Guggenheim and Museo de Bella Artes in Bilbao

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Trudy

Friday October 2

We were going to take the metro into Bilbao but it was impossible to find a parking spot anywhere nearby so we ended up driving into the City. Once again I am very thankful for our trusty iPad and its navigational abilities. We finally find a parking garage there and walk to the Guggenheim along the river. We pass this big mural under a bridge.

Soon we see the museum, which is a very impressive building, covered in thin sheets of titanium. I quite like this big spider sculpture. Another view near the entrance.

The Guggenheim Bilbao was not what we expected, and judging by the looks on the other visitors’ faces, not what they expected either. I did like the Richard Serra installation called The Matter of Time. Here is a picture of a picture and then a not very good photo of Bob walking through one of the sculptures to give an idea of its immense size.

An interactive art work. Can you spot me?

There were only two other exhibits, one of an artist named Jean-Michel Besquiat and a couple of video installations that were very strange. Besquiat’s work was a bit like street art, quite dark and hard to appreciate. Look him up if you are interested. There were no photos allowed. I decided that the building itself is really a piece of artwork and needs to be appreciated that way. It is not a functional building for displaying art, or even for navigating through.

We have tea and some tapas in the café and we decide we have seen enough of the Guggenheim.

One of Bilbao residents favourite pieces of art is Puppy by Jeff Koon. It is a 13 m (43′) high sculpture of a Highland Terrier with a coat of flowers. It made both of us smile.

And…I don’t think Inhave mentioned how much people in Spain love dogs. There are dogs eveywhere, and often they are very large dogs. These two ladies had seven dogs between them, some of them were off leash.

We had our picnic lunch on the benches here and then go to the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, which was wonderful. It was very well organized chronologically and the paintings were also labeled in English, which we really appreciated. There are so many fantastic Spanish painters I have never even heard of. We particularly liked the 13th to 15th Century paintings which were larger, more colourful and full of expression than paintings we have seen from this time in other museums. I took a quick snap of this Mary Cassatt work, which is one of my favourites. I was so surprised to walk into a room and find this painting.

On our walk back to our car I took this photo to show the mix of very modern sculpture in the foreground, very old buildings, and then the extremely modern tower in the background. Everywhere in Spanish cities and towns we see this interesting mix of styles.

Prehistoric Cave Drawings at El Castillo, Las Monedas, and Altamira

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Trudy

Thursday, October 1

The caves are not all that easy to find. There are not a lot of signs for some of these main tourist attractions on the roads in the towns or villages once you are off the highways. We actually made a ‘wrong’ turn that got us close, and then we asked directions from three local women who were sitting on an old stone bench on the side of the road, cracking and eating walnuts, while they visited. It is an uphill winding road to the caves and we arrive in time for the last tour of the day at 1:40. That is another thing that is taking some getting used to, the hours that attractions and businesses are open. More on that later.

We are not allowed any pictures inside the cave and there are only four of us on the tour, so no chance to ‘sneak’ a picture or two…however we are allowed to take a picture before we enter the cave from the waiting area.

The first cave we enter is El Castillo, or Castle Cave, named after the mountain where it is located. The cave is incredible in its own right. The following cave pictures are taken from information in the interpretive centre.Then there are the cave drawings! The oldest, the negative handprints are 35,000 years old! There are also many drawings of bison, horses, reindeer and abstract symbols, including lots of round red shapes whose meaning is unknown.Having a guide is essential, we never would have seen most of the drawings without her. Our guide only spoke a little English, but it was enough to explain a bit of what we were seeing and answer basic questions. We decide we need to wait until after lunch and see the Las Monedas Cave which is also open, so we have our picnic lunch in a nearby farmer’s field. We keep looking for bulls as we hear branches cracking but discover it is only the chestnuts falling from the trees. Las Monedas has even more spectacular rock formations than El Castillo. The stalactites and stalagmites are incredible, and form a multitude of differently shaped spires, pillars and other shapes. There is so much to see that my head is swivelling in all directions, which can be rather dangerous on uneven, slippery wet footing!Our guide for this cave, Rebecca is amazing. Her English is very good and she has an extensive knowledge of the cave but also of archeology and history as well. We are the only people on this tour and our scheduled 45 minute visit extends to an hour and a quarter. We are so glad we changed our plans and decided to see this cave as well. There are only a few charcoal drawings in this cave, near the entrance. I did some sketching in the caves, difficult without much light and not a lot of time, but it was an awesome feeling to think I was standing making art in the same spot as a prehistoric artist stood some 35,000 years ago!

