Elsien's Traveblogue
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
London, Friday 26th March 2010
I haven't written for two weeks as I have been in Brussels, catching my breath for a few days, and trying to put together a bid for some more work at the European Commission. These bureaucratic little jobs always take up a lot of time.
Then on Monday I went back to Paris, for another day's teaching at Versaillles. Spring had broken out in Paris: the weather was absolutely glorious, sunshine, almost warm in the afternoons. With the nice weather the tourists had also arrived: Easter holidays had started and Pigalle was choked with tour coaches and school groups. On top of that there were strikes: Railway workers, primary teachers and the admin staff at the courts, causing some disruption. Only half my students made it to class on Tuesday. When I asked them about the reasons for the strike, one of them replied: “French tradition, Madame!”
Took the Eurolines coach overnight back to London. The British Immigration officials showed their vigilance and took a young man off the coach at Calais, no idea why. We still got to Victoria Station by 6am, in the pouring rain. A bit of a downer, after that glorious sunshine in Paris!
However, academic pursuits at Tate Modern soon lifted my spirits. I'm attending a seminar and study day on abstract art, Theo van Doesburg and Arshile Gorky. Academics from all over the world are presenting their papers on this. When I read the first introductions in the programme, I had a slight panic and thought I wasn't going to understand even the first word of some of the lectures, but I seem to be doing OK so far. Some of the presentations are extremely dense, so there is no way I can take notes: listening and trying to follow is as much as I can do in those cases.
I am hoping some of this stuff will come in useful for my third module in my art history course this year, which is all on modern and contemporary art, my weakest area.
In the meantime I am not making much progress with my current module, Renaissance Uccello and biographer Vasari. Will have another go at it tonight, although I also have to write exams for my Versailles students.
I haven't written for two weeks as I have been in Brussels, catching my breath for a few days, and trying to put together a bid for some more work at the European Commission. These bureaucratic little jobs always take up a lot of time.
Then on Monday I went back to Paris, for another day's teaching at Versaillles. Spring had broken out in Paris: the weather was absolutely glorious, sunshine, almost warm in the afternoons. With the nice weather the tourists had also arrived: Easter holidays had started and Pigalle was choked with tour coaches and school groups. On top of that there were strikes: Railway workers, primary teachers and the admin staff at the courts, causing some disruption. Only half my students made it to class on Tuesday. When I asked them about the reasons for the strike, one of them replied: “French tradition, Madame!”
Took the Eurolines coach overnight back to London. The British Immigration officials showed their vigilance and took a young man off the coach at Calais, no idea why. We still got to Victoria Station by 6am, in the pouring rain. A bit of a downer, after that glorious sunshine in Paris!
However, academic pursuits at Tate Modern soon lifted my spirits. I'm attending a seminar and study day on abstract art, Theo van Doesburg and Arshile Gorky. Academics from all over the world are presenting their papers on this. When I read the first introductions in the programme, I had a slight panic and thought I wasn't going to understand even the first word of some of the lectures, but I seem to be doing OK so far. Some of the presentations are extremely dense, so there is no way I can take notes: listening and trying to follow is as much as I can do in those cases.
I am hoping some of this stuff will come in useful for my third module in my art history course this year, which is all on modern and contemporary art, my weakest area.
In the meantime I am not making much progress with my current module, Renaissance Uccello and biographer Vasari. Will have another go at it tonight, although I also have to write exams for my Versailles students.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thursday 11th March 2010, Paris
Went to the Petit Palais today, behind the Champs Elysees. My camera batteries gave out, so no picture. Did snap this theatre poster before they did though, which may delight Manchester United fans!
There was definitely something going on in the Elysee as the number of policemen, military as well as local, was rather over the top. No sign of Sarkozy though.
