Friday Fotos – Paris, December 2010

My recent viewing of Woody Allen’s latest film, Midnight in Paris, made me nostalgic for that wonderful city, and had me reminiscing about my visit there last December (2010). So today, I am featuring a bunch of images from that trip, and links to relevant posts about my visit.

A view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. See my previous entries: The Eiffel Tower: A Promise Kept, and Top of The Tower Views.

The Statue of Apollo in the Grand Canal at Versailles, breaking through the encroaching ice on a cold December day in 2010. My trip to Versailles on a frosty winter's day was one of many highlights of my stay in the French capital.

I wrote about my visit to the Palace of Versailles in two posts: Viva La Revolution! and Palace of Versailles Gardens.

Above: Notre-Dame Cathedral. You don't have to be Catholic or even religious to appreciate the grandeur of Notre-Dame Cathedral, but it probably helps. Even so, I am neither, but that didn't stop me from visiting Notre-Dame several times during my 10 night stay in Paris (see Notre-Dame Cathedral).

To my delight, my visit coincided with an evening choral performance that I wrote about here: The Sound of Angels Singing. Given my previous comment about being neither Catholic nor religious, I may be coming across as confused and contradictory, but such was the power of the setting and the music, that I am happy to plead "Guilty as charged, you honor."

Above and below: No trip to Paris would be complete without at least one stroll through parts of the magnificent Jardin des Tuileries (or Tuileries Garden), which I wrote about here Jardin des Tuileries, Paris. As you can see from the ice covered table below, there was plenty of snow about, and despite the cold and the snow, I loved Paris in December.

Come to think of it - it was because of the snow and the cold that I loved Paris so much. The heat and the crowds of summer were long gone, making the queues shorter, the Metro less crowded, and the weather perfect for extended walks around the city.

Well that will do for now. If you haven’t done so, I can highly recommend Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, if for nothing else than the stunning scenery of the City of Lights. But as I indicated in my review, the film is thoroughly enjoyable in its own right, and I’m sure you won’t leave disappointed.

New York City Ghost Bike

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In Greece, roadside memorials to accident victims take the form of miniature churches, which tend to be adorned with candles, an image of the deceased, and other small mementos. In Australia, roadside memorials to accident victims have also been commonplace over the past 20 years or so, although these tend to be small and generally unobtrusive – often no more than bunches of flowers tied to a lamp post or left on the verge of a highway where an accident took place.

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I don’t know if ‘Ghost Bikes’, as they are called, are unique to New York City, but sadly more and more of these distinctive roadside memorials are being set up at the site of fatal collisions between bike riders and motor vehicles.

I discovered the ghost bike pictured here while walking through the Brooklyn suburb of Greenpoint during my 2008 visit to New York City. Unfortunately, I didn’t make a note of exactly where the bike was located, but I often wonder if it is still there.

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Friday Fotos – East River Views

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During my two month stay in New York City in 2010, one of my favorite places to hang out on Friday evenings was Pier 17, one of the last remnants of the extensive pier system that jutted into the waters of the Hudson and East Rivers.

As the sun set in the west, a beautiful golden glow would light up the buildings along the Brooklyn side of the East River.

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As an added bonus, Friday evenings at 6pm also saw a weekly roster of great indie bands from New York and elsewhere playing free gigs from the small stage set up on the pier. Pier 17 was always packed with office workers winding down at the end of the working week, and visitors enjoying the vibe and the stunning views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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As I have written elsewhere on this site (Brooklyn Hidden Harbor Tour,  and Up A Lazy River to Bear Mountain), I have a particular fascination – some might call it a fetish – with rivers and water borne activities, and another of the pleasures of sitting at the end of Pier 17 was watching the constant too-ing and fro-ing of pleasure boats, working boats and other marine activity on the East River.

Below: a river barge (out of view) is being pushed up the East River by the tugboat Calusa Coast. From whence have they come, and to where are they going? And what are they transporting?

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Below: I never did take this Friday evening river cruise, but next time I think I will add it to my list of ‘things to do in New York City on a Friday night’ – or indeed any evening the vessels heads out for a cruise up the East River.

Note: Click on images to view full size

Friday Foto: 5Pointz, Queens

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A recent article in the New York Times: Writing’s onthe Wall (Art Is, Too, for Now)* , took me back to my 2008 visit to New York City. It was a beautiful spring day in early April when I headed out to visit the Museum of Modern Art offshoot known as PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. It was here that I discovered the amazing 5Pointz Arts Center.

The five story 5Pointz building is now pretty much all but derelict following the collapse of a fire escape in 2009 that seriously injured a jewellery artist who worked in the building at the time. Never the less, the building has become famous for the hundreds of graffiti art works that cover the façade of the building.

According to the New York Times article, Jonathan Cohen, aka ‘meresone’, has been managing the site since 2001, although it is not clear from the article if that is when the graffiti art began to be added to the building.

Apart from the many New York artists that have added their work to the 5Pointz building, artists from all over the USA, as well as from France, Australia, Spain and elsewhere have also contributed to the site. The building is mentioned in some foreign guidebooks and it has become a tourist attraction in its own right, and is well worth a look if you have the time to fit it into your New York visit.

