Day Out: Paris

On Tuesday I decided to head to Paris for the day (got the Eurostar for 29 Euro each way and eveything!) before heading to Hong Kong. I was originally scheduled to be on the train leaving around 8am, but some trains were being cancelled due to the predicted snow in France and Belgium, so instead I left St Pancras at 7am. That was rather early when you factor in being there an hour before you leave and it taking an hour to get there, but oh well.

I arrived around 10:30 Paris time, to find it grey and freezing, but with no snow to speak of. I do think that was better though for me, given I walked everywhere for the day. I headed first to a sweet little knitting shop near Forum les Halles called Lil Weasel. Having just bought some yarn from Australia while I there over Christmas, I couldn’t really justify buying any more at the moment. But I was able to pick up some knitting needles which I had been wanting and couldn’t find in person near our place in London. I feel like it is a little hard given I don’t speak enough French to hold a conversation, but I do do my best.

I had only about 3 hours, I figured, before I would have to start heading back to Gare du Nord for my return journey. I decided to go to the Louvre, before I looked it up on Maps for directions - only to find that it being Tuesday, the Louvre is closed. So I looked up which other museums would actually be open on a Tuesday and it tunrs out, most of them but not the Louvre.

My choice then was inspired by the second series of Marvellous Mrs Maisel, in which they went to Paris and particularly the Rodin Museum. So I went there. It is only a short walk past the Musee d’Orsay, but I had never been there before. On the way over I picked up an extremely fresh baguette with ham and cheese, which was still warm it was so fresh, not to mention super delicious! I bought my ticket and wandered straight into the sculpture garden, where I sat in the garden to eat. I do wish it had been more than 2 degrees though!

I actually found the Rodin museum super interesting. He had a pretty regular life, but surrounded himself with amazing creatives and did so much more than the few sculptures you might know him for. He was also a beautiful painter and they had many of his tests and steps towards the major sculptures. Of course, I did also see the major works - the Thinker, Burghers of Calais are the ones I know the most, but his work is so realistic. In fact, for one of his early sculptures he was accused of taking a mould to copy rather than sculpting it himself! While there I bought a cute mini tote to carry in-progress scarves (an A5 size) with Rodin on it. Perfect for the knitting I’m bringing back to Hong Kong and Australia while I’m back!

Before I’d even realised, it was time to head back over the Seine to Gare du Nord. I stopped in the station to pick up a few macarons (I should have done it elsewhere though, I forgot the ones in the station aren’t the best). Then it was back on the train to get back to Wimbledon and my sweet kitten for one more night. Next up, Hong Kong!

Cultural Experiences: The Postal Museum

Today my friend Karla and I headed up the Northern line to Angel and jumped on a bus to the Postal Museum. It is in two parts - the Mail Rail section is in the ground floor of the postal sorting building (Mount Pleasant district office) and the Postal Museum proper is across the road in a separate building. When you buy tickets, you get both and the time you choose is simply for the Mail Rail. The Museum is accessed with a separate ticket but is not timed and valid all day for the same day as the Mail Rail.

We had 10:55 tickets and so went straight to the Mail Rail section. We arrived at the entry line at 10:53 after browsing the shop to kill time, only to watch the train pull away without us! Luckily there is a train every 15 minutes or so we were able to get the next one. It is so small and a little claustrophobic, if you are that way, because you’re actually sitting in the old mail carts which had been converted with seats. You get to go on a journey through the tunnels, stopping along the way to learn more about the tunnels themselves, see the station platforms and watch movies they project on the wall about what it was like to work on the Mail Rail. It was so interesting!!!

There was also short exhibition which went along with the Mail Rail ride, which was about the way that it worked and maintenance they did on it. It was short but interactive and interesting too.