The Petit Palais houses another art collection of the Ville de Paris and its permanent collection is, like all other Ville de Paris collections, free. The tourists all go to the Louvre, Beaubourg and the Musee d'Orsay though. The Petit Palais collection is pretty eclectic, from Antiquity to 1900 – after 1900 is in the Museum of Modern Art. I went for the Courbet paintings, in a huge room; another giant painting of a Fire Brigade, reminiscent of Rembrandt's Night Watch, a couple of rather sexist ones, a very ugly landscape with cows and a lovely portrait of Courbet's friend, the philosopher Proudhon and his two little daughters. I also found a Rembrandt, a Self Portrait in oriental costume. He was not happy about the way he had painted his feet, so he painted a little dog to hide them!
There was a special exhibition on about Yves St Laurent and the queue of fashionably dressed Parisians snaked round the building. They were also trying to get lunch in the cafetaria where I'd arrived earlier, but I didn't let them rush my beer and sandwich!
It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny, but very cold. The water in the Pigalle fountain had frozen.
Back to UK today, some business to finish in Harlow and my first OU Tutorial this year in Cambridge on Saturday. Then the overnight coach to Paris on Monday, teaching in Versailles on Tuesday and straight after off to Brussels to spend some time with J. at last. Yippee! Also, I will have to start cracking on my first Art History assignment, on the influence of Vasari on biographers of Paolo Uccello – and still quite a bit to read before I get to that ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Paris, Wednesday 10th March 2010
Back in hotel in Paris, just round the corner from Place Pigalle. Done my day's teaching at Versailles yesterday. The students in the first group were back to 'normal', the second group is still a bit of a nightmare: big, almost 30 students, with English levels ranging from non-existent to almost Intermediate (E3 or B2, depending on which framework you use).
Had a nice time in England. Went to an M.A. Conference for Art History, organised by Open University at Birkbeck, which was really stimulating. Presentations by Course Tutors as well as students who have just completed their 2nd year projects or MA dissertation as well as a PhD student. A whole wide range of topics within the prescribed periods of Renaissance, 18th/19th Century or Contemporary. I think my choice will be in the first two, as I know very little about Modern Art. I may have to do an Undergratuate course on it after this year. I'm going to some Study Days at Tate Modern this week though, so this might help a little.
Spent the weekend doing a 'turnaround': empty bag, wash clothes, pack bag, change books.
Have a day in Paris today, will visit the Petit Palais today. Off for breakfast first:coffee and croissant at the cafe round the corner!
Back in hotel in Paris, just round the corner from Place Pigalle. Done my day's teaching at Versailles yesterday. The students in the first group were back to 'normal', the second group is still a bit of a nightmare: big, almost 30 students, with English levels ranging from non-existent to almost Intermediate (E3 or B2, depending on which framework you use).
Had a nice time in England. Went to an M.A. Conference for Art History, organised by Open University at Birkbeck, which was really stimulating. Presentations by Course Tutors as well as students who have just completed their 2nd year projects or MA dissertation as well as a PhD student. A whole wide range of topics within the prescribed periods of Renaissance, 18th/19th Century or Contemporary. I think my choice will be in the first two, as I know very little about Modern Art. I may have to do an Undergratuate course on it after this year. I'm going to some Study Days at Tate Modern this week though, so this might help a little.
Spent the weekend doing a 'turnaround': empty bag, wash clothes, pack bag, change books.
Have a day in Paris today, will visit the Petit Palais today. Off for breakfast first:coffee and croissant at the cafe round the corner!
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Saturday 6th March 2010, LondonSpent two nights in a 'boutique hostel' in Swiss Cottage. When I booked it, I thought I was booking a single room in a hotel which also had dormitories, but it turned out I was booked into a 28-bed male only dormitory! Fortunately they could give me a bed in a smaller, mixed dorm, so now I have a kind of plarform double bed with little curtains to myself.
I had tickets for a lecture and the van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy and today I have an OU Art History Conference for MA students. As the 'hotel' cost barely more than the train tickets to Stortford, I had decided to stay in London for the two nights.