While tagging is illegal in New York, it appears to be permitted if a building’s owner gives the Ok for a work of graffiti art to be painted on their structures. Permission to use the warehouse as a giant canvas has long been granted by the owner, Jerry Wolkoff, who also rented out studio space until the afore mentioned accident in 2009.

Now however, Mr. Wolkoff wants to raze the building to make way for two 30-story apartment towers. As you might imagine, graffiti artists are not happy with this decision, and a campaign is underway to preserve the building at 45-46 Davis Street, and convert into affordable art space for many of New York City’s artists and craftspeople. While I wish them luck with their campaign, I have a feeling that commerce will eventually win out, and this incredible building and its unique works of graffiti art, will eventually only exist online.

*Note: Articles in the New York Times are eventually only accessible via paid subscription. While the article referred to above was viewable when I wrote this entry, it may no longer be so.

Click here to see a New York Times slide show of images from the 5Pointz building.

The 5Pointz site also features many images of the graffiti art.

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Friday Fotos – Rockefeller Center

The GE Building towers into a perfect New York sky

One of the highlights of my 2008 visit to New York City was a trip to the ‘Top of The Rock’ – or if you prefer, the viewing deck of the Rockefeller Center located in midtown Manhattan.

The Rockefeller Center is in fact a complex of 19 major buildings, the largest of which is the GE Building. Directly in front of this building is a large sunken outdoor plaza which doubles as an ice skating rink in winter and restaurant during the summer months.

Paul Manship sculptures, Youth and Maiden

Stunning works of art (like the two shown above), are what help to make the Rockefeller Center a location worth visiting in its own right, rather than simply a place to get a birds-eye view of Manhattan. So much great art is located around the complex that books have been written about the collection (see links below).

Michael Hammers 2008 Installation: Electric Fountain

With the loss of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building can lay claim to being the highest building in New York City, although this will change once the new tower is completed on the site of the WTC. While it is tempting to visit the ESB rather than the Rockefeller Center building, I preferred the Top of The Rock if only because one can get great views (and photographs) of the Empire State Building which is near by.

Top of The Rock view of Manhattan skyline and Central Park

Getting There:
The nearest subway station is the 47-50th St - Rockefeller Ctr. Station which can be reached by the B, D, F, and M trains (more info: http://www.mta.info/).

Tickets:

• Adult $34.00
• Child (6-12) $28.00
• Senior (62+) $32.00
• Sun & Stars Ticket: Adult $63.00
• Sun & Stars Ticket: Child $43.00
• Note: Sun & Stars tickets allow guests to visit twice in one day.
• A range of add-on's and combo tickets are also available.

POST UPDATED MARCH 11, 2017

NOTE: The above ticket prices were correct as of March 11, 2017.
For up to date ticket prices, and to pre-purchase tickets to the Rockefeller Center click here... 

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Friday Fotos: New Orleans

I had no idea, when I arrived in New Orleans in September 2010, that my visit would coincide with the start of the American Football season. And so it was, that on a hot Thursday night, I found myself amongst tens of thousands of New Orleans Saints fans lining the streets of the French Quarter for the parade that would herald the beginning of the competition.

This series of images shows just a few of the fans who dressed for the occasion in fancy hats decorated in all manner of finery, including feathers, masks, cheap plastic baubles, and necklaces – thousands of which were showered onto the crowds lining both sides of the parade route by those taking part in the actual parade itself.

It was my first experience of an All-American Parade which included dozens of school marching bands, complete with dancers who sweated profusely in the stifling heat and humidity of a Crescent City evening.

My three day visit to New Orleans was far too brief to get more than the faintest feel for the city, and I would love to visit again for an extended period – preferably around Mardi Gras in March, when the weather is more conducive to extended walking and explorations of the city.

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Friday Foto – Giant Kouroi of Samos

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The human figure in this image helps puts the giant male sculpture into some sort of perspective, although nothing prepares you for the stunning craftsmanship, the perfectly proportioned figure or the size and beauty of this work.

The figure stands a small archaeological museum on the island of Samos, in the Eastern Aegean.

Located in Vathi, the capital of Samos, the museum occupies two buildings: one known as the ‘storehouse of ancient objects’, built in 1912, and a modern building financed by the German auto manufacturer Volkswagen in 1987.

The museum houses exhibits found in excavations all around Samos, the most impressive of which is the gigantic kouros (male) statue which towers above all other exhibits and visitors alike. There are also other statues and friezes depicting scenes from mythology or daily life, pieces of pottery, small statues, tools, pieces fashioned out of bronze and ivory, weaponry and much more to fascinate and delight the interested visitor.

Opening Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday: 08.30-15.00
Monday: closed

Entrance fee:
Full admission, 3 Euro
Reduced admission, 2 Euro
Telephone: +30 22730 27469

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Friday Foto – Tradesmen’s Entrance

I spotted this sign on the gate of a large property as I wandered through the streets of the London suburb of Kensington, one spring day in March 2008. I hope this sign, and the class society it represents, is a relic of a distant past, and that tradespeople and servants are now able to enter the building in question via the front door, rather than be required to enter through a rear entrance.

The building in question, Cromwell Mansions, and the sign itself (at lower right) can be seen below in this screen shot taken from Google Maps. The address is 217-239, Cromwell Road, Kensington, London.

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