Then we went back out into the rain to see the main Postal Museum, which is just up the road and in a different building. We had lunch first at the cafe which was lovely, then headed in. It chronicled the way that British people communicated, from the invention of Mail (originally just for Henry VIII, the most selfish monarch), to boys on horses, through carriages and telegrams and the wars to cars, advertisements and newer updates. They had a booth showing the promotional (if psychedelic) films the GPO made in the 30s. There were lots of exhibits to look at, it was very interactive and I learned a lot! There was so much cool information to learn.

(First ever stamps)




(My favourite review of the Museum!)

Right at the end was a mini-exhibit about a boat that had been sunk by a u-boat during WW2 and which had been carrying silver and Mail, among other things. After years and years underwater, they recovered much of the boat and with it some of the letters and Mail it had been carrying. It had been preserved by the lack of oxygen and the pressure from being under water and covered in sediment for so long. We got to read the letters and learn more about many peoples lives. Again, fascinating!

The Postal Museum is a finalist for Museum of the Year this year, and I think it fully deserves it! I will be trying to vote for it. Anyone who reads this living in London, visit this museum. It’s been open less than a year but it’s incredible. Highly recommend.

Theatre Trip: Wicked! (And National Portrait Gallery)

WICKED

Apollo Victoria Theatre
Date: 1st August (Wednesday), 2:30pm
Seats: Stalls Row A 18-19

(With Karla!)

I had planned to line up for the day seats today on my own, but when on Monday Karla messaged me asking what I was up to and if I wanted to help her check off some of her summer to do list, I suggested she join me and we tick something else off together as well! So we met at the Apollo Victoria about 8:15, and were about 16 in the queue. Time passed very quickly when you have someone to talk to (and someone to hold your spot if you need to duck out of the line) and at 10 we went into the box office and snagged the last centre seats for the matinee, just as we had planned! We were on the right hand side of the centre block next to the aisle, such amazing seats with a brilliant view.

After picking up our tickets, we walked past Buckingham Palace, through St James Park to Trafalgar Square and the National Portrait Gallery. Actually, this was a really cool gallery, with all the artworks arranged so that when you enter the gallery you go up an escalator to the top floor and then work your way down through the galleries, which go in chronological order. You start with the Tudors, some of the earliest portraits which are really cool to see people you read about in history books painted in portraits which were mostly done during their lives.

Then there's a room for Stuarts, 18th century, Victorians, 18th century, war era and contemporary. My favourite areas were the Victorian paintings of the royal family, it was really nice to see portraits of Victoria and Albert together! The contemporary one was really cool too, with portraits of Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter and many other names I recognised. It was a really great way to kill the time.

After that we picked up some Pret for lunch, stopping on the way back through St James Park to sit and eat in the sunshine. Then back to the theatre to get a program (£8!) and our seats just in time for the show.

I noticed a few new things in this performance - you would think after seeing a show more than a dozen times, it’d get old! But I keep noticing new things every performance. In this show the main thing I noticed was their accents - they all seemed to be using a strange hybrid accent where some words were super British sounding and some super American. I found it odd and a little off putting if I’m honest. The Doctor Dillamond actor and Fiyero (Chris Jarman and David Witts respectively) were both quite new, having only started about a week and a half ago. Doctor Dillamond was excellent, but I didn’t like Fiyero all that much. He sounded too generic pop instead of musical theatre, and he didn’t actually hit all his notes, which was disappointing. 

I really enjoyed Madame Morrible (Melanie La Barrie) and the Wizard (Andy Hockley) - I have found in the past those roles have a tendency to get cast for actors who are celebrities (Bert Newton is a classic example in Australia), however I find those actors don’t often have enough of a singing voice to pull off the role properly and speak too much. But both of these actors really could sing and they only spoke what I believe they were meant to and sang more. The Wizard in particular was really effective, I thought. Nessarose (Rosa O’Reilly) and Boq (Jack Lansbury) were quite good. I did think Nessa was a tad subdued during the main part of the show but then in her solo she really went for it and it was amazing!

