So Budapest was wet…really wet…and windy and cold. We managed to walk into a 3-day non-stop storm which left us drenched on the first night and wind-beaten on the next two. Still, we were happy to have the chance to enjoy this eastern European city.

Going to see Slyvia

One of the highlights was surely going to the ballet on Sunday night. Not only were the tickets cheap as anything - the equivalent of 12 euro for good quality balcony seats, but the show overall was of a high standard. We saw Sylvia which is famous for having an average libretto but a great score. So as expected the music was exceptional. You’ll probably recognise some of Doelib’s genius without even knowing it.

We really enjoyed the costumes and stage design. Unfortunately no pics of the actual performance, for obvious reasons. But the rich colours and clever lighting immersed the audience in the fantasy world of the Nymph of Diane. The Cupid character was also exceedingly well portrayed.

The wonderfully frocked cast taking an in-sync bow

This was my second ballet, the first being the rather more sombre Romeo and Juliet, brilliantly performed in Riga. I have to say that just like opera, the comedic style is great entertainment but fails to move you like a dramatic La Boheme or La Traviata .

The main ensemble

A final note on the actual theatre itself. We’d heard it was one of the most beautiful and it did not disappoint in the least. You definitely felt transported to the days where opera was opera and there were no clunky tourists behind you taking flash photos in the middle of the performance.

Lovely interior of the main foyer

The amazing balconies of the Budapest Opera

A spectacular roof

Definitely a great way to spend a soaked evening in Budapest!

  

In a part of Paris far far away, near the Père Lachaise cemetery, a wonderful world of vibrant colours, textures and anything one could ever need to paint, draw, colour, sketch is at one’s fingertips… at Le Géant des Beaux Arts.

Whilst Gareth was flying half way across the world for ‘business’, leaving me to do chores and cook 5 days straight (!!), I thought it was time to do some shopping - so I took a trip down art lane to pick up some supplies for myself and a gift for his return!

Upon entering the store, which doesn’t seem all that special and colourful from the outside, you become enchanted (literally) by the massive MASSIVE range of products and artsy things available. Seriously! I’ve been to arts stores before in Sydney, but there was so much colour blaring at you in this one, I didn’t know where to start! After doing a small tour around the place, I attacked the crayon/pencils area… what to buy? Which ones to buy? Which brand? The 18-set or 24-set??? GAHHH! (in a good confused way)

Too much range and colour can be a bad thing sometimes, as I found out. But nonetheless, I was determined to walk away content with good purchases, so there I was in the store for approx. 45mins arguing with myself what to get, which ones to get and why I should get it (as opposed to something else)… I’m pretty sure the security guard thought I was crazy ;) - he passed me at least 10 times!

  

Eventually, having finally selected the pencils and paper that I wanted, stared at by security guard with curiosity many times, walked around the entire place 3 times and completely enchanted by the number of paintbrushes, crayons, and paint tubes they had in stock… I ended my colourful adventure at the counter, whipped out the credit card in vain and walked out a content and inspired customer :)

  

So what did I walk away with that day?

• LYRA Art Design pencils (12-set from 6B to 4H) - for Gareth
• Canson sketch pad
• Caran d’Ache watercolour pencils (18-set)

Le Géant des Beaux Arts
166 rue de la Roquette 75011 Paris, France
Metro: Phillipe Auguste (Line 2)
01 46 59 43 00

Of the many museums and interesting galleries available for locals and tourists alike to frequent in Vienna and Europe, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has recently become one of my top favourites.

Entrance Lobby

Embarrassingly, I have to admit that I can’t pronounce nor spell it (thank you copy/paste shortcuts !), but nonetheless what lay inside the museum itself was blinding! The décor was absolutely stunning, with a mixture of dazzling golds, beautiful marbles and creamy white all around, amongst mammoth ceilings covered with paintings, as if I had stepped into a version of the Sistine Chapel… But wait, this isn’t a church or royal palace like Versailles, this is purely the décor for an art museum!

  

Apart from the stunning interiors, another positive unique attribute was the availability of sofas in the large gallery rooms! Large comfy blue plush sofas are placed in the centre of each large room, so don’t worry about getting tired next time you come here, the sofas welcome you like home.

An artist at work with his interpretation of Raffael’s Madonna in the Meadow

Being quite OCD-aligned, I was amazed by the quality of the all the works’ state of preservation, particularly the Ancient Egyptian artefacts. The methods of display and presentation of the works in each room was perfect and impressive, I adored it! This is one of my many favourite paintings, that I never knew the name/artist of and it is found here at Kunsthistorisches! Jan van Hysum manages to paint so delicately yet intricately, I particularly love the magical touch of the water droplet which seems so life-like.