We do a little exploring of our own after our tour.

Next stop the famous Altamira Caves. These caves are no longer open to the public due to the damage caused by thousands of daily visitors in the 70’s, but there is an accurate reproduction called the NeoCave that we can visit and a museum. I sit on the floor looking up and I try to draw, it is pretty hard on my neck. Here is a photo of my efforts.

These are two pictures I took of the NeoCave. We are amazed at the size, brightness and number of drawings. The NeoCave is better than not seeing them at all, but I can only imagine what it must feel like to have been able to see the actual drawings in their original setting. Hand drawings from the museum display.

We are the last people out of the museum at 8:00 and we need to drive home in the dark. This proves to be a bit of a challenge as we hit road construction, some detours and then we miss a few of the turns so made our own detours! Thank heavens for the iPad and its maps with GPS. I think we would have been driving around all night without it!

Castillo de Loarre and San Juan de la Pena

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Trudy

On Tuesday we visited Castillo de Loarre, a beautifully preserved Romanesque church and fortress that was started in 1071, over 900 years ago! A film called Kingdom to Heaven was filmed there, I think in 2005. This is our first view of the castle.

These are the ornate windows in the Queen’s tower. We had to watch our footing in this Medieval castle.We were surprised by this para glider overhead, then we saw many more of them as there was a jumping off spot on the mountain just behind castle.

There was an amazing panoramic view of the valley below us… and this was our view while we had a picnic lunch!After lunch we headed to the San Juan de la Pena Monastery. On the way we pass Aguero, a little village nestled at the base of dramatic eroded stone cliffs. We would have loved to stop and explore, but there just isn’t time. I thought three months would be so much time but there is so much to see everywhere that we have to pick and choose.

The new monastery has an interpretive center built over the old ruins. It is the modern building to the right in the photo below. It is a huge long building with a glass floor to view the excavated ruins below. I find it rather unnerving walking on a clear glass floor!

Then we go below and walk through part of the excavations. There is also another enormous building with more ruins and figures to walk through.

We catch a bus to the old Monastery which is sheltered under a bulging rock. It was founded in 920 and the Holy Grail is said to have been kept here to protect it from the Muslim invaders. There is a replica in the chapel.

The cloister has beautifully carved capitals with scenes from the Bible.We have a bit of time before the bus comes back to pick us up (there is no where to park near the Monastery) so I start a sketch.

On the way home we drive through several long tunnels that cut right through the mountains. This one was over a kilometer long!

My Last Full Day In Paris

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Trudy

I decide to go back to the Louvre today to do some drawing but on arriving I discover that the first Sunday of the month the museum is open to everyone, so it is absolutely packed, wall to wall people! Certainly not conducive to study and drawing so I head over to the Eugene Délacroix museum on the Left Bank instead.

On the way I stop in at Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, the oldest church in Paris. There are marble columns inside that date from 512 AD. The church has been repaired and enlarged over the centuries and is an example of Early Gothic and Romanesque styles. The church as I saw it today was mostly built in 1163 but it is once again in need of repairs and restorations.

This is the view from the north west corner and the sculpture of a head in the bottom right of the picture is by Picasso.

The view from the front door. This church was beautifully painted with many stained glass windows high above the church floor.

The pillars and columns are covered in painted designs…

and I also loved the pillar’s beautiful bases.
I was surprised to see that one of the stained glass windows had a small part that opened. It was very high up, so I have no idea how they get it opened and closed.

A bust and chandelier were nicely silhouetted against this window.

The colours are incredible. Stained glass windows need light to show off their beauty.

This picture is a bit dark, these cathedrals are always quite dark inside, but it does show the windows that encircle the church. Just around the corner from the church and down a little side street is the museum I am looking for.

