Category Archives: Sculptures

Metier Museum, Picasso Museum, and Life Drawing

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Day 8.    Sunday, September 7, 2025

We picked up our car this morning, a Ford Hybrid with a nice big trunk.  Driving back from Gare de Lyon to our bnb went well, and our host let us park in his yard for the night which we really appreciated.  There are next to no parking spots on the streets in this neighbourhood.

I left for drawing in Montmartre, which was an hour away.  I arrived just in time for the session, and the organizer, Deni, remembered me from the last time I was here, two years ago!

Aurora, five 2 minute poses, 1 5min pose

Two 5 minute poses, three 10 minute poses

One very challenging foreshortened 25 minute pose.

Before catching the metro home I stop to watch four very muscular handsome young men performing for donations, while I eat a yummy crepe sucré avec banane for my dinner.

There were a lot of steps on this metro trip so I decided to count them on the way home. Including these 104 spiral steps I went up and down 456 steps!!  So, going and coming from drawing I climbed up and down a total of 912 steps. No wonder French people are so healthy!  I was rather proud of myself climbing these spiral steps and passing a group of people much younger than I am huffing and puffing as they rested on one of the landings! 

Short skirts are in fashion…very very short skirts!

While I was at drawing Bob visited two museums.  The Musée des Arts et Métiers is a museum of technological innovation that exhibits over 2,400 inventions.  This is the first battery that was invented in 1799 by Volta.

This first sewing machine was invented in 1830. Dozens of these machines were destroyed by 200 tailors in 1831 who feared for their jobs.

The first steam driven vehicle was invented in 1770.

Leon Gaumont’s Sonophone combines image and sound for the first time in the history of cinema in 1900.

Bob spent a lot of time at the Picasso Museum…he texted me that he wasn’t sure what the exit door looks like!  The very large L’Aubade (1942) painting of two figures symbolized the violence of the war years.  Baiser, or the Kiss was painted in 1969. There was an interesting wall of portraits and a room with many of his sculptures. These are only a few of the 5,000 pieces of art at this museum.

This early Picasso portrait of Gustave Coquot is from 1901.  Picasso’s started painting when he was eight years old and didn’t start cubism until his thirties.

Bob took a photo of this Modigliani just for me, because he knows that I love Modigliani’s paintings. It was in the Picasso museum because both artists were influenced by African art and Picasso admired Modigliani’s work. We drive to Arras tomorrow so tonight we pack and tidy up.  It was great being able to attend three life drawing sessions in three days but it was a bit tiring too.  I don’t think I will find many more life drawing groups for a while.

Eiffel Tower, Bourdelle Museum and Drink and Draw

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Day 6,      Friday, September 5, 2025

 It always takes me awhile to feel comfortable drawing when we are on holidays, and as I hadn’t done any drawing for almost a month before we left, I really had a hard time getting started.  While we were sitting in Notre Dame during Vespers yesterday I finally took the plunge.  

Then riding home the metro I did these quick sketches.Friday we managed to start our day at noon. Soon we were at the Eiffel Tower.  Somehow it doesn’t seem right to be in Paris and not visit this iconic landmark, even though we have visited it several times already including climbing to the second level. We will try and book a visit on our return to Paris at the end of our trip to go all the way to the very top level!  These tickets book up weeks ahead.Two years ago we picnicked on the grass near here, but there were not nearly as many people as there are today.

We found a bench in the shade away from the crowds to eat our lunch and watched as seven military personnel complete with machine guns approach on the path in front of us.  I held up my phone to take photo and the leader signalled towards me with his finger…then one of the men following him came over to tell us that we were not allowed to take photos.  I wonder if they do not want photos of their faces published anywhere…so after they passed and we were walking behind them I snapped this one.  France is on high alert right now, but these are the first fully armed military we have seen this trip.

One more view of the Eiffel Tower, looking towards the bridge across Seine behind it. There are people everywhere, enjoying the sunshine.  The first time we visited we could walk right under the four massive legs but now this area is all closed off behind glass panels and everyone who wants to get close has to go through a security checkpoint which includes bag checks and full body scan, just like at the airports.

It is a 45 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Bourdelle Museum.  On the way we pass the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. You can still see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Just a bit further we pass this hotel that has trees and shrubs growing all over it.  I wonder what happens when they outgrow their planters?

There are all sorts of interesting building in Paris.  As we near the museum we pass this car park, completely panelled in brilliant colours.

