Scandinavia, Sailing & Sweet Treats

After our very serious study of Pixar art (!) which I spoke about in this post, it was time to fill up on some comforting & warm finnish food at the Institut Finlandais. It's just round the corner from the Sorbonne, but I think that it's one of the Latin Quarter's best kept secrets. It looked like in-the-know students had brought laptops in for studying and the atmosphere was fresh and airy. 

Both myself & my sister got the soup of the day which was the perfect blend of smooth, wholesome &  sweet-smelling apples and parsnips - making my head happy with the knowledge that I was checking off 2 of my 5 a day, and my belly very happy, knowing it was in for such a warming treat. The soup was served with warm rye bread, not bad for €4.50.

To wash down our food, I chose a cappuccino and my sister got a filter coffee, which was wholly appropriate as apparently Finns are the biggest consumers of coffee in the world! The waitress told us that this type of finnish coffee is only served in two places in Paris, and its special way of roasting the beans gives it a sweet, honey-like taste. Happy smiles all round! 

We could have had a look at the Institute to brush up on our Finnish roots (yes, we do have some Scandi history in the family!) but instead decided to focus on the French sights & sounds to be discovered right under our noses. Off to the Luxembourg Gardens we went!

After larking about in the Jardins & learning that there was no sailing boat hire in the winter, our wanderings under the sparse trees led us to an Angelina, which proved to be a tasty surprise. We shared a hot chocolate to take away, but as if one sweet treat wasn't enough, I had promised to take my sister to a Pâtisserie de Reves after she saw a programme where Michel Roux Jr visited famous French bakeries on the television.

It was hustlin' and bustlin' for Christmas, so we didn't have long to ogle the cakes before someone took our order. We went for the bakery's best-seller, the Paris-Brest and a double chocolate delightfully decadent eclair, filled with ganache and wrapped in a crisp shell. Part of the delight is the packaging and the gift bag which made me feel a million dollars as we strolled home.

More adventures tomorrow!

À Bientôt !

x

Scandinavia, Sailing & Sweet Treats

After our very serious study of Pixar art (!) which I spoke about in this post, it was time to fill up on some comforting & warm finnish food at the Institut Finlandais. It's just round the corner from the Sorbonne, but I think that it's one of the Latin Quarter's best kept secrets. It looked like in-the-know students had brought laptops in for studying and the atmosphere was fresh and airy. 

Both myself & my sister got the soup of the day which was the perfect blend of smooth, wholesome &  sweet-smelling apples and parsnips - making my head happy with the knowledge that I was checking off 2 of my 5 a day, and my belly very happy, knowing it was in for such a warming treat. The soup was served with warm rye bread, not bad for €4.50.

To wash down our food, I chose a cappuccino and my sister got a filter coffee, which was wholly appropriate as apparently Finns are the biggest consumers of coffee in the world! The waitress told us that this type of finnish coffee is only served in two places in Paris, and its special way of roasting the beans gives it a sweet, honey-like taste. Happy smiles all round! 

We could have had a look at the Institute to brush up on our Finnish roots (yes, we do have some Scandi history in the family!) but instead decided to focus on the French sights & sounds to be discovered right under our noses. Off to the Luxembourg Gardens we went!

After larking about in the Jardins & learning that there was no sailing boat hire in the winter, our wanderings under the sparse trees led us to an Angelina, which proved to be a tasty surprise. We shared a hot chocolate to take away, but as if one sweet treat wasn't enough, I had promised to take my sister to a Pâtisserie de Reves after she saw a programme where Michel Roux Jr visited famous French bakeries on the television. 

It was hustlin' and bustlin' for Christmas, so we didn't have long to ogle the cakes before someone took our order. We went for the bakery's best-seller, the Paris-Brest and a double chocolate delightfully decadent eclair, filled with ganache and wrapped in a crisp shell. Part of the delight is the packaging and the gift bag which made me feel a million dollars as we strolled home.

More adventures tomorrow!

À Bientôt !

x

Pixar in Paris!

The exhibition was themed around the three key concepts to any Pixar film: The World, The Story and The Characters. For any non-Pixar fans, the exhibition covered Toy Story, Up, A Bug's Life, Cars, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., WALL.E, Brave & Ratatouille, and probably another few I've forgotten about! 

'The World' section was interesting because I had never thought about the process behind each film where Pixar artists have to create a unique world, one magical enough & exciting enough to captivate audience, before creating rules and limitations for how nature, gravity, the animals and buildings function in this imaginary world so that it is believable & reassuring for the audience.

'The Characters' were equally interesting because you would not believe how much they change from the original concept. Many of the characters were unrecognisable & I'm so glad they changed them for the final cut!

 

Carl from 'Up' and Buzz Lightyear from 'Toy Story'

Nemo from 'Finding Nemo'

'The Story' was a series of meticulously drawn story-boards which have to be dreamed up, planned, re-planned, drawn & re-drawn before any animation is carried out because the time wasted & effort spent on creating a scene which isn't used would be too costly. We also watched a couple of films about the music in the stories, whether it be a theme that each character has or the sound effects which go into making the movie more fun. The sound is often so successful that audiences don't realise it's there, it is only when the track is removed that you realise how much it adds to the film.

In the last room was an amazing zoetrope which explained how each individual frame runs together to trick your eye into believing that a moving image is played out on the screen. I took a video which I may upload later.

I think the exhibition is well worth a visit if you are a big Pixar fan, otherwise probably not as it is a bit pricey (€12.00 for a student ticket). 

I think that more probably could have been done to make the exhibition as fun as its subject matter, as the atmosphere was a bit restrained and cold. I think my sister and I were the only people laughing & chatting about the exhibition as we walked around. On leaving the exhibition we had a look at the arty dockside with a couple of studio shops & a fashion museum next door, before heading for some sustenance in the 5th arrondissement!

À Bientôt !

x

Christmas Walk

Just some pictures I took on a Christmassy walk to uni via the Christmas market on the Boulevard Saint Germain. 

Juste quelques photos que j'ai pris sur une promenade festive via le marché de Noël sur le Boulevard Saint Germain.

À Bientôt ! 

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