G(a)Linda (Sophie Evans) was great, she hit every note right and had great emotion towards the end. You could really tell that she has a great relationship with her Elphaba and gave a really heartfelt performance. But for me, the standout performer was Elphaba (Alice Fearn). She was the main reason I knew I had to come back and see Wicked again soon, as I heard her perform at West End Live and was blown away by her Defying Gravity. And her songs were brilliant, with new riffs I hadn’t heard before and really strong voice. She also was a great actress who showed a lot of small emotions and things which maybe weren’t noticed by the people in row Z, but we’re certainly noticed and appreciated by me! I’m quite pleased I got to see her perform in the role.

And the perk of a matinee is, I can still get home in time for dinner and playing with the cat! What a great way to spend a Wednesday.

Short Sojourn: Solo Paris Day 2

This morning I woke up still feeling rough, though I did sleep a little better. I took my time getting ready and left not much before 11, for a long stroll down the river Seine to the Eiffel Tower. It was a long walk (an hour) but a pleasant one in the summer sunshine. I got a glimpse of the tower the whole way, although when I got up close I saw it had construction all around the bottom. Oh well, I ticked that one off the list, an essential part of any visit to Paris.

Then I walked halfway back to the Musee d'Orsay, which had been recommended to me but I had never actually visited myself. First I had lunch in the cafe which was fine (baguette and water), then I spent quite a few hours exploring the museum. It isn't huge, but boy is there a lot to see! The building itself is really cool, it's in an old train station which was built for the world's fair and still has that amazing style to it. Inside it super sleek and modern looking despite being filled with so much old art.

There was so much cool stuff to see, I do enjoy French art! Lots of Rodin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet... All the best ones. I particularly love Monet and Van Gogh are my favourites and I do love seeing them up close. I spent a good 3+ hours just wandering and admiring the art, so peaceful and reflective. It was a really pleasant way to spend the day.

After that I wasn't feeling so well with the cold getting worse, so I braved a pharmacy in French to get myself some cold and flu medication and had a rest before dinner. For dinner I went just around the corner to a French restaurant called Poulette. I had a basil lemonade, with duck for entree and octopus with pea puree for mains. It was super delicious and I have started to enjoy dining alone with my Kindle for company.

On the way back to the hotel I went the long way and found a gelato place! Perfect dessert. I got lemon and blackcurrant, really yummy and the perfect finish to the evening as I headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Cultural Experience: V&A Fashioned by Nature

Today before running some errands in the city, I decided to take myself off to my favourite museum, the V&A, and see what was on. They currently have 2 fashion related exhibitions - however one, about Frida Pablo was fully booked for today (and I suspect quite a few days in advance - I shall book it when I get back from Paris for a later date in the summer), so I instead got a ticket for the one in the fashion exhibition space. It was called Fashioned by Nature, and had two interesting angles.

The first angle was about the history of natural textiles sources. That was interesting, with information on things as basic as cotton to pineapple fibres woven into silk. There was refereence to Australia when speaking about mother of pearl (I didn't realise that about 90% of all the mother of pearl was from the Torres Strait) and loads of samples demonstrating the uses of the different materials.

The upstairs area was devoted to modern day designers who use ethical and sustainable fabrics, including clothes made from glass fibres and a handbag made from mushroom fibres! I was less interested in these designs (too modern for me), but the ethical angle was very relevant and interesting.

The second angle of the exhibition was the use of natural motifs in clothing. This included things as simple as floral embroidery, to embellished dresses covered in jewel beetle shells. They also talked about designs inspired by birds and animals, and had samples of mink, beaver fur, and birds on accessories!

It may have only been a small exhibition, but it was very interesting and I think relevant to the increasingly sustainable focus on fashion over the last few years.

But just you wait... Tomorrow there is even more excitement!!!

Cultural Experiences: British Museum

The British Museum

Date: 1st August 2017
(with Jess N!)

