise – This was quite exciting for me because I hadn’t been to a Sofitel since Mammy Yoko (when it was a Sofitel).

For the final leg our day, we made our way towards the Grand Place determined to get all the touristy things out of the way, we saw and took pictures of/with the Manneken-Pis and got souvenirs.
I sadly didn’t try waffles (in the touristy areas) because someone had one and declared “I’ve had better Belgian waffles at the airport in Amsterdam”
I loved the grand and impressive Grand Place! Definitely the most stunning square I’ve ever seen – the gothic and baroque architecture, impressive gold gildings… and the people – the atmosphere there is amazing.

We walked the cobblestoned and winding streets along the shops and outdoor cafés of Grasmarkt, and forgot to have dinner until it was too late.
We ended our day at the Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule, a beautiful cathedral on a hill with magnificent stained glass windows, sculptures and artwork. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect finish to our day.

If you’re in Brussels for a day…
Eat
Le Mokafé
Galerie du Roi 9
Brussels

L’Orangerie du Parc d’Egmont
Parc d’Egmont
Brussels
website

Crystal Lounge at Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
40 Avenue de la Toison d Or
Brussels
website

See
Horta Museum
Atomium / Mini Europe
Army and Military Museum
AutoWorld
Grand Place

Do
Parc d’Egmont
Shop Rue Antoine Dansaert
Shop Avenue Louise & Boulevard de Waterloo
Galeries Royales St. Hubert
Drink beer at Cantillon Brewery