A Visiting We Went

Hi all!  Been a month since my last post! Holy cow...I'm sorry.

What have we been up to, Mr. K and I, you ask?

Lots!

But, I'll try to get you caught up.

We went to Exeter, UK over Thanksgiving weekend to visit friends. It was so much fun. We took the Eurostar to London, where we changed at St. Pancras and took a taxi to Waterloo to take the South West Train Line all the way to Exeter Central.  A nice 6 hour journey and very very relaxing. Much more so to us than an airplane. Plus, who can resist trains!

London was all ready for Christmas

 However, while in London, we went to Costa for some delicious hot chocolate.

 I got the Honeycomb Hot Chocolate and Mr. K got the Black Forest Hot Chocolate. We thought the cups were too cute.

By the time we got to Exeter that Thursday evening, it had grown dark outside. Our friend, the lovely and fabulous Mrs. M took us to her house, but not before I snapped a shot of this lovely mall all decked out.

Love it! It was a real treat to see this.

 We shared a wonderful dinner with their family and had a very very nice sleep on actual pillows (not the square flat things they say are pillows in France). Again, we felt spoiled, but in a glorious way.

The next day, Mrs. M took us all over Exeter, showing us its beauty. Here are some of the best shots of this cute town.

This is a shot from a street near where they live. So British with the row houses, but it also reminds me a little of Boston

A bit of a castle wall

This is a modern art piece that has poetry written backwards
on it yet in the reflection you can read it.

The main street in town, complete with a brass band playing Christmas carols. It was great!

The courthouse dating from 80 AD. I'd say that's pretty old. 

Courthouse interior

Ah, there she is, the elusive Mrs. M! I got a shot of her and Mr K inside the courthouse.

This is one of my favorite buildings. It looks like it came right out of an Austen novel. A bit crooked but that's because I was trying to take the shot before a HUGE truck stopped in front.

An art museum. Love the brickwork!

After a morning of walking around, we stopped into a place called Ruby for some burgers and jalapeno poppers. Delish!

Look at the snowflakes!!!

I like snowflakes.  This one's for Mrs. M though. Happy snowflake, my friend!

 We were then led over to the Exe river where there is a nice path to walk along. Under the bridges, there were tons of colorful pieces of work. Apparently the schools give them free reign under the bridges and the artwork is amazing!  Real talent.

Nod to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Sometimes I feel like this too...

Look at that beautiful profile! That's done with spray paint, my friends. Gorgeous!

 We continued our walk and came to this site:

I think this shot sums up the river walk: Swans, water, buildings and bridge.

 I've never heard the loud flapping of swans on water before that day. What an cool sound!  They don't just land like ducks. They actually run across the top of the water for both landing and taking off.

Another little bridge. This time it has duckies underneath.

We continued walking along this path and passed some neat antique and boutique shops which were in old bomb shelters.

Then, the weather began to get misty, so we popped into a pub to warm up a bit before heading out again.  Good thing we did, too! It poured about two minutes later (and mind you, we did not have umbrellas with us) so we just lingered over a pint and watched the rain on the river. Good ale, good view and most importantly, good company.

Thank you Mrs. M for the photo!!!

 The rain stopped and we continued on, up the hill (Mr. K liked this one) and up to the castle wall.

A view down to the river.

 Part of the walk you get to walk on the wall, which is neat.

The wall, but we didn't walk on this part.

We walked to the main square of Exeter, but not before we saw the alleys that inspired J.K. Rowling's Diagon Alley.  I thought they were quite nice.

This looks like it could come straight from the movie (I've not read the books so I don't know)

 This is the alley that inspired the author.

Frontview:

Backview:

 This was a side alley I saw and was so taken by the flags, I had to take a picture.

After the slight detour, we made our way to the Cathedral Market.

Christmas Market in front of the Cathedral. Very nice.

 Back side.

Of course, no market is complete without an old grungy Santa.

Or two....This one, at least, looks happier.

