Another Fun Weekend

Most of my weekends in London are packed with interesting and fun things to do.  Here's how things often go, on this fairly typical weekend in January.

On Saturday, I woke up, and dad and mom went for their runs.  While I was alone, I did my blog and wrote a poem.  I have millions of projects that I do in my spare time!  Then, when dad came back, we went right out to Tony's.  Tony is our local "fruit and veg" man; he used to work in Portobello Market (he had a stall), but then moved his business to a cobble-stoned mews (a kind of alley in London; it used to be for stables) in our neighborhood.  He sells to restaurants and does some private deliveries.  On Saturday, he has his assistant named Jess, whose boyfriend is an actor.  Tony doesn't sell to most people, but my dad is a "special" customer.  As usual, Tony's "shop" was busy and bustling with fun.  Can you guess what Tony gave us?  A whole flat of strawberries, for free!  He said they were not good enough for the restaurants, so we could have them "if the Mrs. will make jam of them" (which mom certainly would!).  We did bring them home, and mom did make strawberry jam, which was delicious!

Next we went to meet Chris, dad's friend and colleague, and his wife Maureen and son Calder. We went to a cafe/restaurant, and Calder and I went on his DS, which I think is rather boring. At the cafe they had a lunch-type meal, and we snacked on french fries and calamari. Then we walked to a coffee shop in the Market. At the coffee shop we got hot chocolate.  Then we said good-bye, and Dad and I went home to do work.  "Work" means the many projects I do and, for dad, the book he is writing.

We had a 'movie night' that evening:  while eating dinner we watched the movie Oliver about an orphan.

The next day, Sunday, I woke up and had a very good, fun run with  dad.  At home, mom made scones, and we had a filling breakfast with scones and strawberry jam--made with Tony's strawberries!  Then I walked with my dad to the Wallace Collection, a museum in Marylebone; we went to a drawing class there, which is held monthly.  The drawing teacher  was very helpful and made us think more about perspective.  I drew two pictures that I really liked, including one of "The Young Cicero Reading" by Vincenzo Foppa (1427 - 1515.  We also looked around the museum:  loads of great art!

Vincenzo Foppa (1427 - 1515), The Young Cicero Reading

After the Wallace, dad and I walked to Emma's new house (Emma is a friend from Seattle, also here for the year), which is in Chelsea.  On the walk, while dad and I were having interesting conversations, we saw a great big heron land on a tree.  When we got to Emma's house, there was another family there, and we all had dinner together.  The dinner consisted of soup and sandwiches, but not just any old sandwich:  the best sandwich I had ever had!  It was a grilled panino made with ham, cheese, tomato--the usual stuff--but grilled!

These are my weekends:  usually some art, often some friends, and always fun!

Last Days of Winter Break: Three Chapters

Chapter 1:

One evening, shortly after we returned from Paris, we went to Winter Wonderland.  We looked around a bit, and then dad and I went for the absolute scariest ride in the amusement park:  the Ski Jump!!  It was a "swing," but many times bigger, and it went many, many, many times higher!  When we were at the top of it, I felt like I was going to fall, and I saw the crowd below.  It was a very cold night, so the wind pushed against me; and my heart beat VERY fast.  Next, with mom, I went to the Fun House.  It had mirrors that made you look odd; a spinning "pipe" (like a giant barrel) that you had to run through; and things you stepped on that went up and down all the time.  In the last section, mom and I got stuck in the mirror maze.

Isabel and Ben on the Ski Jump (look very carefully at the figures on the left)!

"Hey, mom, where are we?"  "Uh, London?  Hyde Park?  Winter Wonderland?"

Chapter 2:

On the very next day, some more winter fun:  ice skating at Somerset House!  First we met dad's colleague Marta and her daughter--my friend--Cecilia (her dad, Bruno, and her sister, Isadora, also came, but didn't skate).  We ice skated and got better and better; soon I was able to skate alongside dad (he was just faster)!  It was super fun (and I only fell 5-7 times)!  After skating, we all went out to a restaurant called Byrons, where we had hamburgers.  (Dad and I are doing research to discover the best burger  in London:  hard work!)  I had a bacon burger, dad had a blue-cheese burger, and they were both very good.  Then we walked home.  It was such a fun day because I really like Cecilia, I don't get to ice skate often, and going to hamburger restaurants is always super!

