More pics of a random nature

If I were a Frenchman, I too would wear a beret and sit out on my rooftop overlooking the artists at work in Montmartre. Bravo, random French bloke, I salute you!

This was a very small door in a very thick stone wall with arrow slits in it. We think you must have to have a secret knock to be let in.

Notre Dame by moonlight

Nighttime in the Place Vendome.

Random photoage

Pretty temple-y thing on the lake at the Bois de Vincennes, after having thoroughly tested David's directional abilities (i.e wandered around fairly aimlessly in the woods for 2 hours!)
Hee hee, playing with lights and mirrors is fun.

Returned to my (slightly) more normal self
The Geode at the Cite des Sciences. Big metal ball of cinema-y goodness! In the Marais...this is the doorway into Narnia, I am sure of it!!

upside down planty madness!

The title of this post probably merits explanation, so let's do that first! There was a piece in one of the French papers yesterday about an exhibition on plants, and how they adapt to harsh or unusual environments. Yawn I thought. But then I realised it was an exhibition constructed by Patrick Blanc, who is a very very cool man. He has developed what's called a "Vertical Garden" where plants grow up and down walls to increase awareness of bio diversity.

This is an example of it at the Quai Branly museum. I want my house to look like this! Anyway, I digress, the point is, Patrick Blanc = very cool planty arty guy. Soooo, I thought I'd toddle along to this exhibition after work yesterday. Twas amaaaazing, a really really good mix of fab arty installations and quite indepth information. My favourite bit was a rehash of the vertical garden: the garden-on-the-ceiling. Using plants that are typically found growing stalactite style in tropical caves he's managed to make this huge, living, hanging, flowering canopy. It felt like being in a crazy martian rainforest. Am sufficiently enamoured with his stuff that I'm gonna try and do an article about him for ze paper. Watch this space!

What else have I been doing? We had a visit from Monsieur Walkden at the weekend which was jolly bon. Mooched and bimbled around Montmartre and the Cite des Sciences (where we found outdoor spinny chairs...ooh the hilarity) and then went for a gorgeous meal at a restaurant discovered by George when he was last here. It was yumerooni, although I did nearly explode after foolishly trying to eat the biggest tarte tatin in the universe. It was about the size of my head and twice as thick!

Have also been a very good little studious bean and enrolled at the Bibliotheque Nationale (which is not half as scary as the UL) so now I can go and make scribbled dissertation notes to my heart's content. Word count is currently 250. All of them rubbish. Sigh.

Also went to a poetry open mic night at an underground bar on Monday. It's run by the same guy who does the writers group at Shakespeare and Co (lovely topsy turvy timber beamed English bookshop). It was a good night, and after much prodding by David I was eventually brave enough to get up and read something. Hurrah for poeting! I do miss Clare PoSoc though.

Now I am off to natter incoherently at old ladies. Many fluffy "Happy Valentine's" wishes to ye all! xx