Friday, April 25, 2014
Paris Day 3
Paris Day 3
On our final day, we met Annie at the Pompidou for the Cartier-Bresson exhibit. The day was threatening rain, and seemed nasty, so I was happy to be inside. The exhibit itself was over 500 of his photos from throughout his life. He started as an artist, but concentrated on photography in his 20s. At first he was a Surrealist, then was very concerned with framing and the Golden Mean, and later as a photojournalist. He had an uncanny knack to find the correct moment to capture, the "decisive moment". One of his famous pictures of that period was a man jumping over a puddle, caught just at the instant in the air with a perfect reflection. His later works while traveling around the works concentrated on the daily rhythms of the lives of ordinary people. He also became an ardent Communist and photographed rallies and crowds. There was a movie he made with Paul Strand, which was remarkable in its visions of light and shadow. Another movie was made of him in a crowd, snapping pictures as he saw the shifting scene in front of him. Fascinating.
After lunch on the roof with great views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur, we went to the permanent exhibit of modern painting. More old friends of Picasso, Leger, and others.
Afterwards, we made our way back to the store now that it was open. This is the new "in" place, and it looked like they were giving things away. Shopped out, we returned to the hotel to nap before dinner.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
On our final day, we met Annie at the Pompidou for the Cartier-Bresson exhibit. The day was threatening rain, and seemed nasty, so I was happy to be inside. The exhibit itself was over 500 of his photos from throughout his life. He started as an artist, but concentrated on photography in his 20s. At first he was a Surrealist, then was very concerned with framing and the Golden Mean, and later as a photojournalist. He had an uncanny knack to find the correct moment to capture, the "decisive moment". One of his famous pictures of that period was a man jumping over a puddle, caught just at the instant in the air with a perfect reflection. His later works while traveling around the works concentrated on the daily rhythms of the lives of ordinary people. He also became an ardent Communist and photographed rallies and crowds. There was a movie he made with Paul Strand, which was remarkable in its visions of light and shadow. Another movie was made of him in a crowd, snapping pictures as he saw the shifting scene in front of him. Fascinating.
After lunch on the roof with great views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur, we went to the permanent exhibit of modern painting. More old friends of Picasso, Leger, and others.
Afterwards, we made our way back to the store now that it was open. This is the new "in" place, and it looked like they were giving things away. Shopped out, we returned to the hotel to nap before dinner.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Paris Day 2
Paris Day 2
We went to the Marais, the ancient Jewish neighborhood. Ann picked what seemed like the closest Metro stop, but it was a bit of a hike. Along the way, we met an Australian couple where the wife was wearing a down vest from a trendy new store. Ann had a mission. We got off at Haussmann to walk a bit, but couldn't find the store. Trying to get back on the Metro was a challenge but we finally walked 3 miles or so underground (!) to get back on or correct train. We finally got to the Jewish Museum. The collection hasn't changed much since we were there last with the kids in 2001. Some history of medieval Jewish culture in Europe and France and a few things on the early 20th century. 1 room on the deportations. 1 room on Dreyfuss. Most of it was explanations of festivals and decorations. Interestingly, they used the same picture to illustrate Simchas Torah and Shavuot. The audio guide was incomplete and mostly gave an explanation of what the holidays were, essentially for non-Jews. I was happy to have gone and supported the cause, but it was somewhat disappointing otherwise.
We got lunch at a corner bistro since we could not find falafels in the area. We went in search of the new store in the Marais neighborhood, since we had seen a sign with the address. We found it after a small walk, but, alas, it wasn't opening until Friday.