Here is the entrance to the Musée National Eugène Dèlacroix’ which contains his home and studio. One of the fascinating things about Paris is the way a door will open onto a courtyard or garden and offer a glimpse into a secret place. You just have no idea what might be behind one of those big old doors.

This is a palette that Delacroix is thought to have given to Henri Fantin-Latour who, like Délacroix prepared his painting palette with great care.

Dèlacroix’s studio had many of his paintings and lithograph prints and in the house there were many lithograph prints with their original stone printing plates. He had the studio built to his specifications, with huge north windows and skylights.

Here is a view of the studio from its private garden. The garden has been recently restored, under the supervision of the gardeners of the Tuileries and due to the generosity of a donor named Mr. Kinoshita. There were lists of the plants purchased and the work carried out in Délacoix’s archives so it has been faithfully restored, and is a beautiful calm oasis in a busy city. His home is in the building on the right of the photo, it was quite large and well appointed.A view of the garden looking from the studio. I decide it is time to think about heading home and walk from here towards the Louvre, as I want to stop at their bookstore and a couple other shops nearby.

There are some sights that are very definitely Parisian. Do you notice all the parked cars?

I have no idea how the drivers here manage to park in such tiny spots, or even how they manage to get out of them, but they do! It is quite something to watch.

I pass some very interesting looking shops, but as it is Sunday they are all closed so I take some photos through the windows. Too bad, or maybe good, as I am sure I would have found some fascinating item that I would have wanted to bring home.

All sorts of curious and interesting things.

This window was intriguing, especially in light of all the figure drawing I have been doing.

I snap a couple last photos and head home to get packed and ready for my flight home tomorrow.

Me and the Mona Lisa!

Here are my metro drawings from the last couple of days.

The Louvre, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Trudy

I decide to go visit the Louvre again on Saturday. This is a view of the enclosed courtyard at the east end of the building. It is hard to comprehend just how big this museum is, it covers almost 15 acres.

The Louvre was originally a fortress built in 1190, but it was rebuilt in the 16th century to be a royal palace which continued to be expanded over the years. The Louvre became an art museum in 1793, when Louis XIV moved to Versailles. It is now the largest museum in the world.

The Louvre contains 35,000 works of art on display, divided into eight departments: the Near Eastern Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Islamic Art, Sculptures, Decorative Arts, Paintings and Prints and Drawings.

It is impossible to see all of this museum in one day. Even walking through all its galleries in one day would be a challenge, never mind actually stopping to look at the art. Many of the paintings are very large, as is The Pentecote, 1732 by Jean Restoutst. There weren’t many people in this room so I was able to set up my little gorilla pod and take my own picture.

It is easy to be mesmerized by the art on display but I also found it interesting to remember to look up and to look past the art work to see the palace itself. Here are some photos that remind us that the Louvre was first and foremost a royal palace, and what a palace!.

The Apollo gallery. I love the red walls and remembered this room from our last visit eight years ago.

This is the Grand Gallery! and the picture below is about halfway down this long room. If you double click the photo to enlarge it and look closely you can just make out the statue above the heads of the people in the picture above, and then the Gallery continues way past the statue!

In a side room off off the Grand Gallery is the painting most people come to the Louvre to see. La Joconde, more commonly known as the Mona Lisa.

It is behind bullet proof glass now, and is pretty much always surrounded by hordes of people, most of whom are very surprised, and sometimes disappointed, at the rather small size of this very famous painting.

This is Eugene Delacroix’s The Death of Sardanapalus, just one of many familiar paintings. After seeing these paintings in my books for so many years it is wonderful to be able to stand before the actual works. I spend about four hours here and then head off to visit a couple other Paris landmarks.

First, The Galeries Lafayette, this incredible dome is located in the main store, which has nine floors and covers an entire city block. There are two other stores, connected by walkways, each of which also covers a city block! This place is enormous, and very crowded with shoppers.

A view looking down onto the perfume, makeup and fashion accessories floor.

The shoe department covers one entire floor. The floors are divided into ‘mini stores’ where each designer has their own displays and sales people. There are so many people shopping that the escalators are absolutely jammed with people all the time. I find It totally overwhelming, there is no way I would be able to shop here, and after taking a few pictures I leave.