The museum dedicated to Antoine Bourdelle is free. We first find the cafe and have some tea and cookies.  It felt good to just sit and relax for a while.  Bourdelle was a student of Rodin and after Rodin’s death Bourdelle dominated the field of monumental sculpture.  We see many examples of these monumental sculptures.  The museum is at the site of Bourdelles original  studio. As he became successful he added more rooms and gardens until it appeared much as it does today.  

One of the studios has this huge study for a hand.

Bourdelle was 50 years old when he finally became successful thanks to his Hercules the Archer statue. It represents the Greek hero wielding his bow to shoot down the Stymphalian birds. Copies of this sculpture were created in three versions and are in numerous museums in France and abroad.

There is a room full of magnificent sculptures…

and there are more sculptures in the gardens and courtyards.  Can you see Sue? (short for souris which means mouse in French). Since this little green mouse stowed away in our luggage she insists on coming along with us on our travels.

Sue is very curious and likes to check thing out for herself.

There are two of these huge horse sculptures at the museum.  

Bob sits in one of the gardens to read for a bit and I sketch one of the sculptures close by named Penelope, a larger than life size bronze of one of the wives of Odysseus, who waited faithfully for her husband to return. Bourdelle used the features of two women who loved him, he generous curves of his first wife, Stéphanie Van Parys, and the posture of his student, Cléopâtre Sevastos, the muse who would become his second wife.

After our visit to the museum. I went to a Drink and Draw session nearby and Bob headed for home.  Here are the drawings from my first life drawing session this trip.

2 minute poses and one 5 minute pose…

two more 5 minute poses…

two 5 minute and one 10 minute pose…and a 15, a 10 and a 25 minute pose.  

Ada is our model tonight, and I am sure that I recognize her from a previous life drawing session in Paris. She thinks that she recognizes me too! but we are unable to figure out where I might have drawn her before. I will have to check my other holiday sketchbooks when I get home. I take the metro and get home at 10:00. Bob meets me at our metro stop and carries my art stuff home for me…I am pooped…it was a ten hour 15,000 steps day!

Le Mans, France

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Day 85,  Tuesday, November 21, 2023

We are taking the TGV High speed Train to Le Mans.The train station with all the tracks and overhead electric lines that power the trains.

This link to a short video which shows how fast the countryside was flying by.  The vehicles on the highway are going 130 km an hour and we fly past them!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wt-AzdJG54

We are travelling 282 km an hour!

I thought I should snap a photo of our train.We are in Le Mans.

Just one of the many beautiful buildings in Le Mans.

We decide to wander and see where we end up.  Notre Dame de la Couture dates mostly from the 12th century.

We were the only people visiting the church, which seems even larger inside than it did outside.

The pillars in the church are beautifully decorated.

We don’t really get tired of visiting all these magnificent old churches.  Each one has something different and interesting to see.

So many of the churches we have visited are undergoing restoration of some type, this one is no different.  I think if you are in the restoration business in France there is no shortage of work.

I loved this simple sculpture.

We sat in the sun with a view of the Cathédrale de Saint-Julien de Mans to enjoy our picnic lunch.

This cathedral was built between the eleventh and the fifteenth century in a mixture of architectural styles and has some of the oldest stained glass windows in France still in their original location.There are also many sculptures in this church that retain their original polychrome finish.  We are so used to seeing bare stone sculptures that it is easy to forget that many if not most sculptures were originally painted in realistic colours.  These are some of the most beautiful that we have seen on this trip.

This Madonna and Child was stunning, as were the other polychrome sculptures in this church.

Some of the buildings in town have started to decorate for Christmas.  This one was rather unique!

Another interesting old building…I wonder what the inside looks like? There are cobbled streets everywhere,

There aren’t many people out and about in the old town…we are the only people on the these streets.  It feels strange, like the place is abandoned.

The old town is on high ground and we walk over this road which somehow passes beneath us…a tunnel perhaps?

More very old buildings, but everything is closed…too bad.

We finally see a few other people!

Even this beautiful, ornate merry-go-round is closed!  I love riding merry-go-rides. Too bad I won’t be able to try this one out.

After much searching we find a Paul’s and have some hot chocolate and yummy pastries….only 22 euros, or $32.00 Canadian!!  At least it was all delicious.

We walked past this beautiful variegated holly bush which was very Christmassy on our way to find the Musée de Tessé.We have seen several tree sculptures in different towns by this artist, whose name I have forgotten!  I quite liked them all.

We find the Musée Tessé and are surprised that there is no admission fee.  It isn’t a big museum, but it is just the right size for an afternoon visit.  This museum opened in 1799, and is one of the oldest in France. It has a collection of French, Italian and Flemish paintings from the 14th to the 20th century and a unique space dedicated to ancient Egypt.  Each era has a room dedicated to that period with a nice selection of work…not too overwhelming which suits us well today.

