May 2006 Archives

I finally got my hands on a PC with an internet connection. The weather in Paris was more eccentric than what we know to be typical English weather. It was sunny, then suddenly cloudy and a torrential downpour, all in a matter of minutes. Fortunately the Louvre was excellent.

Madrid weather was brilliant, sunny and clear. Will report in more detail on these cities when I get back - my serviced apartment charges £2.50 per half hour!

London has been great. The entire nation was fixated on Wayne Rooney's foot. Latest report in the tabloids is that he will be playing for the World Cup in the final stage. Received mixed reports of Theo Walcott's performance, but generally sounds encouraging. Aaron Lennon's got a clear nod of approval from the media.

It's nearly midnight, GMT now ... goodnight from the Docklands.

We walked from the Champs-Elysees to L'Orangerie only to find out that it would not open till after noon. The morning was reserved only for tour groups. Dang!

So we went to Centre Pompidou to see modern art - only to find out that we were in the wrong queue (the library) and that this museum was also not open yet! It was a Sunday.

We walked on to the Musee Picasso and at least this time we got in at once, by showing our Museum Pass. It was pretty good, one of the better museums I visited in this Europe trip. I didn't realise Picasso used so many conventional objects, like gardening tools, to put together his sculptures. He also had a couple of political pieces - one in this museum and another in Madrid (the Reina Sofia museum, which I visited a few days later).

We headed back to the Centre Pompidou (photos). Its exhibits were different from the others in the sense that there were moving pieces and short flicks that looped continuously. The downside was that we were not allowed to take photos in most areas.

Anyway, the best example was a single light bulb suspended from the ceiling, attached to a mechanism that slowly raised and lowered the bulb. Around the bulb were many battery cages, from floor to ceiling. As the bulb moved the line shadows cast by the cages changed with a 3D effect. So simple and spartan, yet the movements were complex.

Another cool exhibit was the use of a wide goldfish tank that was lit from the bottom and a mirror at the side. That created multiple shadows of fish swimming about. The only thing was that the fish were gasping for air.

A screen displayed cut scenes from various Hollywood actresses like Grace Kelly, reacting to intruders in their homes.

On the floor shone a projection of a crowd of people trying to cross a busy road. We kept staring at the floor because it was so fascinating, like we were pedestrians from a distance, or people looking down from a building.

There were more 'usual' displays such as pop art and architecture models. It also had a funky bookshop and another store which sold interesting but expensive (and mostly unnecessary) household items and other knick-knacks.

I stayed in Paris from Saturday 20 - Tuesday 23 May 2006. Here is a day-by-day account with tips for potential visitors. Photos will be inserted after they've been uploaded.

• View Paris 2006 - The Louvre photos
• View Paris 2006 - d'Orsay and garden photos

We arrived in the early hours of the morning at Charles de Gaulle airport. From there we took a taxi to our service apartment along the Champs Elysees. The location was superb - that's the equivalent of staying along Orchard Road!

The weird thing was that when our porter opened our room door, a woman inside called out, "Who's there?" and we realised she had not checked out yet! There was a bug in the hotel software that hadn't been fixed for several days. The concierge apologised profusely. Since we had to wait several more hours before our room was ready, we decided to visit the museums.

A taxi was called for us and wonder of wonders, the driver was from Guangdong! Along the way, he gave us some tips in Cantonese, telling us there was no need to take a taxi between the Louvre and L'Orangerie museums as they were only separated by a large garden. Across the bridge was the Musee d'Orsay (photo). A bit of a walk but all destinations were in sight of each other.

There was a queue to get into the Louvre, then another queue to buy tickets. If you plan to stay in Paris for a few days to visit museums, then I suggest you buy the Paris Museum Pass, which gives you either a 2, 4 or 6 day pass to visit over 60 museums in and around the city. It is sold in various museums and other locations.

If you wish to buy this pass in the Louvre, do not join the main queues as they only sell tickets for their museum - we found out the long way. The information desk will direct you to another room at the back of the museum, where more well-informed tourists can purchase their 'season ticket'.