After coming back to our hotel for a nap, we ventured to Saint Germaine for dinner. We were in the mood for couscous, and we found a Moroccan restaurant. I had a lamb patty with couscous and a tagine of veggies and Ann had more veggies. Luckily there was no eggplant in any of the veggies, so we had no music in our room later.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
We went to the Marais, the ancient Jewish neighborhood. Ann picked what seemed like the closest Metro stop, but it was a bit of a hike. Along the way, we met an Australian couple where the wife was wearing a down vest from a trendy new store. Ann had a mission. We got off at Haussmann to walk a bit, but couldn't find the store. Trying to get back on the Metro was a challenge but we finally walked 3 miles or so underground (!) to get back on or correct train. We finally got to the Jewish Museum. The collection hasn't changed much since we were there last with the kids in 2001. Some history of medieval Jewish culture in Europe and France and a few things on the early 20th century. 1 room on the deportations. 1 room on Dreyfuss. Most of it was explanations of festivals and decorations. Interestingly, they used the same picture to illustrate Simchas Torah and Shavuot. The audio guide was incomplete and mostly gave an explanation of what the holidays were, essentially for non-Jews. I was happy to have gone and supported the cause, but it was somewhat disappointing otherwise.
We got lunch at a corner bistro since we could not find falafels in the area. We went in search of the new store in the Marais neighborhood, since we had seen a sign with the address. We found it after a small walk, but, alas, it wasn't opening until Friday.
After coming back to our hotel for a nap, we ventured to Saint Germaine for dinner. We were in the mood for couscous, and we found a Moroccan restaurant. I had a lamb patty with couscous and a tagine of veggies and Ann had more veggies. Luckily there was no eggplant in any of the veggies, so we had no music in our room later.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Paris Day 1
Breakfast here was the same as at the other K&K hotel in London. However, I was surprised to hear, "Rocky, is that you?". It seems Dan Lahr, an orthopaedist from Rockville is here visiting his daughter who is on her Junior year. Nice to chat and catch up.
We met with Annie and proceeded to the Musee D'Orsay for a big exhibit on Van Gogh. This was actually a double exhibit, as it was predicated by a book on Van Gogh by Antonin Artaud "The Man Suicided by Society". Artaud was also mentally ill, and objected to the way Van Gogh was perceived. The most haunting phrase accompanying the art was , "No one has ever written or painted, sculpted, modeled, built or invented, except to get out of hell". I was struck by the multiple self portraits with his increasingly haunted face and wild brush strokes. I was also reminded of my mother in law's comments about going to an art museum, "it's like visiting an old friend". Van Gogh was an old friend with a wonderful eye for color and movement.
We went on to an exhibit by Gustave Dore from the mid 1800s. He was a master illustrator of everything from current events (think the New Yorker cartoons) to Shakespeare, Cervantes, the Bible and more. Unbelievably prolific.
After lunch at the museum, we went to the Impressionists. Again, Mickie's old friends. Lovely.
A nap in the afternoon, and dinner at Le Rotonde, a recently rebuilt restaurant in the neighborhood. Ann was going to order the onion soup, but Annie said, "No! You mustn't have anything so pedestrian!" We explained it was considered more luxurious for us, and Ann finally prevailed. I had the Sea Bass, which was better after it came hot the second time around. Dessert was a wonderful concoction of rhubarb, custard, and raspberry syrup.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
We met with Annie and proceeded to the Musee D'Orsay for a big exhibit on Van Gogh. This was actually a double exhibit, as it was predicated by a book on Van Gogh by Antonin Artaud "The Man Suicided by Society". Artaud was also mentally ill, and objected to the way Van Gogh was perceived. The most haunting phrase accompanying the art was , "No one has ever written or painted, sculpted, modeled, built or invented, except to get out of hell". I was struck by the multiple self portraits with his increasingly haunted face and wild brush strokes. I was also reminded of my mother in law's comments about going to an art museum, "it's like visiting an old friend". Van Gogh was an old friend with a wonderful eye for color and movement.
We went on to an exhibit by Gustave Dore from the mid 1800s. He was a master illustrator of everything from current events (think the New Yorker cartoons) to Shakespeare, Cervantes, the Bible and more. Unbelievably prolific.
After lunch at the museum, we went to the Impressionists. Again, Mickie's old friends. Lovely.
A nap in the afternoon, and dinner at Le Rotonde, a recently rebuilt restaurant in the neighborhood. Ann was going to order the onion soup, but Annie said, "No! You mustn't have anything so pedestrian!" We explained it was considered more luxurious for us, and Ann finally prevailed. I had the Sea Bass, which was better after it came hot the second time around. Dessert was a wonderful concoction of rhubarb, custard, and raspberry syrup.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Travel Day- London to Paris
An easy day with a late breakfast and a tube to St. Pancreas (sometimes known to the outside world as Pancras). We spent our Pounds and changed some, and got on the train to Paris. When we got here, there was no passport control or anything entering the EU. Just walk on in. I knew we were in Paris by the cigarette smoke. Much more here than in London. We caught a cab to our hotel.