I liked this little portrait by Théodore Gericault…

this tempera on wood painting of Saint Agathe from 1315…

and this terra cotta sculpture of Saint Antoine from the last half of the 17th century.

We make our way to the basement down several flights of stairs to discover an area which has the reconstructed tombs of Nefertari and Sennefer.  The photos with their light reflections do not do this area justice.  It really reminded us of our time in Egypt. We were able to visit the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens.  This reconstruction is not the same as being in the real tomb but we really enjoyed seeing it all anyways.

These are canopic jars that contained the organs of’Ânkhouahibrê  that were removed from the body in the process of mummification: the lungs, liver, intestines, and stomach.

I thought these bird mummies were interesting.  I have seen cat mummies before but cannot remember seeing any bird mummies.

There are  bronze plaques of the ’24 Hours of Le Mans Race’ winning team’s hand prints set into the sidewalks of Le Mans.

All too soon it is time to catch the train back to Paris.  We didn’t have time to go visit the Le Mans Race museum as it was on the outskirts of town and it would have taken too long to go and visit, but we are happy with our day in Le Mans.

Catching the metro home…the station was very busy!  It has been full day and we are happy to be back home in our Paris apartment.

Dijon, Musée Des Beaux Arts

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Day 74, Friday November 10, 2023

This is day five since I got Covid and I am feeling better today so we go explore a bit of Dijon.  Bob has been out and about but I haven’t seen anything yet.  When we are around other people I wear a mask.  I shouldn’t be contagious anymore, but just in case…I wouldn’t want to make anyone else sick.

I love these geraniums growing on the landing windowsill.

First stop is the indoor market which is only a couple blocks from our apartment.  I have never seen such huge lettuces or cheeses!  The chrysanthemum plants were a bargain, only 5€ each.  There is also an outdoor market along the streets around the indoor market.  It is a busy place.

This floral display on the side of a building caught our eye.

Next stop is the Musée Rude.  This is a tiny museum, just one room with casts of sculptures created by Francois Rude who was born in Dijon.  Below are Mercury Fastening His Heel, Joan of Arc Listening to Her Voices. and Napoleon Awakening to Immortality. These casts were ordered by the Dijon museum between 1887 and 1910 to study and promote the work of François Rude.The cast of The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 , commonly called La Marseillaise , was made in 1938 by the French government, when it was feared that the Arc de Triomphe in Paris might be destroyed during the war. It is huge!

Here is the original  in Paris.

Dijon has its own Arc de Triomphe.  At one time this was one of the gates in the ramparts that surrounded the city in the 1700’s.  Now only the gate remains.

We visit the Moutarde Maille shop to buy a jar of Dijon Mustard.  In ancient days verjuice, or the juice from unripe grapes, was used to make Dijon mustard. Dijon was recognized as a producer of mustard by the thirteenth century and it is now regarded as the mustard capital of the world.  We can’t visit Dijon and not buy some mustard.This fabulous Art Nouveau building was built in 1907.  It reminds me of some of the buildings we saw in Barcelona.

There is a well in the courtyard to the Musée of Beaux Arts that seems to be a wishing well, so I take the opportunity to make a wish.

The Musée des Beaux Arts is a nice size.  It isn’t so big that it is overwhelming yet it still  presents collections from antiquity to the 21st century.  It opened in 1787 and it is one of the oldest museums in France.  We saw portraits like these years ago when we were in Egypt.

I had to have my picture taken next to this mummy. It is cold outside today and I am happy I have lots of layers to wear but when I see this picture it makes me think of the poem, When I am old I shall wear purple…

I thought this cat mummy looked rather like a child’s toy.

Journey of the Magi was completed in 1475 but it is so much brighter and more modern looking than other paintings from this time.

These fifteenth century wooden statues still have their original paint! 

I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful little Angel of the Annunciation!

And then there is this 16th century statue of Death…it made me think of a zombie!

Looking back into this room I noticed the strange optical illusion that makes it look like the display case in the middle of the room is floating.

There are rooms with very large paintings.

This 1748 portrait of the Queen Maire Leczinska caught my eye because of the casual pose…women were not portrayed sitting with their knees apart, especially queens.

I quite liked this small painting by Honoré Daumier.  Don Quixote is popular and we have seen several paintings of this subject.

The museum is in a wing of this palace which was the home of the Dukes of Burgundy in the 15th century.

There is a huge open plaza in front of the palace, which I am sure is usually busier than it is on this cold and wet day.