With theatre tickets under our belts for the evening (we saw Matilda that same night), but the day to kill, and on foot in the city, I pulled out my 'Summer in London' spreadsheet, and looked at the museums. Was there one in central London that we could walk to? Turns out, yes!

The British Museum is super central - we had walked to Tottenham Court Road, and it was only a few blocks east. At first, we were confused by the entry line and talk of tickets, but when we got in, it made more sense. The line was just security, and tickets were only for 1 specific exhibition (and it was completely sold out). It was a busy day, with families and holiday groups and many others around, especially around the busier exhibits like the Rosetta Stone.

We did most of the museum today, starting on Level -1 with Africa. Then we grabbed some lunch from a cafe, and headed for the main levels! We skipped much of the Asia section (we both agreed that we are the most familiar with that part of the world, and would prefer to focus on other parts of the world), so on the Ground floor, we did the Ancient Greece and Rome section, Ancient Egypt and some of the Middle East section. Then we were able to so a full loop of Level 3, through more Middle East, Europe, more Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece and Rome.

Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome were my favourites - I love seeing the details in sculpture and imagining what it must have been like back in those days. One of my favourite pieces was a clay pot with ancient writing on it - but the translation of the writing literally meant 'This belongs to ...' and their name! So weird to see that, but we put our names on things all the time, so I guess it makes sense.

I also loved the Parthenon sculptures and reconstruction sections, that's where all the good photos I took came from.

I would definitely come back another day to finish the Museum (on this day, we spent over 4 hours there!), and also bring some money for the excellent looking gift shop! Maybe in the lead up to Christmas for my family... If they're good.

Cultural Experience: Balenciaga - Shaping Fashion at the V&A

Victoria and Albert Museum
Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion Exhibition

Last Friday, I met up with a friend for a cultural day out at the V&A. Last time I went, I only had time for the Undressed exhibition, but this time we had a little more time. We started with the newest exhibition in the fashion gallery - the Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion exhibition!

I absolutely loved this exhibition. It chronicles Balenciaga's work and legacy, and has loads of examples of his work as well as work inspired by him of other designers work. It turns out that he has been working for 50 years in fashion and inspired loads of other big name designers!

There was a lot of architectural inspired designs, which had really clever designs and drafting. the things that caught my eye the most though, were the detailed designs (like this 2015 Oscar de La Renta dress with gorgeous embroidery) and lots of intricate detailing.

Another favourite of mine features dark green silk, overlaid with black netting, which then had braid, beads and feathers attached to by hand. So beautiful.

After spending so much time admiring the beautiful handiwork, we still made time to wander through the British sections of the museum. Lots of nice stuff from the reign of Henry VIII! By the time we had done that though, I was well and truly museumed out for the day. Such a great exhibition - would highly recommend. Now, more photos of my favourite things!

Cultural Experiences: V&A Undressed

Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear

Victoria and Albert Museum

A few weeks back, I had a spare few hours, so I decided to head to the Victoria and Albert Museum today to check out the exhibition Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear. While I have yet to sew any underwear, it was super interesting for anyone who sews. The foundation garments of any outfit dictate, and influence the current fashions of any era.

(cotton and whalebone corset, about 1890)

I loved to see, in particular, how corsets have changed and been affected by fashions. I own a corset (which I wear for costumes), and a few waist trainers which I wear on occasion.

(arctic padded petticoat filled with goose down)

One of the pieces which I thought was quite cool (and seasonally appropriate for London) was a padded petticoat filled with goose down for warmth! I would love one of those.

(Tuileries, Lanvin-Castillo S/S 1957)

I think my favourite piece though, was this gorgeous dress from Lanvin-Castillo's Spring/Summer 1957 collection. I constantly find myself drawn to dresses of this era, and I love the even earlier vibe of that almost bustle that it has going on. Super gorgeous.

I would have recommended this exhibition to anyone interested in lingerie and it's history, or even just historical fashion. Unfortunately, it is already closed, but I was pleased by the fact that I didn't need to book in advance. Would recommend.