My weekend (sounds like the title of a primary school essay)
I mentioned in a previous post that I often spend a weekend in London before christmas and this past weekend I took the Eurostar to London to see a concert with a friend of mine, do some christmas shopping and just spend the weekend away. Remarkably the weather was great the whole time. Sunny and just a little cold. Any time I go to London and it doesn’t rain I’m thrilled.
It always strikes me how small Paris seems in comparison to London and this is doubly true with the crowds before christmas. The department stores get too crowded, and I generally try to stay away from Knightsbridge as one year I didn’t and the sidewalks were so crowded I could barely move. There are a lot of other places to shop though, and I even braved the crowds and went to Selfridge’s and Fortnum & Mason. Not that I did that much shopping there, see above regarding crowds.
I did however go to the British Museum, which I hadn’t seen since they refurbished and let me say, it is stunning! The new reading room is absolutely heavenly, and the surrounding space is just so beautifully done. Walking through the exhibits, my fingers always tingle. Wanting to reach out and touch the stone. Of course I make every effort not to, but the desire to just reach out and let my fingertips slide along the smooth marble of a statue or the rough stone of a sarcophagus is constant.
Saturday night I went with friends to see the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a mixed program, and frankly some of it I enjoyed more than the rest. But they did Pärt’s Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten and it moved me to tears. Such a powerful piece of music. I love classical music, and every time I attend a concert or the opera I tell myself I should go more often, and I mean it every time. And this time I really will try to make good on it.
My friend works in the music industry, and it’s interesting how different our experience of the same concert was. I found it beautiful and loved it, he notices all the faults. (Ok, I did notice something very wrong in one piece, but you didn’t have to be anything near an expert to notice that) He sees concerts several times per week, and he admits that he rarely manages to detach his professional viewpoint and just enjoy the experience. I’m glad I can just let myself be transported by it and not have to think about the little things that could have been better (again with that one exception). I wonder if he wishes he could just enjoy it more often.
On Sunday I went to the Tate Modern. A large part of the collection was closed. They’re reorganising, but they had an exhibit of Henri Rousseau’s paintings that I enjoyed. The highlights being the jungle paintings with which I was already familiar.
And now I’m back in Paris. Well, I have been since Sunday night. It’s good to be home. And when I go to Norway next weekend that will feel like coming home too.
(Dec 13, 2005)
It always strikes me how small Paris seems in comparison to London and this is doubly true with the crowds before christmas. The department stores get too crowded, and I generally try to stay away from Knightsbridge as one year I didn’t and the sidewalks were so crowded I could barely move. There are a lot of other places to shop though, and I even braved the crowds and went to Selfridge’s and Fortnum & Mason. Not that I did that much shopping there, see above regarding crowds.
I did however go to the British Museum, which I hadn’t seen since they refurbished and let me say, it is stunning! The new reading room is absolutely heavenly, and the surrounding space is just so beautifully done. Walking through the exhibits, my fingers always tingle. Wanting to reach out and touch the stone. Of course I make every effort not to, but the desire to just reach out and let my fingertips slide along the smooth marble of a statue or the rough stone of a sarcophagus is constant.
Saturday night I went with friends to see the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a mixed program, and frankly some of it I enjoyed more than the rest. But they did Pärt’s Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten and it moved me to tears. Such a powerful piece of music. I love classical music, and every time I attend a concert or the opera I tell myself I should go more often, and I mean it every time. And this time I really will try to make good on it.
My friend works in the music industry, and it’s interesting how different our experience of the same concert was. I found it beautiful and loved it, he notices all the faults. (Ok, I did notice something very wrong in one piece, but you didn’t have to be anything near an expert to notice that) He sees concerts several times per week, and he admits that he rarely manages to detach his professional viewpoint and just enjoy the experience. I’m glad I can just let myself be transported by it and not have to think about the little things that could have been better (again with that one exception). I wonder if he wishes he could just enjoy it more often.
On Sunday I went to the Tate Modern. A large part of the collection was closed. They’re reorganising, but they had an exhibit of Henri Rousseau’s paintings that I enjoyed. The highlights being the jungle paintings with which I was already familiar.
And now I’m back in Paris. Well, I have been since Sunday night. It’s good to be home. And when I go to Norway next weekend that will feel like coming home too.
(Dec 13, 2005)
posted by Annette at 7:37 PM
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