We arrived to a top floor room with a lovely view of Sacre Coeur. There was also a bottle of champagne and we thought it was a nice touch from the hotel. But then we read the note and it had been ordered by Paul, Ellen and Harry! A very sweet touch. We did a Google Hangout and thanked them and goofed around with the silly icons.
We bussed down the street to meet Annie, Ann's French friend whom she had met in 1972 on her junior year in Paris. They had remained friends over the years, and see each other every few years. We sent to an Italian restaurant and had wonderful pasta, scampi, and asparagus, with a chocolate mousse for desert.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
We arrived to a top floor room with a lovely view of Sacre Coeur. There was also a bottle of champagne and we thought it was a nice touch from the hotel. But then we read the note and it had been ordered by Paul, Ellen and Harry! A very sweet touch. We did a Google Hangout and thanked them and goofed around with the silly icons.
We bussed down the street to meet Annie, Ann's French friend whom she had met in 1972 on her junior year in Paris. They had remained friends over the years, and see each other every few years. We sent to an Italian restaurant and had wonderful pasta, scampi, and asparagus, with a chocolate mousse for desert.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Monday, April 21, 2014
London Day 3
Another full day. After breakfast we headed to the Tate Modern for the Matisse Cut-Outs exhibit. This was a huge retrospective of the last 13 years of his life. He had been sick and had difficulty painting. He played with some shapes of cut out paper, and found he was fascinated by what he could achieve. His critics complained he couldn't paint any more, so he also did some paintings in a "cut out" motif to prove them wrong. He was unable to stand, so he had an assistant move the shapes a little left, a little right, until it was just so. He worked with pre-painted sheets of paper, with an entire palette of different shades. It was really fascinating to see the output of a genius even at age 82. There had been a cut out exhibit in DC years ago(?1983) but this was much more extensive and complete and had a number of movies of him doing the cutting and directing. Really a great exhibit.
After Matisse, we wandered around the museum. The photographs by Harry Callahan were disappointing at best. Neither of us saw much artistry in many of these photos. We were unmoved. Meh.
Outside it was a glorious sunny day on the Riverwalk by the Thames. A "bubble man" was making giant bubbles and all the kiddies were jumping to pop them. Many of the adults, too. The photos are in my camera, so I have no good way from here to transfer them to blogspot until I get home.
We returned to the Victoria & Albert so Ann could resume gift shopping. I spent the time doing some medical research concerning a patient back home, and emailing with his family.
Back to our hotel for a few minutes to freshen up before we went out again for an early dinner at a different Indian/Punjabi restaurant, Masala Zone. This was ok, as it was more of a chain, so it was more "homogenized". Passable for us, but Paul would object.
We wound our way the The National Theater at the Olivier Stage for "King Lear". First of all, there were 3 different stages and other productions, a la Kennedy Center, but this was all plays. The building was 60's cement modern. Very beautiful in its time, but definitely dated. Inside the theater, the seating was good and the acoustics were passable. Now on to the play: Lear is old and getting senile. He tries to divide his kingdom among his 3 daughters, but the infighting among them and their husbands (and lovers) is fierce. As all the fighting is happening, Lear is going mad. It devolves, as Shakespeare often does, into a killing field. The acting was superb and Lear was outstanding. The woman who played the middle daughter, Regan, was wonderfully deceitful, but her accent made her hard to understand. No matter, the tones of voice gave away what she was scheming!
A small medical adventure during the intermission. As we were exiting the theater, a girl was passed out in the hallway. Of course, I tried to help. "Get me a wet paper towel", but all the bathrooms are "green", with electric hand dryers, and there is not a paper towel to be found! We made do with toilet paper. At least they haven't found a way to eliminate that kind of paper! The girl came around quickly and we continued into the second act.
