Bunkfest 2022
Band of Hope followed by Fleur Stevenson (with Maff and Drew) at Le Clos for the last evening of Bunkfest. Tight.
No lanterns this time.
Montmartre
Montmartre. Where we discover the boy's culture¹ limit.
And yes, it was just as good as the last time
Footnotes:
- The editor reprimanded me. I think you mean "the culture expressed by Impressionism, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Neo-Impressionism, Divisionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Art Deco and Abstract art movements that evolved in Paris" (to paraphrase from wikipedia) rather than culture per se².
- Actually, they didn't use the phrase per se, but you get the drift.
Eiffel
Originally the tower had a permit to stand for 20 years. It was to be dismantled in 1909, that would have been five years before construction of Sacré-Cœur had completed.
Water lilies: Better in colour?
The tour guide really impressed the boys with his knowledge of the construction of the panels (each panel mounted on casters so that Claude could move them around in his purpose-built studio while painting, from a combination of smaller-scale sketches and his memory). If you look closely you can spot the seams.
Soon there was a whole procession penguin shuffling around the gallery, everyone looking closely for the joints. Or perhaps everyone was just going that way anyway.
Street Art
Finding your way home is easy when the end of the street is decorated with something subtle like this.
Paris surprise
Fay found a lovely apartment in Paris, complete with a great big picture of Amsterdam on the wall. I probably didn't think long enough about the "it's a bit big for two of us but it was the only place in Paris that was available" line...
Well played family, well played.
(Planning all that must have made the unexpected Brussels diversion even more stressy! ❤️)
Paris
A day of being tourists and eating great food. Au Trappist was perfect for Moules et Frites with Belgium and Irish beer (!), while L'Alsacien République at the end of the street was a fantastic and relaxed spot for the evening. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The water lilies ranged from beautiful through interesting to errrr; depending on which of us you were. Obviously, they are better in monochrome.
Get on your bike
The best way to see Amsterdam. We whizzed around. If being overtaken by a chain smoking, mobile chatting, lady on a cargo bike with 3 kids in the front can still be called whizz. My excuse was that we were admiring the views.
Here's an example:
Unexpected Brussels
Our train from Amsterdam to Paris was cancelled... Technically it was disrupted. Due to industrial action it would now start from Brussels; but with all trains that day similarly disrupted, starting from Brussels wasn't so helpful when you are sat in Amsterdam.
So we grabbed the last seats on a late train the night before, and had a lightning quick Brussels experience thanks, again, to some tips from the man in Seat61.
Food in Amsterdam
Lunch at Gartine. Lovely. Must book.
Art in Amsterdam
BREXIT and Black Lives Matter at the Stedelijk Museum.
Our Lord in the Attic
Oh yes. A church hidden inside a house. It was fine, so long as you weren't overt about it.
Watching the traffic float by
Conflicted whether boat or bike is the best way to get around this city.
Anne
Anne Frank and her family hid in the house at the end of the canal. Look closely and you can see it.
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