As we are walking towards Saint Michel church the sun peeks out and lights up the front of the church.

We are constantly amazed by the number of churches in France…and we are talking huge churches and cathedrals that sometimes took centuries to build. It is astounding and at the same time rather sad because the congregations of these churches are getting smaller and smaller.  I wonder what their future will be?

We head back to our apartment.  I am tired and now Bob is not feeling well and we are pretty sure he has Covid too.  Bob sleeps the rest of the afternoon and evening and I am wondering if I will need to navigate and drive tomorrow!!

Lyon to Cluny and Dijon

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Day 70,  Monday November. 6, 2023

This morning when Bob is taking our stuff out to the car he meets the sniffer dog in the hallway.  He was quite excited to start his bedbug hunt!  I’m sure he gets treats when he does his job well.

Today we are driving to Dijon with a stop in Cluny.   It is cloudy and rainy today and we are surprised to see these sunflowers still in full bloom.  They were finished and harvested over a month ago elsewhere.

In just an hour we arrive in Cluny, find a parking lot and paid .15€, which is about 24 cents,  for all day parking!  What a bargain, although I wondered why they even bothered to charge anything.  It is quite a walk to the Cluny Museum and it is raining and cold.

These medallions set in the road and sidewalks help us find our way…kind of like our walk in Vincent’s footsteps in Arles.  They were really helpful, and before too long we arrive at the museum.  We find out that the museum closes in half an hour so we barely have time to see everything.  Good thing it is a small museum.

The museum is all about the Cluny Abbey,  the oldest Abbey in France.  It was founded in 910.  This is a model of the Abbey in 1250 when it was at its peak.

The lady who works at the museum suggested we visit the library before it closes.  It has a lot of very old books and manuscripts but the room is not climate controlled, and I think the books are suffering because of that.

The books on display have warped, wrinkled pages…from moisture I wonder?  It seems a shame but everything costs money and I don’t think this little museum would have the funds to make the library climate controlled.  As soon as we left the library they locked the doors behind us…they kept it open so that we could see it.  Nice!

In the museum we see this carved stone with the same symbol as the bronze medallions that helped us find our way earlier.  It is called the ‘keystone of the paschal lamb’.  I looked up paschal and it means relating to Easter and the Jewish Passover.

There were interesting carved panels that lined one of the museum rooms.  Every circular design was different than the others.

These reliquaries were interesting.   The relic is usually so revered that the reliquary is traditionally made of precious metals or gems like these two below. Relics may include pieces of bone or hair, pieces of cloth, or natural objects that were significant in the lives of a saint or holy person.  The bottom photo is of two unusual portrait reliquaries.We have a rather quick look a the rest of the museum and then we are told that they need to close up so we go outside to find the ruins of the Abbey.  On the way we walk by a lovely medieval herb garden.

By the time of the French Revolution, hatred of the Catholic Church led to the suppression of the order in France in 1790 and the monastery at Cluny was almost totally demolished in 1810. Later, it was sold and used as a quarry until 1823!  This plaque shows what is left of the Abbey Church…only the black bits remain today.

The Abbey Church was the largest church in the world until the construction of the St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  These are the remains of a few of the church pillars.

Our entrance to the museum also gives entrance to the Abbey.  There is a fantastic 3D film that shows the construction of the Abbey and we walk through many of the existing Abbey buildings.  Today only part of the transepts and bell tower remain of the Abbey Church. There is only 8% of the Church still in existence today, but that little bit is spectacular.  

It is 30 meters up to the vault above us.

Around 1100, Cluny and its monastic order held authority over 10,000 monks and 1,500 monasteries across Europe. The decline set in from the end of the Middle Ages. The abbey became the target of an entrepreneur who used explosives to demolish the buildings, and sold the stones as building materials!

There is a small chapel with sculptures of biblical figures.  Some of then still have bits of their original paint.  We are used to seeing sculptures as bare stone and it is easy to forget that they used to be colourfully painted.

We marvel at this intricately carved stone and wonder at the skill it would have taken to carve such delicate work.

The remaining abbeys is currently a trade school.  Here are some of the hallways around what used to be a cloister.

The granary has the most amazing wooden roof that was constructed using wooden dowels, which you can see in the bottom right photo.The basement of the grainery was used for storage.

Parts of the remaining abbey are shown their age and really need major repairs.

The cloister looks quite lovely… but when I hold my camera up to a broken panel in one of the doors along the cloister walkway this is what is inside!  Not what I was expecting.  I thought these doors would open into rooms but at least some of them seem to be storage rooms…for what looks like junk.