The cab to the tube took us past Big Ben, which I tried with my cell phone to get a decent picture. You be the judge.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
After Matisse, we wandered around the museum. The photographs by Harry Callahan were disappointing at best. Neither of us saw much artistry in many of these photos. We were unmoved. Meh.
Outside it was a glorious sunny day on the Riverwalk by the Thames. A "bubble man" was making giant bubbles and all the kiddies were jumping to pop them. Many of the adults, too. The photos are in my camera, so I have no good way from here to transfer them to blogspot until I get home.
We returned to the Victoria & Albert so Ann could resume gift shopping. I spent the time doing some medical research concerning a patient back home, and emailing with his family.
Back to our hotel for a few minutes to freshen up before we went out again for an early dinner at a different Indian/Punjabi restaurant, Masala Zone. This was ok, as it was more of a chain, so it was more "homogenized". Passable for us, but Paul would object.
We wound our way the The National Theater at the Olivier Stage for "King Lear". First of all, there were 3 different stages and other productions, a la Kennedy Center, but this was all plays. The building was 60's cement modern. Very beautiful in its time, but definitely dated. Inside the theater, the seating was good and the acoustics were passable. Now on to the play: Lear is old and getting senile. He tries to divide his kingdom among his 3 daughters, but the infighting among them and their husbands (and lovers) is fierce. As all the fighting is happening, Lear is going mad. It devolves, as Shakespeare often does, into a killing field. The acting was superb and Lear was outstanding. The woman who played the middle daughter, Regan, was wonderfully deceitful, but her accent made her hard to understand. No matter, the tones of voice gave away what she was scheming!
A small medical adventure during the intermission. As we were exiting the theater, a girl was passed out in the hallway. Of course, I tried to help. "Get me a wet paper towel", but all the bathrooms are "green", with electric hand dryers, and there is not a paper towel to be found! We made do with toilet paper. At least they haven't found a way to eliminate that kind of paper! The girl came around quickly and we continued into the second act.
The cab to the tube took us past Big Ben, which I tried with my cell phone to get a decent picture. You be the judge.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, April 20, 2014
London Day 2
A full day. We started late, waking up at 10:30. After breakfast, we headed to the National Portrait Gallery. In the rain. Welcome to England.
We started in the World War I exhibit, with portraits of the archduke Franz Ferdinand, and a photo of him moments before he was shot. There was the mug shot of Princip the shooter. It continued with colonels, lieutenants and generals, as well as ordinary pictures of the grunts actually fighting the war. Many of these were done by William Orpen. A portrait of Churchill when he was naval commander. He was in some scandal at the time and was typically scowling for the portrait.
We continued into the history of England with the Tudors Stuarts and others. Various Henrys, Edwards, Anne Bolyn, Elizabeth I, etc. Some even earlier stuff of Richard III. We tried to take a tour but because it was Easter there was none today.
Lunch at our favorite London restaurant, Pret, then on to the British Museum. It is near the West End theater district and we tried to get tickets for something for tonight, but nothing looked half decent.
In the British, the new exhibit was Anglo-Saxon findings. Swords, helms, and other fighting gear, as well as pottery, jewelry, and utensils. There had been a big find of a burial site at Sutton Hoo with many great artifacts. This reminded me of Westeros.
We continued into the 14th to 19th centuries, with ceramics, paintings and other artifacts. The Lewis chess pieces were exhibited on a board. We happened onto an exhibit of part of the Waddeson Bequest of Baron Rothschild in 1898. Dozens of fabulous ceramics, jewelry and other objects. Ann found the Jewish content in many objects- the picture of Moses and the Burning Bush, the Seder plate (described as a plate depicting the plagues). All these were in ONE room (the New Smoking room), and there was a picture. Certainly the .001%.
We didn't see the standard stuff (Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies etc). We never saw any of the other temporary Viking exhibits or the Indian Ganesha exhibit.
Exhausted, we tubed back to the hotel, and ate at a local Italian chain, Zizzi. Ann had a hanging skewer of veggies and shrimp; I had pasta.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
We started in the World War I exhibit, with portraits of the archduke Franz Ferdinand, and a photo of him moments before he was shot. There was the mug shot of Princip the shooter. It continued with colonels, lieutenants and generals, as well as ordinary pictures of the grunts actually fighting the war. Many of these were done by William Orpen. A portrait of Churchill when he was naval commander. He was in some scandal at the time and was typically scowling for the portrait.