I head down the block to Printemps, thinking that it might be a bit smaller and easier to look around.

… but it is just as big and almost as busy. Here is the floor map of Printemps, again three stores connected by walkways, each store a city block long and wide.

I am definitely not a shopper! I spent less than an hour in these stores and that was more than enough for me.

I find a little sidewalk cafe and stop for a much needed meal and a pot of tea. This mural is on the building across the street. The guy in the corner was my very charming French waiter.

On the way to the Metro I stop in to visit a little church, Saint-Louis D’Antin but there is a service taking place so I don’t want to walk around and just snap a photo from the entrance. Even the small churches are very beautiful.

Here are just a few of the goodies I saw on display today. They look scrumptious, but not for me… I did have one raspberry tart today at the Louvre. It was the only time I ate something that I shouldn’t have on this trip. It is really almost impossible to find desserts that do not have gluten, egg or dairy. Strangely, I didn’t feel deprived, or really want to eat bread, cheese or pastries. I know if I eat these things I don’t feel well and I think that knowledge takes away the temptation, but I did enjoy looking at the displays.

Saying Goodbye to Académie de la Grande Chaumiére

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Trudy

Today was the last day of drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiére, and I felt quite sad when I left. I really loved the time I spent here, and this week I have had several conversations with some of the artists drawing there. I guess it took a while for me to feel comfortable enough to do so, and today several people came and initiated conversations with me, which was really nice. Here is ‘my spot’ in the studio

I came back for one final look around before heading to the Musee d’Orsay. The stools get stacked at night so the studio is ready for a painting class in the morning.

I am really going to miss being here. This intensive life drawing experience has convinced me that I need to do this more than once a week when I am home. I often didn’t even manage to go every week, but I am determined to change that.

I made my way to the Musée d’Orsay, which used to be an old train station and now is the home to an impressive collection of art, especially the works of the Impressionists and the Post Impressionists.

The museum is open till nine tonight so I have almost two and a half hours, which isn’t all that much time. Two of the floors of the museum were closed for renovations, which in a way was good, as there was less to see! There are a lot of Monet’s paintings here. One of the things I realized as I walked around was the sheer number of paintings these artists produced, and this is just one museum, their works are in so many other museums around the world. It shows that it is essential to actually make art if you want to get good at it. Completing two or three pieces a year just isn’t enough to make a difference in the quality of your work.

Some of the paintings are surprisingly small and then there are those that are vey big! I managed to see most of what I was interested in, but realized I could easily spend at least a couple of days here studying the work more closely and doing some drawings as a way of studying as well.

My focus this trip was life drawing, but I am thinking that I could very easily come back and spend more time in the museums in addition to the life drawing. Maybe one day in the not too distant future….

I discovered that it is possible to go out on the roof of the museum and take some pictures. It was getting dark but they give an idea of the view. Here is the Louvre across the Seine, and Sacre Couer in the distance. You can see that it is definitely on a hill!

I asked someone to take my picture, so here I am with the Louvre behind me.

All too soon it is nine and the museum closes, so I head home. It is late and I am busy drawing on the metro and I miss my stop! I have to go quite a bit further to connect with a line than will take me home and it meant many more flights of stairs and a long walk, probably two blocks at least, through underground tunnels until I got to the station I needed. I counted stairs today and on the trip to the Academié there are over one hundred stairs to climb or go down, and that is just one way! And it is also probably the least number of stairs of all the trips that I make on the metro. No wonder there aren’t many overweight Parisians!

I took this picture in a mirror on a corner, (so people don’t crash into each other? ) and didn’t realize there were lines all over my face till now! It is after midnight, so I will post the last of my drawings at the Académie tomorrow morning when I am not so tired and there will be better light to take the pictures.

Sublime to Strange

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Trudy

Earlier this trip I visited Giverny, so I really wanted to see Monet’s water lily paintings. The metro stopped at the Concorde Station, which has walls covered with the text of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, one letter per tile, no punctuation or spacing between words. I knew about this see this, but wasn’t sure where it was located, so it was a nice surprise to find it completely by accident.