On our way back to the car we pass an artists studio, which is closed but I sneak a photo through the window.  

It is another two hour drive to Dijon and we see a lot of army trucks on the highway.  We wonder where they are going. 

Avignon, France

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Day 64 Tuesday,  October 31, 2023.

We are visiting Avignon today.  There is always something interesting to see on our drives.  I think this is an old chimney stack that is being dismantled.

There is a free parking lot on an island near Avignon with a free bus ride into town.  The first thing we see when walk through the town gate is this magnificent tree.  I know…lots of tree photos, but I do love these beautiful huge trees.  It is too bad our winters at home are too cold for these beauties.

We have seen so many churches…but every time we enter another one it is different and sometimes there are little jewels to discover.  I loved the contrast between the modern paintings and this ancient Gothic church that was built in the early 1300’s…Saint Agricol Church.  There has been a church on this site since 660.  Then there is the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows!

The indoor market has a living wall… and lots of seafood.  Too bad neither Bob nor I are fans.  The very last picture is of Lapin…Rabbit.  Not something we are used to seeing.  I had rabbit once many years ago and although it was OK, it isn’t something I am interested  in trying again.  

We used to pick and dry these same mushrooms.  I knew they were a delicacy but I had no idea that Morels were so expensive … 640€ a kilogram!!

There is a flea market outside the  indoor market.  These old copper pots make me think of my grandparents and their copper pots.

After having our lunch we walk through this narrow street built between the walls of the Popes Palace and a rock cliff.

Bob has taken some amazing photos this trip…he might become a photographer yet!

At the end of this street there are some painted windows.  We see several buildings whose windows contain paintings of people.  They make me smile.

I love the look of all the cobbled streets but they sure are hard to walk on for a long time.

This is a scale model of Le Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes). It is the largest Gothic building in Europe!   It was a fortress, a palace, and the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th Century.  Nine popes lived here and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our 12€ admission tickets includes the use of a Histopad.  This device allows us to look in any direction, as well as up or down and the Histopad screen shows us what the  room would have looked like in the 14th century.  

I usually wait and try not to have a lot of people in my photos, but it was really hard to do that today.  Everyone stands transfixed, viewing these rooms as they might have been. This room was the treasury and in 1995 a secret chamber was discovered under the stone floor, that still contained precious treasures from hundreds of years ago.  There was no information on how this chamber was discovered.  It is amazing that it would still be there after all this time.  Bob is standing beside this secret chamber in the photo.

In this photo you can just see the top of a sculpture behind the Histogram…

It is made from corrugated cardboard and stands about 5 feet tall by Paris artist Eva Jospin.  I think it is fascinating.  

We take a break in the palace gardens and try to buy a hot chocolate from a machine that only accepts credit cards…it was beyond both of us!  No hot chocolate for us today.

The palace walls rise 52 meters above the garden!

The gardens look lovely from afar but they were actually a bit neglected.  

We return to the inside for the last part of our tour.  However the Histopad photo is not what grabs my attention.
Rather it is the three enormous silk embroidered wall hangings displayed on one of the long walls.  ‘Chamber de Soie’  or ‘Silk Room’ is also created by Eva Jospin.  

We spend a lot of time here as I walk back and forth, studying these huge embroidered panels.  I can not believe how much work it would take to make these.

Here are the other two…

along with some close-ups of the embroidery.

Next door is a small room that used to be a kitchen.  It also has artwork, including this sculpture, ‘Empyrée’, that is suspended from the top of the huge chimney in the center of the room.   Empyrée is from mythology and means ‘Highest part of the sky, where the gods reside’.  I am astounded to read that this is also by the same artist, Eva Jospin.

But then we walk into the next room and see this sculpture that is made completely from corrugated cardboard!  Wow, It is astounding.  I spend a lot of time here as well.  There is so much to look at in ‘Forest Galleria’, or Forest Gallery.  And who is the artist?  Eva Jospin!

Some close-ups of the different techniques used to create this forest.  I cannot believe the size and complexity of this sculpture…

until we walk into the next huge room.  OMG!!  There are simply no words to adequately explain this work called ‘Paysages’, or ‘Landscapes’.  There are three enormous sculptures in this equally enormous chamber.  This one is actually the smallest of them all and they are all made with corrugated cardboard!

This piece is reminiscent of a classical temple on one side…

and here is the back, all overgrown with trees!

These two sculptures are astounding…but then there is this absolutely unbelievable piece that is placed between the other two.  What can I say?

A close up of part of the front…

a side view.  I did say it is very large!