We continued into the history of England with the Tudors Stuarts and others. Various Henrys, Edwards, Anne Bolyn, Elizabeth I, etc. Some even earlier stuff of Richard III. We tried to take a tour but because it was Easter there was none today.
Lunch at our favorite London restaurant, Pret, then on to the British Museum. It is near the West End theater district and we tried to get tickets for something for tonight, but nothing looked half decent.
In the British, the new exhibit was Anglo-Saxon findings. Swords, helms, and other fighting gear, as well as pottery, jewelry, and utensils. There had been a big find of a burial site at Sutton Hoo with many great artifacts. This reminded me of Westeros.
We continued into the 14th to 19th centuries, with ceramics, paintings and other artifacts. The Lewis chess pieces were exhibited on a board. We happened onto an exhibit of part of the Waddeson Bequest of Baron Rothschild in 1898. Dozens of fabulous ceramics, jewelry and other objects. Ann found the Jewish content in many objects- the picture of Moses and the Burning Bush, the Seder plate (described as a plate depicting the plagues). All these were in ONE room (the New Smoking room), and there was a picture. Certainly the .001%.
We didn't see the standard stuff (Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies etc). We never saw any of the other temporary Viking exhibits or the Indian Ganesha exhibit.
Exhausted, we tubed back to the hotel, and ate at a local Italian chain, Zizzi. Ann had a hanging skewer of veggies and shrimp; I had pasta.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Welcome to Jolly Old England
So I'll give it a try to blog on this short trip. The flight was uneventful except Ann's leg was killing her and she didn't get much sleep. British Airways seems to have continued to shrink the size of the seats and row space to squeeze just a few more anchovies in, so neither of us had much room. I tried to watch but her elbow kept hitting the TV controller, so it was a challenge.
We got to our hotel, the K&K George where we stayed 12 years ago where we stayed with the kids in 2002. Our room was not yet ready so we went out to breakfast at Pret a Manger near the tube stop. We finally got into our room at 11 or so and promptly fell asleep. When we got up at 3, we went out to the British Science museum to get a picture of Watson & Crick's DNA model. Harry and I swore we had taken this picture 12 years ago, but we couldn't find it anywhere. I took it on 3 devices, so we are sure not to lose it.
Next door was the Victoria and Albert museum of decorative arts. Ceramics, furniture, glass, textiles, etc. it seemed to be the size of the Louvre, but not quite. Interesting, though. The Natural History Museum was next door to that, but we didn't have time or the strength.
Dinner at Masala, a local Halal Indian restaurant (?). It was packed when we got there and we had to wait 20 minutes for a table. The Indian restaurant across the street was empty, so we didn't want to go in there. The place smelled great, and the food matched. But while we ate, the place emptied out and we were essentially the only ones left when we finished at 8. The place across the street was full then. Go figure.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
We got to our hotel, the K&K George where we stayed 12 years ago where we stayed with the kids in 2002. Our room was not yet ready so we went out to breakfast at Pret a Manger near the tube stop. We finally got into our room at 11 or so and promptly fell asleep. When we got up at 3, we went out to the British Science museum to get a picture of Watson & Crick's DNA model. Harry and I swore we had taken this picture 12 years ago, but we couldn't find it anywhere. I took it on 3 devices, so we are sure not to lose it.
Next door was the Victoria and Albert museum of decorative arts. Ceramics, furniture, glass, textiles, etc. it seemed to be the size of the Louvre, but not quite. Interesting, though. The Natural History Museum was next door to that, but we didn't have time or the strength.
Dinner at Masala, a local Halal Indian restaurant (?). It was packed when we got there and we had to wait 20 minutes for a table. The Indian restaurant across the street was empty, so we didn't want to go in there. The place smelled great, and the food matched. But while we ate, the place emptied out and we were essentially the only ones left when we finished at 8. The place across the street was full then. Go figure.
Stephen J. Rockower, MD
Sent from my iPad
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