We were in Paris this weekend and it was wonderful, as always. Nevertheless, we had one of the worst hotels ever (people talking loudly late at night and early in the morning, whenever, smoking beneath our window … bleh… our room was on the first floor). But!
We went to Monumenta 2011 – Anish Kapoor in the Grand Palais and it was a real experience. I loved it inside the ‘bubble’, which looked something like this.
And I could easily have imagined it, but I thought I heard the sound of a heartbeat. Leaving the exhibition gave way to a good view on how Kapoor situated those ‘balls’ in space. Very impressive.
it is shown till June 23rd, so if you get the chance…take it!
Later that evening we went to see Pirates of the Carribean IV in 3d and we enjoyed it very, very, very much! Love Johnny Debb in this creation! Really hope there will be a V and VI and so on!
Next day I was a few hours on my own and my program was for something like a week on my own. I wanted to go to the exhibition about Madame Grès and the exhibiton of the collection of Yves Saint Laurent. Well, I didn’t make it. But I did succeed in buying some fashionable ’tissus’ to make my own things at Montmartre.
We missed the Kees van Dongen exhibition in Rotterdam, so we went to the Musée d’Art Moderne to see it. Van Dongen’s paintings not always convinced me. In his early work he searched for his own style by imitating that of others: I saw Sisly, Degas, Monet, Picasso, etc. In his later work, in which he mainly portrayed the rich and beautiful, I think he is rather opportunistic. However, I did like the portrait of Adèle Besson, a spirited and beautiful lady, so to see.
Portrait of Adele Besson
In the evening we went to Palais Garnier to see ‘Rain’ by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker on the music of Steve Reich.
It was quite a contrast: modern dance in this very old theatre.
On Sunday we drove home via a touristic route. We drove through Wissant and Boulogne sur Mer (worth to visit again) and passed by the Cap Nez Blanc.
Really, Paris is a city I could live in. Want to go back soon, very soon.
Aw, you had such a nice visit! I hope you’ll show us — in time — what you made of the textiles you bought!
Forgot so say (after reading through the whole post 😉 that I absolutely ADORE the work of Anish Kapoor… Don’t think I’ll make it to Paris in time though. 🙁
Leuk je weer even (?) te zien !!
Grote (((zwaaii))), en wat mooi allemaal !!!
Glad to see you had such a wonderful time in Paris! Sorry that the hotel was bad; feel a bit responsible for your choise. We stayed in Mercure Montmartre, just 1200 meters from where you were and that was fine… Wish I would have told you that when I emailed you about the hotels. xx
Wij gaan donderdag naar Parijs voor één dag, alleen om naar Anish Kapoor’s werk te kijken. Kon niet meer vrij krijgen en dat is jammer want, schrik niet, dit wordt onze eerste keer Parijs.