Taming the island

Sunday 15th November 2009

An interesting week.  Started it in Paris on Monday morning and was glad to be back home (although not to be apart) and got home to discover that phase one of the landscape project had taken place.  The untamed jungle island in front of the house was in need of some treatment so the first phase to clear that of miscellaneous weeds and put down azaleas and pine straw was under way.  Thanks to a very soggy Tuesday, it was completed later in the week and does look remarkably better than it did before.  My neighbour who is retired and spends his days working on his garden is probably quite delighted.  Next year will see phase two (the back).  That will be a much larger undertaking.




As I write, it's officially the tenth anniversary of the formation of Silverpop - we had a company 10th anniversary celebration at the Georgian Club on Wednesday which was very enjoyable.  I believe without prompting, we received a congratulatory letter from the state Governor.  So there was cake for that, and again on Thursday for Bill's birthday (our CEO).  Quite a week for eating things that are bad for one.




Feeling decidedly crappy by Friday (not the swine flu) and was delighted to start the day with a trip to the foot doctor for an interesting case of plantar fasciitis (which google wants to change to Fascist) - so a couple of cortisone injections in the foot and it's all good.  Well, it will be after the next couple of injections and a few weeks of exercising it with a frozen water bottle (don't ask).




Feeling better today so I spend an hour putting up insulation strips on the garage doors which will make the basement a warmer place during the winter (and perhaps more pleasant in the summer too).   They were remarkably simple to put up and we'll see when it gets cold here just how effective they will be.




Hopefully this will be a relatively quiet week and I can also get some photography done.  Other than cats or leaves or that new rosemary bush I bought.

Have a fun week.







 

Picasso adventure

Saturday 7th November 2009

A late lunch in the quaint Rue Cler which probably doesn't get a whole lot of traffic as it sits near the Eiffel Tower and by the time most people have climbed up and down it, their legs won't take them further.  Rue Cler is a very short street with restaurants and all manner of gourmet cheese, wine and fruit stores.  We had crepes at a Greek restaurant that played the same tune over and over.  A sign that they staff were immune to it; I wanted to come home and look it up on iTunes :)

Later, we went in search of the Picasso museum in Paris - located near the Pompidou arts centre.  Alas after traipsing through the relatively busy streets, we discover that the museum has been closed since late August for "building renovations".  So no Picasso.  It did however involve two passes through Captain Nemo's interesting metro station (Arts et Metiers) mentioned earlier this week.

We did however see the excellent National Archive building and took some pictures.




Last full day in Paris tomorrow.

A day of culture

Friday 6th November 2009

Having a slightly later start than planned today, we decided to skip Versailles for another day (probably my next visit - weekends are insane there) and went instead to the national library and the opera house.




The French National Library, located by the river quite some distance out (several long metro hops) is a large subterranean complex holding a copy of pretty much everything published in France.  It is also home to several exhibitions including the permanent site of the "Globes of Louis XIV"; these massive spheres were created for Louis in 1681 and 1683 and show the Earth and night sky as perceived back in the late 17th century.  Currently the library is also showing an exhibition of documentation relating to King Arthur - and amusingly they show the Holy Grail movie clips too.

Francois Mitterand is not dead - just on "deep" retirement.





After the library, we took the metro to the Opera Garnier which is a stunning building - the outside is decorative as with many Parisian buildings but the inside is remarkable.  The pictures don't do it justice.  Unfortunately the ballet company were rehearsing so we couldn't go into the main hall itself.  Another day.




Have a fun weekend.

A walk in the park

Wednesday 4th November 2009


Just a quick note - today we took a lunchtime walk to the local park and on the way passed not only a Canon camera store, but also the Russian (and Angolan) delegations.



I resisted going to look at all the nice new shiny camera equipment (including the new Canon 7D which retails at a mind-numbing $1,900 (USD) without a lens. Not that I need it :) The park was nice and the rain held off for the entire day which was great. Stopped on the way at a bakery for coffee and something for dessert.


We had our second wedding anniversary dinner tonight (19 days early but who's counting?) and went to this really nice local restaurant specializing in dishes from southern France. "Il Etait une Oie dans le Sud-Ouest" was the name of the reataurant (quite a mouthful) but the food was excellent; foie gras, cassoulet, cheese and coffee with mini-desserts. A great end to the day.


I'll leave you with this, which was related to our dinner in some way or another.





Have a lovely evening (and Happy 5th November to all my British friends).

Looks like winter

Sunday 1st November 2009

A gloomy, rainy Parisian Sunday greets All Souls Day here.  A planned trip to the Pompidou arts centre was foiled by the "Free Sunday" - the first of the month in this case being free admission to many museums and galleries.  The queue to get in stretched around the square ensuring not only a full museum, but a wet and stinky one too.

On a positive note, we did get to see the bizarre Metro station "Arts and Crafts" on line 11 that is fashioned like the inside of some elaborate 19th century submarine, complete with portholes and odd ceiling machinery. Alas my picture of it did not do well thanks to the horrid lighting down there but here it is anyway.




So our next plan was to visit the vast cemetery of Pere-Lachaise which occupies almost 120 acres in central Paris.    "Home" to many famous people from world history, it's really more of an interesting place to visit for the scenery and the atmosphere.  I'd love to come back on a foggy day or one with a fresh coat of snow.  Trawl the pages of flikr and you'll also find it home to a number of cats.




After a quick bite at a nearby Colombian restaurant, home to post pictures and prepare for the work week ahead.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend...

More pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/