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| Sculpture at La Defense |
I had another wonderful trip to Paris. We decided to go to La Defense, a suburb of Paris, which, as far as I could gather, is a mixture of shopping centre and business centre, set in stunning modern architecture. Personally I am more into older buildings, but I was quite overwhelmed, especially by the giant arch.
The Christmas Market that nestled at its feet was similar to the one in the Champs Elysees, lots of little chalet type huts selling food and gifts. I bought a very nice present for my friend S for Christmas, and ate my one sweet treat for the day (I am trying to reduce my sugar intake) - a 'boule' (formerly known as Tete de Negre). My friend stared at me in bemused wonderment, as did the sales lady when I refused all wrapping and ate it right away - it is not the sort of sweet customarily associated with middle aged ladies.
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| The Great Arch |
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| View from Arch |
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| .... with Christmas Market huts |
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| ..... and Arch de Triomphe in the background |
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| Inside the Arch |
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| ditto |
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| Still under the Arch, looking opposite the Christmas Market |
I dare say it was not the only consternation I cause on this trip. I wore my bright red coat (my usual one is drying after I had to remove a huge blood stain) and was a blotch of colour in a sea of black.
After la Defense we checked out the market at the Champs Elysees, mockingly observed the queues at Angelinas (best hot chocolate in town, apparently), and went to the club for a quick cup of tea. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas and I tried to take a photo, but as so often it is almost impossible to capture the atmosphere. The tree was a symphony in red and greens and golds, there were lots of little golden Eiffel Towers, for example, but my photo looks nothing like it. You'll have to use your imagination, I am afraid!
When we arrived at the Gare du Nord we were lucky enough to see the sculpture Le Monde en Marche in full action. This amazing contraption plays music, snorts steam, moves up and down, a
nd has a mobile interior as well. But it only springs into action once an hour, and so far I was never there at the right time. There is a little youtube clip you can look at if you are interested!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfZSJLTVvjg
Then I discovered to my horror that all the shops had sold out of Picsou Magazine, my regular fix of Uncle Scrooge in French, and it was time to go home.
Then at the other end of the Eurostar I had another little musical experience! For some reason there are several pianos scattered about St Pancras station, complete with piano stools. Anyone who feels the urge can play a little number, and on this occasion there was a guy playing 'Isn't she lovely' as I walked by. How did he know I was arriving at this precise moment?
A short walk down the stairs I found another music maker, playing Christmas tunes on the clarinette. It was a wonderful finish to a lovely trip.