"Skate" at Somerset House

Chapter 3:

That Friday, like many other Fridays, mom and I met dad at the V&A for an evening of art and fun.  First, we went to an exhibition on "Imperial Chinese Robes."  The robes were all very beautiful; they mostly belonged to the emperor and his family (the emperor had lots of funny hats).  Then dad and I wandered around, and we looked at an exhibition of "Camera-less Photography" (shadow pictures):  it was wacky!  For dinner we had a traditional Irish dish that my dad makes often in London.  It's called colcannon, and it's made with potatoes, cabbage, onions, and milk.  Yum!

Emperor's festive winter hat, 1644-1911 (from the Palace Museum, Beijing)

Paris!

It was Christmas!  We opened presents and made a cassoulet, which was fantastic.  Here's some of things I got:  a British "red telephone box" pencil sharpener; a wooden camel; a stuffed seagull; a Beatrix Potter art print; a journal (where I could list my inventions and art ideas); and other stuff. 

A table heavy with presents!

Dad's perfect cassoulet (I helped!)

Then, at 3:00 pm, we left for the airport.  We were going to Paris!  The flight was only an hour, and we flew first class!  We got a food tray of 3 small cakes and two chocolates.  Then, when we got there, Mom's cousin Sara's husband Gilles picked us up.  We went to a house that we were renting with them in the 19th Arrondissment, a part of Paris, and a had a 3-course dinner.  The specialty was pate de foie gras, which Sara had made herself.  Sara and Gilles and their 14-year old twins, Luc and Claire, live in France outside Geneva.  Then I went to bed.

The next day (12-26-10) I woke up and went to a local market square with Claire, Dad, Mom, and Sara.  At the market, we saw a stand that sold only horsemeat!  We then wandered down to the Marais area, popping into shops along the way.  We parted ways with Sara and Claire at the hunting museum (La Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature), which Dad, Mom, and I went to see.  This museum was all about animals and hunting.  I LOVED IT!  There was a big stuffed elk, boar, wolf, polar bear, and a fox curled up on a chair, all life-sized!  There were also paintings with hunting scenes plus a hunter's cabin.  In the last room there were all sorts of animal heads on the wall.

Isabel with a stuffed boar!

Isabel and Ben with a friendly elk and tapestries.

After that we went to another museum, the Musée Cognacq-Jay.  It had a big parlor room with paintings and decorative arts.  Next we walked on two islands (the Île Saint-Louis and the larger Île de la Cité) in the River Seine. We visited the Notre  Dame (meaning Our Lady [Mary]) Cathedral.  There was a 5:00 pm mass, and we went in and watched a bit.  The priest gave smoke offerings.  It was big, impressive, and magical.

The following day (12-27-10) I woke up and played with Claire.  Then we had croissants and baguettes for breakfasts.  Then Dad, Mom, and I walked to an abbey, which houses the Medieval Museum of France, the Musée Cluny.  It had tapestries of the six senses, which included  a lady, a lion, and a unicorn with flags.

This is a tapestry of the sixth "sense"

Next we went to the Pompidou Centre; It has pipes and other stuff sticking out of it with no wall to cover it.  We went up escalators to the top in a human size hamster tube!  There was a cool view.  Then we saw a Piet Mondrien/De Stijl exhibition of Mondrian's and his friends' work, how they started, and how they finished.  They had a model of Mondrian's original studio which we could walk in.  Then we walked home and had hamburgers for dinner.

The Pompidou Centre

A typical Mondrian painting from around 1930

On Tuesday (12-28-10) for breakfast we had an almond cake, which is a traditional French custom for Epiphany.  The youngest child (me!) goes under the table and tells which piece goes to whom.  Then everyone eats their cake and sees if they find a tiny stone king in their piece.  I wonder what would happen if someone bit on it?  I got the king!  Next I wore a crown and chose my royal partner, Dad.

Isabel with Gilles, Sara, little "king," and holiday almond cake.