And thus ended our tour with our fantastic friend.

(I think I may have fallen in love with Exeter.)

It's late here, so I'll have to postpone the Movember Meeting, Thanksgiving, and the Day the Camera Died to the next post. Besides, you're probably pictured out by now.

Until next time,
Bisous!

Chow! Pung! Kong!

Or in other words: Mahjong!
(Sorry about the absence here-doing a little thing called NaNoWriMo and will be MIA a bit until December 1.)

The West side. South wind prevailed. I didn't win, but I was so close.

We went over to a friend's house, Mr and Mrs P, for some fun and games.  After a yummy dinner, we brought out our Mahjong set and started out with house rules. Mrs. P had never played, though she had been to Hong Kong (I think...correct me if I'm wrong) and a friend of hers played. She was told she'd be "dead" if she ever attempted. Then again, at thirteen, most of us probably would suffer the same fate.

Our lovely hostess.

After a half round, we quickly realized that the rules to Mahjong were actually better than house rules and hence forth played Hong Kong Old Style Mahjong. (Singapore Mahjong was waaaaay too difficult.  Who knew!) The gents kept us in line and it was all "Pung! Chow! Kong!" or "Hu!*another word for Mahjong*" after that.

The host and hubby, or the keepers of the rules.  We had two pamphlets printed-- one for scoring (which we ended up not using) and the other with rules of how to play. Awesome job, gents!

My mom taught the hubby and me (or rather jogged my memory again) to play a while back on her gorgeous set and since then, both Mr. K and I have become big fans.  We've even played it a deux at our house, but it's best played with four.

All in all, a great evening.  We'll have to play again sometime before these Kiwis fly the nest. (*sad tear here*)

I guess that's all for now.

Until next time,
Bisous!

Frida and Friends

Hi all!
So while Mr. K was away, this mouse went out and played with some friends.  We went to a Frida Kahlo (famous Mexican painter) exhibit at the Orangerie in the Jardin des Tuileries a week or so ago.  So cool!  She's probably most known for her famous eyebrows and self-portaits in the US.  By the way, the Orangerie is also where you can see Monet's waterlilies in panoramic view.  Definitely a must see.

We forgot one little detail, however, as we arrived at the museum: THE LINE!

We waited about two and a half hours outside in line to get in.  As we got to the front, we realized that we could have bought tickets online to cut the wait time down, but, oh well.  Next time maybe.  It was rather fun seeing other people in the same boat as us.  Some people even had their own picnic in line, complete with a bottle of red to go with the sandwiches!

Once inside, it was easy-peasy going to the exhibit. 

This was a wall photo as you came down the stairs and went left.

The exhibit was amazing!  Unfortunately, no one was allowed to take photos inside, so I only have a few from the right before going in.

Blurry pic of my friends in front of another Frida wall photo.

  I like her symbolism and the intimacy of her paintings.  Frida was ingenious because she really perfected the self portrait- her only subject that she knew completely inside and out.  This chica suffered so much! Not only did she have polio when she was young, but she also survived a major bus accident with a trolley car. It  really did a number on her body, causing her to have as many as 35 surgeries to repair her back, leg and foot and leaving her months at a time in a bed while she recovered.  She took up painting as a way to release the stress, armed only with her paints and a mirror.  There's a cool shot of her painting her body cast in bright colors in the exhibit.  She continued this outlet the rest of her life.

Top left is titled "Thinking of Death", Top right is a portrait done by her husband, Diego Rivera, of a benefactor,
 Bottom is Frida herself in a wheelchair

A turbulent woman, but oh what an artist!

When we left, the line to get in was very long.  We were glad we made it in when we did.

Shot from above from the gift shop landing.

My friends and I decided that since we didn't have coffee after lunch (a very French/European tradition) we should go to a café and get some.  In the Jardin des Tuileries, they have a cute little cafe called Medicis Lecointre, just past the fountain pool on the left.