Of my entire journey from Paris to Madrid to London, the Louvre was the best in terms of content, presentation and crowd control. I felt the most comfortable in it, and left knowing there were still more things to see.

As you can expect, the Mona Lisa was the most popular exhibit. It was so crowded that I didn't bother taking photos of it - I couldn't get close enough! Besides it was encased in plastic and there would be reflections.

Later on as I passed the Museum shop I took a photo of a replica.

There were other notable sculptures, such as the Three Graces. I like this photo of their three butts.

We liked discovering the hidden courtyards with many statues from Greece/Rome, and another series with artefacts from the Middle East. The medieval church section was also comprehensive and beautifully displayed - crucifixes lit up on shelves, and tapestry draped over entire walls. There was stained glass too.

We visited Napoleon III's chambers. He was a small man, judging from the size of his bed (I guess he takes after grandpa). Also, his furniture was rather garish (the best word would be "obiang!" in Singlish). This was the only area I felt put off and didn't take much photos.

We explored an old part of the Louvre which actually had a moat.

We walked through the large garden and tried to get into L'Orangerie, but the queue was unimaginably long. Turns out that L'Orangerie was the most newly renovated museum, it had eight of the largest paintings by Monet, and it so happened that this weekend it was free entry for everyone. So our Museum Pass did not count. We decided to try again on Sunday.

We crossed a bridge over the river Seine, to the Orsay. We got in immediately because of our Museum Pass, bypassing the snaking queues of tourists and students. However, we still had to pay extra to see a special exhibit, so we decided to just look at the rest of the museum.

The downside was that we were not allowed to take photographs in many areas. I was disappointed to see that museum staff at the Orsay were less diligent than staff at the Louvre. Next to 'no photography' signs, people were flashing their cameras away at paintings and nobody gave a damn. Two museum employees were chatting to each other.

In other areas where photography was permitted, I found it rather boring and only took some photos of furniture.

I've got less than a day to go, and I've barely begun packing.

Passport? Check.
Air ticket? With mum.
Currency? I need to find a currency exchange booth soon. Unless I'm Richard Gere, who can use a credit card in an Indian market and get away with it.

What's the next most important thing? My iPod playlist, of course. Introducing my new playlists:

Paris Please

Music by artistes like Les Nubians, Air, Clementine and mixes from Hotel Costes and St Germain. Classic song that captures the laissez-faire essence of Paris: Sympathique by Pink Martini (I love it!).

Madrid Moods

More scarce here. Music by artistes like Marc Antoine, Gipsy Kings (yes, I'm that hard up), and even a Sade song, Fear. Classic song: Madrid by Marc Antoine.

London Living

Looking at the weather forecast, I immediately picked London in the Rain by Variety Lab (Hotel Costes 4). I felt that this playlist should sound more 'chill-out' rather than Spice Girls or S Club, so I threw in some Thievery Corporation even though they're Yanks, because they have an Outernational Sound quite befitting the cosmopolitan nature of London. Also added a few tracks by The Quiet Boys.

I have another playlist, Brit Rock, which covers almost everything - Blur, Coldplay, Oasis, Radiohead, The Cure, Suede, my favourite Tears For Fears. Finally I have a really old playlist called Bristol Memories which basically has all the music I listened to when I was in Bristol, like Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, Stereo MCs and acid jazz artistes like Omar. That should be enough.

Next, I need to pack geek stuff. My O2 mini charger and USB cable, my Ixus camera charger.

Travel books on Paris and Madrid.

Umbrella. Sunglasses. Jacket.

This Friday evening my mum and I leave for Paris, then Madrid (where I'll be spending my birthday), and finally to London and a couple other English cities, including my alma mater Bristol.

I should be terribly excited about it, I suppose. I've been doing some research despite being a bit blase about the whole trip as I've already 'been there, done that' once in Madrid, three times in Paris, and numerous times in London. The only major difference is that we'll now be using Euros on the continent.

