Paris from my Phone

 À Bientôt !

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Paris From My Phone

 À Bientôt !

x

Momento Mori

Last weekend, I went with some friends on a long-awaited trip, to the catacombs which are found miles below Paris's streets. Once dug out as stone quarries, the catacombs are now famous for a more macabre reason, and a quick glance at Google images will let you know exactly why.

 The quarries are hundreds of years old, but after the 1777 collapse of some of the mines, Police Lieutenant-General Alexandre Lenoir was firmly behind the idea of moving Paris' dead from existing ceremonies to the newly renovated subterranean passageways. This idea had been circulating since 1782, but the idea for a future ossuary became confirmed in late 1885.

Whereas at first the bones were laid pell-mell in the, Louis-Etienne Hericart de Thury who was the head of the Paris mine inspection service from 1810 had the vision to transform the underground caverns into a visitable mausoleum (Source). Hence, the catacombs feel like a strange mix between a science museum detailing the mining history and explaining the rock formations deep underground, a museum of Paris' history as you walk past sculptures and poetry by Lamartine carved into the rock, and of course a graveyard - a final resting place for 6 million people.

The journey begins as you travel deep underground (hundreds of steps and no way to exit once you are below, N.B. there are no toilets underground, and the experience is not suitable for people of limited mobility). After being informed on the construction of the quarries, and walking for at least 20 minutes, you suddenly come to this sign:

 

It is a cold and chilling place, made all the more so by the missing skulls, prised from the walls where they had been set into the shape of a cross or a heart. Poetry and quotes about the fleeting nature of life and the imminence of death are also sobering. Some tourists had forgotten that this is a resting place for the dead, and were cheerfully taking 'selfies' with the bones.

"And so everything on the earth goes by,

Spirit, beauty, graces, talent,

Such is a fleeting flower,

Bowed by the lightest wind"

 

 It is hard to know how to treat the catacombs, as a tourist attraction, a museum or a graveyard - despite the fact that they have been open to the public for centuries: the first known visitor of note was King Charles X in 1787. It is worth a visit if you are respectful, but now I've been I don't know if I would go again! Website here.

À Bientôt !

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Au revoir Londres

The final day took us on an eclectic tour of some London districts which couldn't be more different in personality. The first stop: the thriving sub-culture of Camden Town where the streets are populated with punks and goths and the streets are lined with tattoo parlours, thrift stores and shops selling shisha pipes. 

My friend tasted her first meal of fish and chips at Poppies, a pleasingly retro diner which has apparently been voted the best in the UK. Be that as it may, but I think nothing beats fish & chips mingled with salty sea air on a blustery beach on the UK coastline :) 

After a brief and unremarkable stop-off at Abbey Road, the famous recording studio whose pedestrian crossing lent itself to the iconic Beatles' album cover, we made a swift return to 221b Baker Street. I don't think our attempt was quite as impressive... 

Yeah...

The Sherlock Holmes Museum was great! It's about £6.00 for a ticket and once inside, you explore 8 rooms which have been re-created from Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle's descriptions of the detective lad pad. For real Sherlock fans, they are filled with objects from the stories, cameos, knick-nacks and upstairs are uncanny wax-models of characters from the books.

My favourite part was the deer-stalker hats, the bowler hats, the pipes and the magnifying glasses that are hidden around so that you can pretend to be Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes in every room. 

 

Leave a message for Sherlock Holmes!

That concludes the London adventure, I hope you've enjoyed it. 

My next post will be back in Paris :)

À Bientôt !

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London By Night

At night in London, there is nothing better you can do on a warm evening than to stroll along by the Thames, on the South Bank of the river.

La nuit à Londres, il n'y a rien de mieux à faire pendant une soirée agréable que de faire une promenade au bord de la Tamise, surtout sur la rive dit "Sud" du fleuve. 

My favourite stretch is from Waterloo station to London Bridge station - which takes in the imposing Brutalist architecture exemplified in the great concrete slabs which form the Hayward Gallery and The British Film Institute, as well as the Undercroft skate-park, where you can watch youngsters performing impressive tricks on their skateboards and BMX bikes.

Ma portion du  promenade préférée se trouve entre la gare de Waterloo et celle de London Bridge, où on peut voir l'architecture fameuse "Brutaliste": des grand blocs en béton  qui forment les murs de "The Hayward Gallery" et "The British Film Institute", aussi que le skate où on peut regarder les jeunes qui font des figures de skate impressionnantes.  