 

I loved it!  So chic and cool.  They even had Hipster Catherine Medicis on the mugs.  And that was another thing.  I'd not seen mugs of hot chocolate anywhere in Paris before.  Excellent!

I, however, got a cappucino.  I know, I know.  It's not morning anymore and *gasp* I had milk in my coffee!

But, honestly, when you've waited so long outside in the chilly wind and rain and just got through with a large crowded exhibit, you make exceptions.  

And it was good.

Sooooo  good.

Apparently it was so good, I didn't realize I got foam on my nose when my friend took the photo.

 And after that, it was time to go home.

Great day out with friends and a great way to finish off the afternoon in Paris.

Until next time,

Bisous!

Happy Halloween!

France doesn't really celebrate, but I will be heading to Pere Lachaise Cimetiere with M. G today.  So I guess in a way, that is sort of celebrating.

Anyway, here's our small decoration in the house.  I had to post this cute card my friend, G, sent me to share with you all.

Thank you, G and P!!

Later tonight I'll watch the Disney Halloween Cartoon special (not into horror) and eat my gummy eyeballs and vampire fangs.

So, what was one of my favorite costumes from childhood?  Being a Fairy Princess *shock!* (and then in HS it was a farmer or Giselle).  What was yours?

My sister and me hamming it up.  Oh the memories!

Have a safe and fun time tonight trick or treating or doing whatever you plan on doing!



Until next time,

Bisous

Pompidou and fall activities

Hi all, 
Catching up on my photos here and I realized I never told you about the Musée Centre Georges Pompidou (or as the locals say, <<Beaubourg>> because of its location in Paris in the Beaubourg area).  I also am throwing in some local photos from out and about where we live.  Enjoy!

A short while ago, Mr. K and I went to Free Museum Day with some friends and it was great fun.  We got a chance to see the city from the top of Centre Georges Pompidou and then we went into the exhibits.  You can only see one floor of exhibits on FMD but it's quite a lot and it's fantastic.  Here are my personal favorites.

This one's especially for my sister, Miss K.  Voila, a HUGE welding installation that was in a small room.  Only 30 people were allowed into the room at a time.  So cool.

In front for scale.

A look from inside

The other side of the piece

In the same room, they had a mini model of an installation of wire.

It's so little!  Basically, it spans the width of two hands.

Moving down the floor, another favorite was this one:

How many French words can you make out?

Along the hallway they had this one:

Reminds me of Arabian Nights.

And at the end of the hallway, they had this one.  What do you think it is?

Any ideas?
No?

It's a forest of spices in sacks.  I wanted to run through it and smell it all.  But, that was not allowed and it was corded off.  Bummer.  Sometimes I feel like authorities don't understand what the artists may wish.  Some artists actually like having people interact with their art.  Just ask my sister.

We left after we had our fill of modern art and walked to St. Michel.  On the way, Mr. K confiscated the cell phone and then reappeared, grinning from ear to ear.  I don't ask anymore.  I just wait to see what it was when we get home.  It's more fun that way. 

This is what he saw:

Why, hello Mr. Steampunk tour guide on the side of Notre Dame!  Very cool, Mr. K.  He's got a good eye for photos, that one.

So what else have we been doing?  Well, enjoying Autumn for one. 

A balcony shot from our apartment.  Love that tree!

 Walking around our village, it's fun to see the displays in the windows change. 
This one's my favorite:

Origami crane installation in the village center bookshop

Visiting friends on the outskirts of Paris for a morning out is always a great idea.  If you ever get a chance to go to a market in France, DO IT.  My friend and I had so much fun perusing the stalls. (Thank you AP for the photo!)

Market day in Antony at a ribbon stall.

 And what Autumn would be complete without a picture from a farm?  This farm is 10 minutes away from my home.  I went with friends and their grandchildren to go pick apples, raspberries (because of the late spring we have raspberries in October!), green beans, and of course, spinach.

Picking spinach up at the farm

All in all, it's been a great month.

Until next time,
Bisous