And a view through the center, which reminds me of a river flowing through a rocky canyon.

Honestly,  photos cannot capture the grandeur of this work! I did find a video explaining how these pieces are constructed with corrugated cardboard, but sorry, it is a FaceBook video so not everyone may be able to view it.   https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=437873248434139.      

And here is the link to Eva Jospin’s website.

https://www.suzanne-tarasieve.com/artist/eva-jospin/?lang=en&show=

There was also a room with a video about Eva Jospin and some photos of the process for creating these pieces.  I am in complete awe.

We climb lots of stairs to the roof of the palace.  We started our tour way down there, under the raised seating of this outdoor theatre.

The views from the top are amazing, but it is time to start heading back home.

As we walk back to catch the bus to our car we walk under the Pont d’Avignon.  Bob said they used to sing the French children’s folksong ‘Sur le Pont d’Avignon’ when he was in elementary school.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r8eALyO8E4

We walk through the fortified walls through this rather makeshift looking doorway.

Just as we are leaving to catch our bus one of the town’s little busses passes by.  This is the tiniest bus we have ever seen.

Thanks, if you are still reading and made it this far.  I know this is a really long post, but I want to remember all of it.  I actually pruned out a whole lot more photos!

Nîmes, Musée De La Romanité

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Day 60, Friday, October 27, 2023

Bob visited the Musée de la Romanité this afternoon so he is writing today’s blog,

It is interesting to see so many ancient Roman artifacts in Nimes, so far away from the center of Rome.  Nimes was not an outpost of the Roman Empire but a regional capital with a population of over 50,000.  It was an important link between Rome and Spain. This bust is from the 7th century  BC.

A wall fresco from 40 AD.

In memory of Marcus Attius Patterns who died at age 25 in the 1st Century A.D.

The floor tiles were the most impressive, as some of the rooms were as big as our modern living rooms.

4th Century pottery.

12 Century relief of a griffen (head of an eagle and body of a lion) fighting a dragon.

A relief from the 12 Century depicting the Temptation of Adam and Eve from the Notre Dame Cathedral of Nîmes 

Monte Carlo, France

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Day 57, Tuesday, October 24, 2023

The train ride to Monte Carlo is a relaxing 70 minutes. I like trains and would be happy to do more travel by train.  I do a bit of sketching, some are more successful than others, and even more people watching.  I sketch in ballpoint pen so  it is difficult to correct errors.  A tall, slim young woman dressed in black with very long black hair sits near us and a couple stops later another young woman who could be her twin gets on the train, also all dressed in black…and they sit together.  We can’t decide if they are related or friends.

The area near the train station isn’t very fancy but look at the size of the trees growing on these balconies!

We are soon in an area wth shops. This bridal shop had a sign in the window about a royal wedding but it wasn’t clear if they made the royal wedding dress.

We head up this very long set of very wide steps to get to the Palais Princier where the ruling Grimaldi’s still live.

There are some good views of buildings on the nearby hills.  The buildings are very close to one another, there is not much open space at all.

We missed the changing of the guards at noon, even though we thought we had planned to get there early.  Only our bus was late, and then our train was late….even best laid plans go astray.  But this guard walked right towards us and then kindly stopped so I could take his picture…or so it seemed.  Turns out it was where he always stopped to turn and go back the other way!

It starts to rain so we duck into the shops nearby.  I think this fridge magnet is the closest we will get to actually holding a 500€ casino chip!

And this is the closest Bob will get to being captain of a boat!

The old town streets next to the palace are narrow and packed with shops and restaurants and offers us a bit of shelter from the rain.

We hide out in this church for a while too.  it was nice to sit for a bit out of the rain, before we make our way towards the harbour.

There is a good view of the harbour from up here.

There is a lovely garden along the sea on our way down to the harbour.  I loved this sculpture called Invitation by K. Verkade.  One of the side benefits of writing this blog is that I take the time to do a bit of research on some of the things we have seen, and I end up discovering interesting new things…like this sculptor and his work.

Bob finds us a bench that is dry under several big coniferous trees that offer shelter from the rain, so we sit for a bit and have tea and cookies and take a selfie.

This is the view from our sheltered bench… but this sculpture nearby gives a more accurate portrayal of the weather! We saw this statue “The Cloak of Conscience” elsewhere on one of our trips, but I don’t remember where.  The artist, Anna Chromy studied at the Academy de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, my favourite life drawing studio!   She is another interesting artist I read about today.   I did not know that this sculpture was also carved in marble and stands over 15 feet tall!  This website has some amazing photos of its creation.. https://annachromy.com/cloak-of-conscience/from-escavation-to-completion/

A big frame overlooking Monaco offers the opportunity for a rather wet portrait.