There are a couple of really nice restaurants, and break-taking views of St. Paul's and some of London's most iconic bridges. On warm nights, expect your senses to be pricked by the sound of buskers, and the smell wafting from street-vendors' trucks who sell delicious fast-food to be eaten messily from a napkin - perfect fuel for your meandering.

Il y a plusieurs restos très sympas, et des panoramas à couper le souffle de St. Paul et quelques ponts les plus iconiques à Londres. Pendant les soirées estivales, on peut attendre les sons des musiciens des rues et les odeurs délicieux de la nourriture vendue dans la rue à manger en marchant. 

But do not be fooled into thinking that that is all there is to see at night. Some monuments are most beautiful when lit up in the dark, like Buckingham Palace  which we saw just after twilight.

Ne pensez-vous pas que le rive "sud" est la seule chose à voir pendant le soir ! Plusieurs monuments sont plus beaux quand ils sont illuminés pendant la nuit, comme Buckingham Palace.

For a romantic stroll in a part of London little spoken about, take the tube to Maida Vale and explore 'Little Venice', so-called because of its famous canals.

Pour une promenade plutôt romantique, il y a un quartier moins touristique qui est surnommé "Le Petit Venise" à l'arrêt de Maida Vale sur "the tube", ainsi-nommée par Lord Byron (d'après une histoire) à cause des canaux. 

Boats glitter on the water: either house-boats or restaurants on the water and beautiful grand old houses line the canal-side. 

There are a couple of really cool looking pubs to check out, especially 'The Bridge House'.

If mysteries, fog, shady-dealings and darkened passage-ways sound like your idea of fun, head either to The Clink Museum or The London Dungeons at London Bridge for grisly tales, or if that sounds a little too scary - to the home of everyone's favourite detective and his trusty companion: Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Si vous aimez les mystères, le brouillard, les affaires louches et les ruelles sombres, vous aimerez "The Clink Museum" ou "The London Dungeons" à London Bridge pour découvrir des macabres histoires de Londres, ou, si cela vous semblez un peu effrayant, allez chez M. Sherlock Holmes et Dr. Watson, le fameux détective Victorien. 

We were so intrigued that we decided to come back to the Museum at 221b Baker Street the next day! 

 But that's for another time...

À Bientôt !

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Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner

So, after a half-hearted blogging attempt over the holidays, I'm back on track with some London fun for those of you who live in the capital or who are hopping across the channel for a city break. A French friend came to visit me, and we split our tourist trail over several days, managing to get in nearly all the sights that London has to offer! It was a whirl-wind tour, so hop aboard for the ride...

1. First stop, Charing Cross. Whilst you're here, take the opportunity to wander around the fountains & climb one of the famous lions around Nelson's Column, see the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery (for free!). Take in a free lunch-time concert in St. Martin's in the Fields, and stroll along towards Leicester Sq, Picadilly Circus and Covent Garden, which are all only a few minutes away.

2. Hop along the train towards Waterloo - or walk, it's not far! Enjoy a stroll along by the river: see if you can spot The London Eye, Westminster, The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, the Hayward Gallery & skatepark and The Royal Festival Hall.

3. Our gloomy day brightened up as we crossed the Thames. Keep an eye out for the 'walkie-talkie' and the 'cheese-grater' new skyscrapers, as well as Blackfriars Bridge just by the Globe Theatre. Cross the Millennium Bridge to see St. Paul's & its famous 'Whispering Gallery'. HMS Belfast (the camouflaged boat you can see below), Thames River Boat tours.

4. If you continue along the river, you'll end up passing by Sir Francis Drake's ship: 'The Golden Hind', and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Once you're nearing London Bridge, head to Borough Market on a market day for loads of free tasters (see Southwark Cathedral below) & buy a yummy lunch for not many of your Great British Pounds. 

  5. Instead of paying £25.00 to climb the Shard, why don't you head across London Bridge to Monument? It's only a short walk to the famous tower built by Christopher Wren, the celebrated English architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral. It's £3.00 for adults, £2.00 for students and just £1.00 for children, and after huffing & puffing your way up 311 steps you get a lovely view of London. The story behind the design of Monument, built in memory of the tragedy of the Great Fire of London of 1666, which started in a bakery in the nearby Pudding Lane, is fascinating.

6. After a long day of sight-seeing, crash in a traditional British pub, my favourites are The Station Hotel in Hither Green, The Princess of Wales in Blackheath, The Sylvan Post in Forest Hill or The Horniman at Hays Galleria.

Many more walking tours of London to come...

À Bientôt !

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