I headed off to the Orangerie today and although there was a bit of a line it only took about half an hour before I was inside. I was going to have a cup of tea and a bite to eat before taking a look at everything but was surprised to find that there were no facilities here for eating, or even getting a tea or coffee, so I was out of luck.

There was a special exhibit of Emile Bernard’s work so I headed there first. No photographs allowed in here, but there were eight rooms of his work and it was an excellent collection.

The permanent collection also featured Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, Modigliani, Derain, Laurencin, Rousseau, Utrillo and Soutine. Unfortunately most of the Modigliani’s were not available for viewing today. There was a hallway full of Renoirs!

Some of Picasso,s earlier works. The Orangerie isn’t a huge place but it still took a while to see everything, and then I went to view Les Nymphéas. No photos in here either. I tried a sketch to get a feel of the size of these paintings but it wasn’t very successful, so I sneaked a photo from the entry to one of the two galleries. I am going to have to practice some architectural drawings, not having much success with them at all.

Monet designed these galleries himself and I couldn’t imagine these paintings displayed any other way. I knew they were huge works and I have a beautiful book at home with great close up views of the paintings but I was certainly not prepared for the impact of actually being in their presence. There are seats in the centre of each gallery to sit and contemplate, and I certainly did that. This a monumental work. I could picture Monet painting these canvases, and there are so many layers of paint that the surface of the paintings are actually quite heavily textured. Looking into the layers of paint was much like looking into the dark reflective waters of lily pond at Monet’s Giverny.

I planned on going to the Louvre for of a couple of hours but on the way there were a lot of people milling about near some big white tents. So I went to see what it was all about.

This is Fashion week in Paris, a very big event, and a fashion show had just ended. The attendees were leaving and posing for photos. There are photographers with huge lenses everywhere, it was rather chaotic and surreal.

I have no idea who the lady in the black coat is, but she generated a lot of attention and was pretty much mobbed by professional looking photographers who seemed very pleased to have taken photos of her.

There were the certainly lots of very beautiful people and then there were some rather strangely dressed people as well.

And, perhaps one of the strangest of all! He posed for a lot of pictures and seemed very pleased with himself.

By the time the crowd was thinning out it was too late for the Louvre, so I found a cafe in the Jardin des Tuileries and ordered a salad and a pot of tea.

It was good, but it was also 21€, which is thirty dollars Canadian! Having my own little kitchen and preparing meals has certainly saved me some money!

Stopped for one last photo on the way home beside one of the dozens of big tents erected for Fashion Week.

Buses and The Champs -Élysées

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Trudy

I decided to try taking the bus today instead of the metro so I could see more of the streets of Paris. The bus map is a little intimidating, and rather confusing, but I am starting to figure it out. Wednesday’s life drawing class is in the evening, and although I am feeling quite comfortable walking about by myself in the daytime I don’t really want to be out at night, so no drawing class today.

I took the bus from my place to the Pont Neuf right beside the Louvre, popped inside for a quick visit to la toilette, (more on toilettes later…) and then walked towards the Tuileries.

Looking towards one wing of the Louvre.

These are the beautiful gardens just west of the Louvre. They even have an off leash area for dogs at the end closest to the Louvre. I can’t believe how many dogs, and all the big dogs that people have in this city.

I stopped for lunch at a cafe in the park, and then continued on to the far end of the Tuileries which is Place Concord. This is a huge square with an Egyptian obelisk in the centre, flanked by two identical ornate fountains.

There is so much to see here that it is hard to know where to look. Sometimes I just stand in one spot and slowly rotate, every direction I look brings some new amazing sight into view.

The end of the Tuileries and the entrance to Place Concorde, with the Eiffel Tower thrown in, as though there isn’t enough to look at here.

Soon I am walking along the Champs-Élysées and realize that Autumn is almost here, the leaves are beginning to change colour. It has been sunny and warm every day since I arrived, temperatures have been between 21 and 25 every day, so it feels very much like summer. I couldn’t ask for better weather.

The parks here are so very well maintained, and the flowers everywhere are magnificent.

There is an art exhibit along the street.

Many of the photos moved me to tears. War seems so very senseless.