But then the sun came out!

And we walk down a very long ramp to the harbour area…

where we walk along some of the roads used for the Monaco Grand Prix.  Bob poses with this statue of the winner of the1955 Grand Prix, Juan Fangio.  The F1 cars have changed a bit since then!

We visit the Prince of Monaco’s Car Collection.

This new 3,500 m2 building holds  around 70 vehicles including racing cars that have competed in the Monte-Carlo Rally and the Monaco F1 Grand Prix.

Here are a few of Bob’s favourites.  

And of course there is a red convertible!

We stroll along the harbour where the rich and famous dock their yachts.  I think this is one of the biggest ones we have seen… even bigger than the one in Antibes near the sculpture made up of letters.  It has two curved staircases!

The people standing on the dock give an idea of the size of this thing.

The boats parked alongside it look very small in comparison.

Next stop is the Monte Carlo Casino.  I wish we could have taken photos inside.  It is over the top ornate, and yes, we walked through the gaming rooms where some of the James Bond movies were filmed.  Pictures are allowed in the lobby. so we prop our phone for a selfie.

We need to show our passports and pay 18€ each just to get into the gaming rooms…but we do each get a 10€ voucher to spend.  Interestingly, it is against the law for citizens of Monaco to work or gamble in the casino!

There weren’t many people gambling…I think it was a bit too early in the day.  We spend an hour or so trying our luck on the slot machines.  We spend our two 10€ vouchers and after putting another 50€  into the machines we aren’t doing all that well…

until we go back to the first machine we played and we start to win.  In the end our time in the casino only cost us 26€ and we had a lot of fun.  The casino is starting to get busier just as we are leaving.  It would have been interesting to be there later in the evening but we need to get home.

If you would like to see photos of the inside of the gaming rooms check this link. https://www.shutterstock.com/fr/search/monte-carlo-casino-interior

It is already getting dark when we leave the casino.  

We take selfies in the reflection of this giant metallic ball, with the casino in the background.

As we head back towards the train station we walk through a garden area with great views of the casino and the very expensive hotels nearby.

The casino is very pretty all lit up at night.

We pass a tree with these beautiful huge flowers that are at least as big as my outstretched hand…. and another big flowering Brugmansia.

Getting back to our train was really difficult.  There is construction and we can not find our way into the train station!  We walk around and around and although the sign says that we are at the train station there is no way we can find to get inside.  Finally we see a young lady who seems to know where to go, so we follow her through a door that says no public entrance, walk through part of a parkade and we finally find an elevator that takes us up to the train station.  We buy our tickets and then have to run like crazy to catch the train so we don’t have to wait for an hour for the next one….and it is packed, no seats, standing room only!  Luckily after about a half an hour most people get off at Nice and we finally get to sit down.  Guess who is sitting opposite us…those two long haired young women who rode the train with us this morning.  They were carrying shopping bags from Nice.  I was so thankful to have a seat but too tired to even try to draw.  it was a really full day.

 

 

 

 

Antibes, France

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Day 55, Sunday, October 22, 2023

Antibes and the Picasso Museum is our destination today.  We take the bus instead of the train but it is quite a bumpy ride that makes drawing a bit tricky.  I think I prefer the train.  Good thing it is only a half hour ride.

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As we walk towards old town Antibes we pass aa area that has enormous hanging planters and flowerpots.  They are really spectacular.

We head for the harbour to check out the ancient ramparts and an interesting sculpture.  There are some really enormous boats in the distance as well.

These boats are docked in an exclusive area, no walking past them… so  I take a photo from the ramparts.  Take note of the white van parked by the second boat to help give a sense of scale.  

Bob had read about this sculpture by Jaume Plensa called Nomade.  It is an eight meter high figurative sculpture which is located on the top terrace of the Bastion Sainte Jaune.  It is invites interaction by its viewers, including me.

“On the terrace, facing the sea at the corner of the ring wall, was a monumental sculpture eight metres high of a squatting figure, Nomade. All these pieces used the formal vocabulary developed by the artist over the last few years, based on letters. With this vocabulary, Plensa is suggesting that, beyond its simple mission of communicating a meaning, spoken or written language can also be seen as a kind of envelope covering the matter and energy that constitute us. “Like bricks,” he says, “letters have a potential for construction. They enable us to construct thought.” ~ Jaume Plensa

Walking along the ramparts we see more boats.  This one from Bali has its surfboards mounted on the back.  I think that most surfers do not own yachts.

