Tag Archives: culture

Paris Rendezvous — Part Four

The latest post is a sprinkling of images from our last days in Paris. It was a very compressed 5-day visit during an intense heatwave.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Avenue de La Bourdonnaise in Paris.

Resting in the shade by a cooling water garden in back of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris. The Rue de L’Universite.

This isn’t chalk — these are painted designs on the bicycle and scooter lane alongside the Quai D’Orsay in Paris. Can’t find any information about what the marks mean!

Dinner at the Brasserie Terminus Balard in Paris.

Next up — a post full of images taken by Mark Harmes in Paris!

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©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
Please respect the words and images on this page.
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Paris Rendezvous — Part Three

One of the most delightful aspects of visiting a cultural hub like Paris is the availability of things to do each day! This large and fascinating museum — Musee Quai Branly — was completely new to me.

After I finished taking photos on the Pont de L’Alma bridge overlooking the Quai D’Orsay and the Seine, we turned around and hugged the shady side of the pavement on Quai Branly. The sun was eye-wateringly bright and the temperatures were over 30 degrees celsius in the shade. The architectural style of the museum was a wonderful surprise. Both the colours and the exterior layers of planting and building placement were quite enjoyable to stroll through.

The museum is vast and contains collections from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and the Americas — all spread out over multiple levels in a gloriously contemporary set of buildings. The photos below are a mere sample of what there is to see!

Mayan statue in one of the collections of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Musee Quai Branly restaurant set in the gardens of this extensive Seine-side museum in Paris.

Exterior ticket office within the cluster of contemporary buildings at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Massive carved sandstone head from Oceania in the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Quite funny to watch all of these adults scampering from area to area whilst participating in some sort of corporate team-building scavenger hunt. This was going on all over the various levels of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

One of a collection of masks from the Pacific Northwest of North America at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

One of a collection of masks from the Pacific Northwest of North America at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

A Peek Inside At Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia

Following on from yesterday’s photo essay on the exterior of Federation Square — soaring spaces, modern lines, lovely light — all of these are elements that add to your enjoyment of a visit to the buildings of Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia. Here’s a peek inside!

The multi-story high atrium at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia

The descent from street level down into the atrium and toward the National Gallery of Victoria’s Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia

The lobby of the Ian Potter Gallery inside Federation Square

Fabulously Fractured Facades in Metro Melbourne, Australia

We had just moved back to Melbourne, Australia in 2002 and this contentious and expensive cluster of buildings and paved courtyards were completed that same year. I remember the first time I saw Federation Square (now generally known by the shortened title of Fed Square) and it seemed raw, unfinished looking, and very windy at the time. But over the years it has grown on me and I now find it ‘interesting’ if not beautiful.

Housing the NGV Ian Potter art museum, ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), SBS Television and Radio Broadcasting Centre, and a range of cafes, bars, shops, and other cultural offices, Fed Square continues to provoke a love-hate response from both tourists and the citizens of Melbourne. Click on the first link in the article to read about some of the controversial decisions, negative reviews, and blow-out costs that surrounded this project.

$The fractured and fragmented facades of the modern buildings at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia are a sharp contrast to the more traditional structures all around it.$

The fractured and fragmented facades of the modern buildings at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia are a sharp contrast to the more traditional structures all around it.

The buildings of Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia contain a cluster of arts organisations, a television and radio broadcasting centre, and several cafes and restaurants..

Another corner of Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne, Australia

Totally Transfixed in Melbourne, Australia

Had to share this with you. As I was pressing the shutter, I knew I had captured a unique moment. The three men sitting motionless on the bench and the woman standing as still as a statue were all completely mesmerised by the same thing — an art installation at the NGV museum in Melbourne, Australia which consisted of a long strand of what appeared to be metallic tape as it was blown back and forth between two large electric fans. It was an interestingly silent moment!

3 seated men & 1 standing woman are mesmerised by metal tape blowing between 2 large electric fans at the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia

Photo Of The Day: Angles of Steepness in Melbourne, Australia

Taken from a bridge walkway down onto another glass bridge walkway, a photo of angles and steepness inside the contemporary interior space of the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia.

Taken from a high walkway overhead, a lone woman walks on a green-tinted glass bridge within the contemporary interior of the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia.

A Tiny and Pretty Dusting of Snow

There you go — I have changed the Weather Widget! Now you can see what the conditions are as we travel around the UK.

In contrast to the bucket loads of snow that has been dumped on the USA and parts of the UK, we had a charming bit of snowy dusting yesterday morning — not a lot, as you can see, but just enough to sparkle, look pretty, and NOT make the roads treacherous. And we had errands to run in the afternoon, so it was good not to fret about road conditions or whether icy streets have been visited by the grit truck.

A small & soft snowfall across the deck toward the garage & garden.

View out the side window toward ever-so-slightly snowy Norfolk fields.

We’ve locked in the first of our travel dates and we’re leaving Norfolk around the 20th-22nd of February. First stop — Newcastle. It’s a place that’s been of interest to us for awhile — ever since reading several articles about how Newcastle had changed its industrial image and had become a vibrant place with a strong cultural scene including museums, film festivals, and art galleries. We are quite looking forward to this!

Back to work. I’m trying to sort out my huge photo backlog!

More soon…