  

Jan van Hysum’s Bouquet and Park Landscape

This is a piece that I fell in love with thanks to the lovely array of works in the museum. They put emphasis on their ‘highlights audioguide’ on Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s works but I personally preferred those of the Younger. The overall effect of this piece blows me away, and although it is of a winter landscape (I hate winter!), this one has a very poignant and gentle touch to it, I simply couldn’t resist it.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s Winterlandscape with Bird-Trap

Kunsthistorisches Museum
1010 Wien,
Maria Theresien-Platz
Metro: Museumsquartier on Line U2
Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm

I have to admit that the day that I visited Angelina’s was purely because it was coincidentally right next to Librairie Galignani (librairie: bookstore).

K and I are avid fans of books and when a bookstore such as the like of Galignani’s exists within reach… what else is there to do but to make a trip out of it?

Situated right across from the Tuileries gardens near the Louvre, this bookstore has a very modern and clean-cut design. Inside, you’ll find a very large range of books - in english and french, under a variety of different topics, ranging from fine arts to fashion, to literature, biographies, cooking and even a great kid’s/youth section.

Out of the many popular and varied bookstores that I have ventured into, this is without a doubt one of the best. The topics are well laid out and organised within the store, with enough room to move between shelves. I adored the range of books available, so you can imagine how hard it was to finally settle on only buying 4!

  

Left: Babar dans L’Ile aux Oiseaux;    Right: M. Personne

Very content with my finds, and delighted by their 5% student discount (a discount is always better than none!), I skipped away happily being the proud owner of:

♥ Babar dans L’Ile aux Oiseaux (Babar in the Island of Birds)
♥ M. Personne (Mr. Nobody) - of the Mr Men series!
♥ Marabout Spécial Débutants cookbook - for beginners like me :)
♥ Marabout Apéros Gourmands

Librairie Galignani
224 rue de Rivoli 75001 Paris, France
01 42 60 76 07

Metro Mirabeau
6h du matin

Paris is photography. The City of Lights, of Love, of War and Revolution instantly yells out to be snapped up. From the incredible light to the charming, stoic or haunting architecture, Paname has been the playground of professionals and happy-snappers alike. Whenever the autumn and spring drizzle clouds the sky and creates immediate photogenic puddles and reflections, or the clocks springs forward in summer to bring out the Parisians on languid, romantic evening walks, or the winter cold-snap buries the city white, it is hard not to see the city through a lens – constantly searching for that better vignette of the metropolis’s character, its ambiance or its soul.

In the pantheon of French humanist photographers that characterized the 1950’s, Izis (Israelis Bidermanas by Soviet-Lithuanian birth) was perhaps the least appreciated. His name, maybe because of its exotic roots, seems to pale alongside those of the Doisneau or Brassäi. And yet his skill, as shown in the current Paris des Rêves exhibition at l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris is anything but faded. This wonderful, free collection shows aspiring capturers the value of simplicity in capturing Paris’s soul.

Izis Exhibition “Paris des Reves”
L’Hotel de Ville de Paris
March 2010 

The wonder of Izis’s photography is not in the grandiosity of the particular moment that it captures. Doisneau’s famous Le Baiser de l’Hôtel de Ville, perhaps the most famous French photograph, is memorable for the grand gesture of a moment - the (staged) kiss and the chaotic environs. Instead the value of Izis’s work lays in its simplicity. These are photos that anyone of us might have taken. Whether it be a couple embracing near the Pont des Arts or the merry-go-round in the Jardin des Tuilieries. These are not superhuman productions or moments of luck.

Sur les Quais de la Seine
Petit Pont, Paris

Of course, we have all been to those places and seen the same scenes and snapped (or at least thought about it) the same moments. So how can Izis stand out so much? Izis manages to be invisible. He documents ordinary, banal moments of Parisian life without intruding on the purity of the scene. His work is never staged (or at least never outwardly seems so). He also manages to use composition and lighting to create an intimacy with his subject that amateur-snappers struggle to.

Homme aux Bulles de Savon
But overall Izis’s representations of Paris are so successful for their quotidian nature. There are no grand gestures or glorious overstatement. It is little wonder that he served as Paris Match magazine’s photo-journalist and earned the moniker of ‘le specialist de l’endroit ou il ne se passe rien’ - the specialist for when nothing is happening.

The Paris des Rêves Exhibition is free at L’Hotel de Ville de Paris until 29 May 2010

Photo credits: Photographie.com