This is the Grand Palais National Gallery, I check it out but it is a 30€ entrance fee! I don’t know what the exhibits are, I’ll have to see if it sounds worth such an expensive entrance fee.

One of the things I love about Paris are the incredible details, if one remembers to look. It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the grandeur of all these buildings, but when one looks closer there is almost always more to see..

And then even more to see. I think this beautiful mosaic frieze is probably not even noticed by many tourists.

Across the street is the Petit Palais, and it is free! It is a beautiful building full of beautiful art.

Checking out at a Rembrandt painting,

Taking a photo of the floor in the Petit Palais, it is all beautiful mosaics.

I decide I will come back here another day but want to continue my walk. I do stop for a much needed pot of tea in the museum cafe. It is a bargain at only 3€ and they are happy to supply more hot water to refill my pot. I do a few quick sketches of people while sitting in the cafe, and then head back out towards the Arc de Triomphe, along the very busy Champs-Elysées.

Yes, I was standing in the middle of the street to take this picture….but on a cross walk. The tree lined paths soon give way to very expensive shops. I walk into one of the shopping Galleries to have a look around.

Again, remembering to look for details..

And then there are the shop windows…

Notice the price for the tin of macaroons, 52€! I think there were 25 little macaroons in the tin.

There is a McDonalds on this very fancy street of shops! Bob and I stopped there for tea when we were in Paris several years ago, so I decided to stop and go sit upstairs overlooking the street just as we did before.

I finally make it to the Arc de Trimphe. It is in the middle of a very busy traffic circle so there is an underground tunnel to get to it. I was going to go to the top for a fee of 9.50€, but it was getting late and a bit hazy so I decide to save doing this for another time.

There was a remembrance ceremony happening so I stayed to watch for a while. It seemed as though family members were placing flowers in remembrance, not sure though. There were a lot of dignitaries and important looking people there too. This picture gives a good idea just how big this monument is.

Something must have been going on nearby because there were lots of sirens and seven or eight big Gendarmes paddy wagons type of vehicles came flying by, all in a row, along with several other police vehicles. I wonder what it was all about?

I find my way to the street with my bus stop and take a bus back to the Gare de L’Est, and then walk home. I am pretty tired, but had an interesting day.

I took so many more pictures, but I have to stop somewhere…..

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Trudy

I went to my first drop in life drawing session today at the Academié de la Grande Chaumière. The Academié was founded in 1902, and nothing much has changed in the studios since then, the original easels, stools and pot belly stove for warmth are still there. No cameras allowed in Life drawing studios but I snapped this quickly before the class started. I’ll take more the next time I am there.

It was quite amazing to be drawing in this historical studio. Modigliani, one of my favourite artists drew here often, who knows, maybe sitting on the same bench as I was. The benches and stools are terribly hard on the bottom, perhaps I need a little pillow! Unfortunately the model was quite uninspiring. She was nice enough but had no energy and quite boring poses. Quite a few people left halfway through so I am hoping this is unusual; but you know it didn’t really matter, it was still a great afternoon. I’ll post pictures tomorrow as I need daylight to take the best photos of drawings. They are a bit hard to photograph, scanning works much better, but alas, no scanner.

Thanks to my dear friend Christine, I now know how to access the French key board and add accents. I didn’t know that they do not use the same letter arrangement on their keyboard as we do. Good thing I don’t have to use a French computer, way too many typos would be happening.

I love people watching here, and wish I had a camera built into my glasses so that I could snap pictures of the interesting people I see! I took this one of a lady dressed all in red through the Metro train window after I got off, and she looked up just after I snapped the photo; our eyes met and she smiled.

This fellow was practicing his skills beside my neighbourhood skate park. I stop there every night on the way home to watch for a while. I love the way the older boarders encourage the little ones, and some of them are very little, maybe five or six years old. There is also a protocol for whose turn it is next and there is a lot of encouragement and congratulations given when someone pulls off a good trick, even for the little ones. I am starting to recognize the regulars and I hope they are getting used to me watching as I would like to sit and draw them one day.

Skateboarding is very popular here, and it is quite common to see a boarder or two, or three, flying down a hill in the middle of the road with all the cars! All ages too, even some grey haired oldies.