On one of our walks, we saw a "snail" restaurant

Then after breakfast Mom, Dad, and I went to part of the Louvre museum, the decorative arts section, with lots of different times and art styles from history.

A clock with the "continents" from the Musée des arts décoratifs

Next we met Claire and Gilles at a museum with things from all different cultures.  I loved it.  It had SUCH a HUGE collection.   The museum is called the Musee de Quai Branl.  On the way home, we walked through a beautiful, sparkling square famous in Paris:  the Place Vendôme.

Isabel with the dazzling lights of the Place Vendôme and a (full?) moon shining in the background

Posing next to a "totem" pole (from a Pacific Island culture) in the Musée du quai Branly

The day after that (Weds. 29 Dec.) we went to two museums--well, just Pai ('dad' in Portuguese) and I!  We walked, first, to a museum housed in the home of a rich Parisian--an 18th-century "hotel"--whose son, Nissim, had died in World War I.  The museum is named after the son:  Musée Nissim de Camondo.  It was very beautiful.  We saw the bedrooms and offices, living rooms and dining rooms (one for guests and one just for the family).  Best of all, in my opinion, were the rooms for food:  a big kitchen with big ovens, a 'porcelain' room (filled with a porcelain service, which is a lot of dishes!), the room where the cook decided to make ("Hmm, I don't know what I'll make tonight ...?"), the serving room, and the dumbwaiter (an elevator for food).

After that, we got crepes--two, I should say, ham and nutella (not together!)--which were very yummy.  And we also popped into several churches as we walked along the streets.

Then we got to the last museum of the day, the Louvre, which is probably the biggest and most famous museum in the world!   Mom met us in the rooms with Northern European painting from the 15th and 16th centuries.  We also looked at Rembrandt paintings.  Dad and I agreed on our favorite:  a whole ox hanging (slaughtered)!  Then Mom and I went to see Greek sculpture and, after that, the Titians (Mom's favorite).  We also saw the Mona Lisa; I don't think it's such a big deal.

After a long and satisfying day of art and Paris, we walked home for a very late (11 pm!) dinner.

Sketching Titian's St. Jerome in the Louvre

Rembrandt, Slaughtered Ox, 1655 (Louvre)

The next day we went to four museums! But first we went to a park where I ran around with two adorable dogs.  Then we went a museum about the history of the Jews in France.  We also saw there an exhibition of paintings from a painter who died in the Holocaust, Felix Nussbaum.  It was sad.

Felix Nussbaum, Das Geheimnis [The Secret] (1939)

Felix Nussbaum, Self-portrait with Jewish pass, around 1943

Then we went to a big square -- Place des Vosges in the Marais -- which had a nice park.  After that we went to a museum about the history of Paris, the Musée Carnavalet, which had room displays (such as bedrooms) and paintings.

Musée Carnavalet:  Isabel in an Art Nouveau room, ca. 1900

Next we raced to the Atelier Brancusi.  Brancusi was an artist who made funny sculptures, which I like.  His studio was on display. 

Louise with the Brancusi

Finally we walked to the Pompidou Centre, where we saw modern art.  There was one piece which reflected objects and colors in a neat way, another that poured water, and another that played music!!  It was very cool.  Another late dinner!

A cool piece of art (the mirrors change the way the cubes look):  Piotr Kowalski, Identité (n°2), 1973

The next day, New Year's Eve, was our last day in Paris, and this LONG blog entry will finally be over.  We took the train to a chateau (castle) that had been turned to a museum: the Château d'Ecouen, home of the Musée National de la Renaissance.

Ben and Isabel with the snowy scape in the rear of Château d'Ecouen

We started on the second floor, where we saw  beautiful ceramic plaster bowls, leather paintings, glass and wooden things.  It was closed off, but we got to see it with the director because of Dad's work.  On the third floor we saw tapestries of David and Batsheba. It was really 'fab'

This is the first of the tapestries of "David et Bethsabée" series (Brussels, 1510-1515 )

When we left the museum, we were met by a taxi that mom and dad arranged, and we zipped to the airport.  We flew back first class (again!).  We were served a light supper with chocolate mousse:  it was delicious!  And it was a wonderful way to end a perfect holiday!