There are signs with information about boats for rent, little boats…

and little bit bigger boats…makes me wonder how much it costs to operate the enormous yachts we saw earlier?  and no, I have absolutely no interest at all in renting or buying a boat…just not something I would enjoy, even if had that much money..

There is a little sand beach on the outside of the ramparts, and in the background is the huge yacht and the sculpture Nomade.

Next stop is the Picasso Museum.  Nice that photos are allowed.

I am not a huge Picasso fan but this museum has lots of information explaining Picasso’s  paintings and methods which help me appreciate his work. This huge painting was painted on three cement panels that are usually used as a building material.

There is a big display of his glazed platters which are interesting.

More people take photos of these copies of Michelangelo’s sculptures than of the Picasso paintings.I spend a bit of time drawing a couple of Picasso’s altered vase forms.

Here are couple more large paintings.  I forgot to take photos of the titles…

There is another exhibit on the main floor of the museum.  Paintings by Yves Zurstrassen, but it doesn’t interest either of us so we just do a quick walk through. Outside on the patio there are several sculptures by Germaine Richler which I quite like, and two young ladies drawing in their sketchbooks.  I love seeing other people drawing.  They were deep in conversation so I didn’t interrupt them.

Walking back to the bus station we pass these porcelain cups in a shop window.  Made me smile.

The streets are narrow and we have no idea what might be hiding behind those closed shutters.

While waiting for the bus we chat with two twelve year old boys who are absolutely bursting what energy.  One of them asks me to draw him.  It isn’t a very good drawing but he is happy with it. He has a lot of hair!

As the bus is pulling away I tap on the window and his friend looks up so that I can snap a photo.  Too bad I missed getting a photo of Emin.The bus ride home was even rougher than the one coming.  We are travelling on different streets because of all the one way streets in Cannes.  I definitely prefer train travel

The Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower

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Day 8, Tuesday September 5, 2023

It was hot today…34°  and we are visiting  the Arc de Triomphe.  This is my fifth time in Paris and Bob’s fourth and we have never been to the top, so we need to do that today,   Did I mention it was hot? and the steps are winding and narrow, and it was hot! There are  284 steps up to the top, and I am quite pleased that I only have to stop twice to catch my breath.  Climbing 74 steps up to our apartment every day is starting to pay off.  There are twelve major roads that all converge here in a roundabout (traffic circle) with twelve lanes of traffic.  The right of way is the opposite to back home.  The traffic in the roundabout must yield to incoming traffic!  It seems crazy to us, but somehow it works. In this photo 3 lanes of traffic are trying to merge into one to exit the roundabout!

The view from the top is spectacular!  We see Sacré Coeur off in the distance.

And can you have tooo many pictures of the Eiffel Tower?

Here is a view with just three of the twelve roads that all converge at the Arc de Triomphe with the business district way off in the distance.We spend an hour or so admiring the view, and then we climb down those 284 steps, stopping for a moment at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier……and then we walk to the Eiffel Tower. On the way we see this memorial and realize that this is where Princess Diana died in a car crash 26 years ago.

It is hard to believe it was that long ago, I remember hearing that shocking news so clearly.

It is strange that we are not able to see the Eiffel Tower even though we know we are getting close, and then suddenly there it is in the sky between the buildings on one of the side streets. It looks close but it is deceiving.  We still have several blocks to walk… …and a river to cross.We brought a picnic lunch so we find a bit of shade to eat.  It is sad, but there are now glass and metal barricades all around the base of the Eiffel Tower and you must go through a security check to enter this area.When I was here nine years ago, it was possible to walk around under the tower and there was a wonderful view across the river to the Jardins du Trocadero.  You are now allowed  to go to the top of the tower but we will wait to do that when we return to Paris and the weather is a bit cooler. There are quite a few heavily armed policemen walking about.  The one in the middle is carrying a machine gun!We find a spot to relax in the shade only to discover that we no longer have any internet on our cell phone!  We have had so many internet problems this trip!  We are picking up our rental car tomorrow and we definitely need GPS so we use my little paper map book to find a store for the SIM card we bought at the airport.  They do register our SIM for us, which is helpful but they also tell us that their internet has been down and may not be repaired until tomorrow.  We head to the Orange store and get a second SIM for our second cell phone and then discover that our first connection now works just fine.  The price for a month of internet has jumped from the €10 a month that we paid before Covid to €40!   Sure hope that is the end of all the internet issues.  We are hot and tired, and catch a bus home . We walked almost 16,000 steps today, in +34° weather!  And it is going to be +30 for another week!