I went to the Louvre for a couple of hours before I went to life drawing, but only did one very mediocre drawing of a sculpture. I think it will take a couple of times to feel comfortable drawing here, and to figure out the best places to sit. There aren’t too many benches or chairs placed in good positions for viewing pieces for drawing, and the marble floors are very hard. Hmmmm, maybe I really do need a little pillow?

I saw this window display yesterday. anyone want to buy a machine gun, or maybe a hand grenade? Certainly not something I would ever see back home!

The sun was shining on my apartment building when I came home. I am on the fourth floor, (called the 3rd here). It is the apartment with two flower boxes on the windows, two stories above the top of the truck. Take note of the graffiti on the delivery truck, a very common sight.

I was really tired coming home tonight. I do love the Metro, most of the trains arrive every three or four minutes and quickly whisk you away to your destination, such an easy way to get around a city. Sometimes entertainment is even provided, as with this ‘oom pa pa’ group.

I made a yummy supper wrote my blog post and I am off to bed.

Cezanne, Degas, Picasso and Trudy

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Trudy

So what do we all have in common? We buy our art supplies at Senneliers, the oldest art supply store in Paris! It was founded in 1887: Cezanne bought his oils here, Picasso liked their grey pastels, and Degas was one of the first clients for their 700 colour range of pastels. I resisted buying any more pastels (I do have a rather extensive collection…) but I wanted to buy a sketchbook for life drawing sessions here in Paris. I ended up buying three instead of just one. What was I to do? They were all nice and I couldn’t make up my mind.

The display and storage counters are original and have a lovely patina of age. The store isn’t all that large, but it is steeped in history and packed with beautiful art supplies. This wall of dry pigment is stunning and so are these luscious giant soft pastels, but check out the price, almost $20 each!

Besides spending money on art supplies, I saved lots of money at the Louvre. With my permanent teacher’s certificate I was able to purchase a yearly pass for only 35€. The entrance fee is 15€ and I intend to visit often, so this is really quite a bargain. I wasn’t sure that the agent was going to accept my Certificate, but after a little discussion, in French, he decided it was OK. One of the best things about this pass is that I don’t have to wait in line to get into the Louvre. There is a special entrance for pass holders. This morning when I arrived the line up to get inside was wrapped around the pyramid all the way to the reflecting pond in the front of this picture and was three or four people wide. Once inside it is necessary to line up again to buy a ticket. I was able to go in another entrance to buy the pass, so I didn’t even need to line up today either. Yay!

I wandered around inside the Louvre for an hour or so and started to feel very tired and had a little cough and sore throat starting so I decided to head home early and get a bit of rest. Walking to the metro I found several streets that seem to be all Art Galleries, one after the other. I will have to return another day.

I crossed the Seine on the Pont Neuf, the bridge with the love locks (lovers attach a lock with their names on it onto the bridge and throw the key in the Seine). This is being discouraged as it pollutes the Seiene and puts a strain on the bridge structure due to the weight of all the locks. They are removed periodically, and today there were not as many as I have seen in some pictures. Then I saw one of the things I don’t like much about Paris, a man relieving himself in plain sight on the bridge! Not all the puddles here are from dogs…

Perhaps a few pictures of my apartment will give you a idea of the size of the average Paris apartments. Mine is 12′ x10′ with a 6′ x 3.5′ kitchen nook. It also has a little bathroom with a 2′ x3 ‘ shower that is actually quite generous by Parisian standards, for a total of about 170’ square feet. I saw an advertisement today for a similar looking apartment that was 23 square meters, or about 240 square feet for sale for 240,000€ or about $336,000 Canadian! Remember this is also not in the heart of Paris, but in the 10th arrondissment.

trudymason.com

Travel, Art, Drawing, PaperArts

Category Archives: Museums

Guggenheim and Museo de Bella Artes in Bilbao

Prehistoric Cave Drawings at El Castillo, Las Monedas, and Altamira

Castillo de Loarre and San Juan de la Pena

My Last Full Day In Paris

The Louvre, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps

Saying Goodbye to Académie de la Grande Chaumiére

Sublime to Strange

Buses and The Champs -Élysées

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Cezanne, Degas, Picasso and Trudy

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