The lecture was good, very interesting. The lecturer gave a fascinating overview of van Gogh's life and work through the letters that are the backbone of the exhibition. He showed that poor old Vincent wasn't 'mad' , but probably did suffer from what's now fashionably called bi-polar, with probably touches of epilepsy in his last years.Mind you, the man smoked a pipe, drank copious amounts of coffee, wine and absinthe, enough to make anyone manic! The exhibition itself, while fascinating, a bit of a nightmare. Normally I avoid these blockbuster events, but I thought it might be OK this time and it would be silly to go to the lecture and not see the exhibition. It was murder, far too many people, shuffling clockwise around the paintings and letters. Most people couldn't read the letters, as most of them are in French or Dutch, only a few in English. I must have been one of the very few there who could read them all.
Interesting choice of paintings too, not many of the very well known, but, as I said, far too many people. Met up with the kids afterwards for beer and pizza. Nice to be in London and not have to rush back to the suburbs!
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Wednesday 3rd March 2010, Paris
Sunny weather holding, but it's not very warm, sitting outside is a bit of a chilly business. Went to the Musée Carnavalet again today – quite a nice walk there (but Metro back!).
I ignored Marcel Proust's bedroom this time and concentrated on the amazing collection of B-list paintings they have there, all to do with the history of Paris. My next OU Module is on Landscape and the Social History of Art and I am wondering whether they will count 'changing urban landscape' as in Paris, 19th century, as a potential topic for my 2nd year project (5000 words).
Found some great pictures, but the gallery I most wanted to see, where they have paintings between 1850 and 1900 was unfortunately closed, not sure why. I'll be back!
Had a quick look at the Place des Vosges, which used to be my favourite square in Paris. Not sure now, I find it almost too classical for my taste now.
Sun still shining, so time for a beer in the sun wrapped in coat and scarf. Back to UK tomorrow where I am staying in a hotel in Swiss Cottage (half price late booking). I have a ticket for a lecture / gallery visit of the Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy on Friday and an OU Conference at Birkbeck's on Saturday. Staying at oldest son's on Sunday, back to Paris on Monday...
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Tuesday 2nd March 2010, Paris
The weather here has suddenly turned beautiful. It's not quite Paris In The Springtime yet, because the trees are still very bare and it lacks that je-ne-sais-quoi springtime feeling, but the sun is out, it's over 10° C and the sunny-side terraces are full of people drinking coffee, Kronenbourg and 1664. I joined them for a bit after work: day's teaching at the University of Versailles. I've added some pictures so you can see what I mean when I say that it's rather like the University of East London at Docklands, without the Thames (or City Airport).
The students had had a week off to study, but when asked, few of them had done much of that. Quite a few had not done the little assignment I'd set them ... The week off had made them forget what little English they had and seems to have made them even more sluggish in matters English ...
It was hard work and I'm glad that's it again for the week ... Halfway through the course already...
I hope this weather will hold for tomorrow, because that's when I get my reward for all this travelling and rather unrewarding teaching: day out in Paris!
Monday, March 01, 2010
Monday 1st March, back in Paris
Got to Brussels OK, got out of Brussels OK, even if there was a very slow replacement bus from Brussels to Lille, with some braying business men on it, who worked for GSK Harlow, of all places.
Spent a nice weekend with J in Brussels, did some work at the European Commission on Monday and Tuesday and was back in Harlow on Wednesday night. Had to clear my books, clothes and personal stuff out of the flat as I've rented it out from 1st March. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake, as I found out a few days ago that the job in Versailles comes to an end on 13th April. Just as well I didn't get myself a flat in Paris from March to July! Thank you, axe murderer!
Anyway, I moved all my stuff to Josh' and Stacey's in Stortford, where I have a nice little guest bedroom and got back on the Eurostar to Paris this morning, where I am staying in a hotel not far from where I was before.Working in Versailles tomorrow, back to art collections Wednesday, return to London Thursday ....
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