For some time, I felt a part of me was left behind in Bristol. As if I had departed too suddenly, distracted by the graduation ceremony, the massive packing and the hurried goodbyes. But I think I closed that chapter a while back because I don't miss it anymore. Still, it's changed a lot and I'm curious to see what's new.

In the capital cities we intend to see museums - historical and art. In Madrid we intend to drink good and affordable Spanish wine every night. In Paris we intend not to overspend on hyped-up dining but instead have light meals like baguettes et crossiants. Fortunately, we're not the sort who get cravings for Chinese food after two days and spend the rest of our trip looking for Chinatown/the nearest Chinese restaurant. So food-wise, we should be pretty adventurous. If we're in France, we'll eat French food. When we're in Spain, we'll eat Spanish food and um, Basque in the glory.

In London I will get my hands on The Guardian, my all-time favourite quality daily. I like it for its excellent reporting and lovely typography. Its website, when launched, was also ahead of its time.

Once you read British newspapers, you can't read the stuff back here in Singapore without feeling slightly critical. I can spot typos even in the Straits Times, our main quality daily. Not once in my three years did I spot a typo in the quality British newspapers (though there are quite a number popping up on the BBC website these days!). In any case, there is usually a wry, dry humour, ever present in the spoken and written word.

In London, I also hope to find a BBC Shop where I can buy certain comedies which I couldn't find at our local HMV. "All I need, is a smaaaaall aubergine..."

I will be bookmarking useful Paris, Madrid and London websites in Ma.gnolia. Stay tuned.

Step aside, Wayne Rooney. All eyes are now on Theo Walcott to save the day*. My online finds so far:

• Video on Theo Walcott - that boy is fast! He is faster than Thierry Henry and isn't afraid to confront multiple defenders... like Ronaldhino.
• More videos!
• Blog on Theo Walcott - frequently updated.
• There's even a Wikipedia entry on Theo Walcott!

And I just wrote in to BBC Sportdaq, asking them to add Theo Walcott to the list of players whose shares we can buy:

Dear BBC Sportdaq,

Now would be a great time to add Theo Walcott to the list of players!

Cheers,
Vanessa.

[Update: BBC Sportdaq replied to me, saying Theo has been added! He officially IPO'd today (10/5/06). Hurrah! *buy shares*]

*England has to rely on goalscoring midfielders like Stephen Gerrard and Frank Lampard because I don't think the remaining striker Peter Crouch has the edge and tenacity to constantly find the back of the net. Who knows - the inclusion of a brand new player that opposing teams don't know much about, could work out for England in the end.

I just tested out my grandma's new iMac and it's running Windows XP smoothly. The only thing is that the resolution is set to 800x600 (large enough for her to see), so things look a little pixelated and stretched. But yeah, apart from that it's very much like a PC, if you can get used to hearing the Windows startup tune and default wallpaper framed by the pristine whiteness of a new iMac.

I wasn't around when my cousin(s) ran Boot Camp but they said the procedure was smooth. This is coming from people who don't use Macs at home. When you boot up the iMac, it automatically runs Windows XP. However if you want to start in OS X, then hold the 'ALT' key when booting up. It's that simple.

In any case, my 76-year-old grandmother has been playing computer games (not the free games that came with Windows but something a bit more like role-playing). And we got her a Yahoo! email address (Gmail was our first choice, but it kept asking her for an existing email address, which she naturally didn't have).

It's so exciting when you wire old folks up. To be precise, it's wireless but you know what I mean.

Today I finished re-writing chord charts for a song my new band will be learning.

I am recovering from a viral throat infection and a tongue ulcer.

I am now cleaning up my iCal because somehow during sychronisation between my Mac, the Missing Sync and my O2 Mini, I now have repeat dates for events such as friends' birthdays, one day after the other.

iSync also rebelled against me today, saying it was unable to sync with my O2 Mini. I wondered if the recent firmware upgrade to my phone has anything to do with it. In any case I just discovered (duh!) that I was using an older version of the Missing Sync and was entitled to a free upgrade to version 2. So I'm doing it now.