Thursday, July 31, 2008

Thursday, 31 July

Lately I've been busy getting ready for my holidays... finishing things at work and making a few improvements to my apartment as well as planning my holiday.

On Monday I went to the US Embassy in Paris to get my visa to attend my flying course. I arrived 30 minutes late because of a technical problem and spend more than 2 hours waiting. I finally got to work at 11.30am !

On Friday evening I went with some friends to Parc de la Vilette, where each year there is an open-air cinema festival. On Friday there was a triple-bill of Clint Eastwood films, though I only stayed to watch the first film - "The Good, the Band and the Ugly" (original title: "Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo"). We sat on the grass infront of the giant inflatable screen and had a picnic... a nice way to spend an evening as long as it doesn't rain... which it did, but only for the last half-hour of the film!



On Sunday afternoon I went to a little café near to Boulevard de Ménilmontant, called Le Lou Pascalou. The bar is hidden away on Rue des Panoyaux, on a little square. The bar is what I think of as typically parisian - with a zinc counter.



Yesterday, after finishing some renovations at my place, I found the time to go to Paris Plages - an initiative of the Mayor of Paris to build a temporary 'beach' on the right bank of the Seine. There are several free activities such as the French game boules - I played a few games with some friends... very French!

posted by James at Thursday, July 31, 2008 0 comments

Friday, July 04, 2008

Friday, 4 July

Lately things have become quite busy again! I finally moved back into my apartment as the renovations are nearly finished. Only the kitchen still needs to be installed - though I have enjoyed eating out a lot lately... certainly better than my own cooking! I have been spending most of my evenings tidying up all the dust created by the works. I hope to have everything finally finished before the summer holidays in August. I have also been busy planning my summer holiday. My office is closed for the whole of August, so I have plenty of time off. This summer I'm going to America to learn to fly - a long-held ambition of mine and a bit of a family tradition. It should be an interesting experience - though I think it will be hard work...I'll have to pass lots of exams and tests! Luckily I'll have a week off after the course to find a beach somewhere and relax before returning to work in September.

posted by James at Friday, July 04, 2008 0 comments

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Milan & Genova: 20-22 June

I went for a very short trip to Milan and Genova - I really like Italy! I have visited Italy every year in recent times. I find the people friendly and relaxed; the food good; and the climate excellent! When I visited it was really nice and sunny - a good excuse to eat lots of ice cream.

Here's a view from the plane from Paris to Milan... there were some great views flying over the Alps...



Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the main shopping streets in Milan. Milan isn't one of my favorite cities in Italy - there isn't much to do there except go shopping, but there are some nice cafés:



Another main street in Milan is Via Dante - it runs from the centre of the city, near the Cathedral, to the castle:



Here's a nice collage-like poster advertising cultural events in Milan - there seems to be lots going on...



The castle is impressive with a nice grass courtyard...



Just in front of the castle is this big fountain:



On Via Dante there are lots of cafés and restaurants, though they seemed to cater mostly for tourists. I found a really nice little café/restaurant in one of the back streets just near to the cathedral:



The arcade is the main shopping area in Milan with all the most expensive shops. The arcade is a nice place to come for the shade and just to window shop:



Just across from the arcade is the cathedral with its impressively intricate roof and fine stained glass windows:





On Saturday I made a day-trip to Genova - it was nice to visit somewhere on the coast. The trip on the train was cheap but not very good - I had to stand for about half the 2-hour journey; the train was so crowded.

Genova is a much smaller city than Milan, but it is nonetheless impressive with its tiny and ancient streets and hidden squares:









For lunch I went to a small and very local restaurant in one of the backstreets. The speciality of the house was farinella - it reminded me of polenta. Thhe restaurant served 'filtered water' (looked and tasted just like tap water) at one Euro a carafe and a strong expresso!



The port at Genova is very nice and peaceful - a good escape from all those narrow streets. The only thing that didn't impress me in Genova was the autostrada (motorway) that runs right along the sea-front of the city...





Via Garibaldi is especially impressive, with all its Palazzi (palaces):







In the afternoon I went to a small village on the coast called Portofino. It's about 30 minutes south along the coaast road from Genova. The village is at the end of a small coast road and is full of nice little houses and cafés.


