Paris Deluxe

We've just returned from spending a couple of days with our neighbours who spend the winter in Paris.  We had especially wanted to see the Louis Vuitton Museum designed by Frank Gehry.  He designed it to resemble a glass cloud floating in the trees of the Bois de Boulogne.

This is the image we had seen on all of the publicity and, having been to his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, we were looking forward to this visit.

But we were sadly disappointed!

A French artist, Daniel Buren, has used the glass 'sails' as a canvas for a coloured 'light' installation.  We think that it has cheapened the building; a tacky funfair place worth of the Kursal at Southend!!!  Without the colours I think we would have liked it; we were able to appreciate the design when we were inside.

However, the visit wasn't a waste as we thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition which was being held there.

The exhibition was of a collection made at the turn of the 20th century by a Russian noble.  The paintings are normally split between 2 galleries in Russia and the works on display were by Monet, Cezanne, Matisse, Gauguin, Picasso, amongst others so naturally, the exhibition was packed.

 It's a shame it wasn't a sunny day.

An interesting footnote:-
The construction was delayed when the citizens of the Bois de Boulogne area objected to it being built.  We thought this was rather sanctimonious when the wood itself is a notorious place for prostitutes and as we drove to park we went past the good ladies showing themselves off every 100 metres.  Prostitutes are obviously OK whilst tourists are not wanted in this chic arrondissement!

The next day we went to a different world of culture and opulence when we visited L'Opéra National in the heart of Haussman Paris.

Inside, the building was lavishly decorated with marble, onyx and gold leaf.  It had been commissioned by the Emperor Louis Napoleon III and is a monument to 'La Belle Epoque'.

 In contrast to the prostitutes, restored 2CV's were lined up in front of the Opéra, offering tours of the city!                   A very nice blast of city life and culture.  Now back to the garden!