At the end of the day I headed back to Milan on the train - though I would have liked to have stayed longer.

On Sunday I just had time for one last short visit to the centre of Milan to do some last-minute shopping and see a few more sights...

posted by James at Wednesday, June 25, 2008 0 comments

Monday, June 16, 2008

Monday,16 June

During a trip to London at the weekend I took a trip on the river from Embankment to Greenwich - a tourist in my own city! It was my first trip on a boat in London - and my first visit to Greenwich since I was at school. The boat was very quick and took around 50 minutes to get to Greenwich. Along the way I saw some really interesting sights...

The first place of interest is the Houses of Parliament, in the middle of London:


The boat's first stop was Waterloo, just next to the London Eye:


The Tate Modern or Bankside is one of the main art museums in London. It is housed in a former power station:


Just opposite the Tate Modern, across the Millennium Bridge, on the north bank of the river is St. Paul's cathedral:


The next stop was the Tower of London. The Tower is one of the oldest surviving fortresses in England and was build by William the Conquerer after the invation of 1066. This is where the Crown Jewels are kept:


Just after the Tower of London is Tower Bridge. This is probably the most famous bridge in London - a combined bascule and suspension bridge!


After travelling past the Docklands, a financial area of London, the boat arrived at Greenwich. Greenwich is an historical town associated with the British navy and is the home of the Royal Observatory. Here's a picture of the former naval academy located on the bank of the Thames:


The former naval academy is made up of several interesting buildings, many of them open to the public:




After visiting the National Maritime Museum, I walked through a park to the Royal Observatory. The Observatory is located on a hill with great views over London:




The Royal Observatory is located on the Prime Meridian - the dividing line between the eastern and western hemispheres. There is a very good exhibition of astronomy and navigation.


In Greenwich I visited a church and came across a rehearsal for a concert of baroque music...



Leaving Greenwich:



On the trip back to central London I saw this traditional Thames boat:



Here's another view of Tower Bridge...



The Gherkin - one of the newest buildings in the City of London, the financial district:



HMS Belfast is a World War II-era battleship that is now open as a museum:






This is the new London Bridge - the original was demolished in the 1960's and reconstructed in Arizon:



Ahh, English humour:

posted by James at Monday, June 16, 2008 0 comments

Friday, June 13, 2008

Friday, 13 June

The past few weeks since my trip to Moscow have been really busy! This time of year I always have a lot of meetings at work and have been working late a lot - even until midnight on one occasion. I have also been busy renovating my apartment. Because of the renovations I haven't been able to stay at my place, so I am living with friends for a few weeks. The work on my apartment should be finished by the end of the month - I can't wait. Today POTUS came to visit my organisation. The arrangements were impressive; the security arrangements were particularly good! There were marksmen all over the place and all roads around my office were blocked. At least I was able to go to see the speech - the subject wasn't interesting (keywords: terrorism & freedom), but the experience as a whole was fascinating. The speach was supposed to be the centrepiece of a farewell visit to Europe before he leaves office at the end of the year. As a piece of public speaking it was terrible - clearly rehearsed, but still not fluent.. I would generally expect better of a president - especially POTUS!


My friend Rob is soon to leave Paris for Sweden - here he is in action at the Pères Populaires bar during one of his last Paris sets:


I also went to a concert at the Cité des Arts given by a Swiss band. The music was jazz - and well performed. The musicians had a very theatrical approach!

posted by James at Friday, June 13, 2008 0 comments

Monday, 26 May

At the weekend I went to London - this time it was a bit grey and cloudy - though I still walked around town and saw some interesting things...

On Sunday afternoon I went to a barbecue on a boat moored in the centre of the city - it wasn't really good weather for it, but it was still fun and a nice break from the busy streets of London.





I didn't stay here:



Here's the Post Office tower - there is a revolving restaurant at the top that used to be open to the public before the IRA bombed it! The tower reminds me of my university days as it is located near to my university...

posted by James at Friday, June 13, 2008 0 comments