The last few weeks...

Since I last posted where have I been? First, after returning from Belgium I spent a few days running around Paris with my neice and her grandmother (photos forthcoming) seeing the big sights as it was my neice's first time in France... Eiffel tower, Musee D'Orsay, Louvre (I had forgotten how spectacular the building itself it)... I used my museum educator knowledge to decorde hieroglyphics in the Egyptian collection and yes, we saw the Mona Lisa. It was really neat to talk about my neice's impressions of Paris, probably the biggest city she has been to.
Afterwards I went to the French Atlantic coast for several days which was quite a contrast- getting up late, riding bikes to the beach, going to the market everyday for vegetables for dinner. So relaxing.
Now I am back in Paris, enjoying tea at Marriage Frères and the streets and feeling of the 11th and 12th arrondisements, having decided I prefer east Paris to west Paris. Now I am sitting in my sister's study watching theSeine go by and the late summer (that feels like fall) rain fall. This is just ashort entry to say don't give up on this blog and many photos will be coming, probably on wednesday night or thursday.

Second Hand Market, Gent

Second Hand Market, Gent
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

I posted even more photos on my flickr account, so check it out if you like...

Secondhand Market, Gent

Secondhqnd Market, Gent
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

Today featured quite a huge second hand market in Gent. Though we didn't end up buying anything, besides a CD in W.'s case, we spent about 2 hours looking at all the fabulous jumbles of junk covering an entire neighborhood in Gent. What I loved best were the juxtopositions of things, the lack of order and usefulness, the social function of the secondhand market (it doesn't matter if you sell, it more the epxerience). It was what I imagined, but didn't find, at the marche au puces in Paris, so I felt lucky to find this kind of ambiance in Gent.

Tintin's Rocket

Tintin's Rocket
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

The comics museum was less than exciting and W. detected much outdated information and bad translations... but here we are with Tintin's rocket! I remember everyone in my elementary school classes being crazy for Tintin and I never could quite grasp it, but later in life it seems old fashioned (espeically racial and political stereotypes) but still intriguing in some way. I am interested to check out hte documentary "Tintin et Moi"about the creator, Herge, which recently aired on P.O.V. upon my return to the US.

Grand Mark Brussels

Grqnd Mark Brussels
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

Though I was a little less than impressed with Brussels, less so than I hoped to be, it did seem to roll out the red carpet for me with flowers covering the grand square, which only happens once every two years for a few days in August and the opening of the royal palace, which happens with about the same frequency. Even though the concept of royalty is totaly scary to me I enjoyed getting to look in the palace.

Manneke Pis

Manneke Pis
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

Translated as "the little pisser"this statue has been replicated all over the world, but this, in Brussels, is the the original. Swarmed with tourists, A. and I look dubious... according to my Lonely Planet guidebook this is one of Belgium's national symblos, though I am not sure if Belgians would aggree...

Wim in Brugges

Wim in Brugges
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

This is my favorite photo of W.... you can hear more from him (in Dutch) at http://hilversum-gent.blogspot.com (and can you beleive we have been pen-pals since we were about 18? It seems crazy to me...)

Begijnhof Brugges

Begijnhof Brugges
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

The Begijnhof is a community of nuns living together cooperatively and the one in Brugges has been named a UNESCO world heritage site. The umbrella gives you and idea of the Belgian weather as W. and I explored Brugges tiny mideval streets and sights. It is breath takingly beautfiul, classic and interesting, but also overrun with tourists. Fortunately for us none of them seem to bother with the side streets and we spent an afternoon not only seeing the sights but taking in this town.

Detail at S.M.A.K.

Detail at S.M.A.K.
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

A visit to S.M.A.K. (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst. Gent) proved a little disapointing and frustrating, with W. and A. informing me that many of the exhibitions had not changed since the last time they had been there several years ago and the focus being so much on really typical, if ai dare say, modern art. Personally the highlight was the Coming People exhibition, a show of student artwork picked from graduating students of Gent's art schools. My favorite was Frauke Plaetevoet, pictured here, whose drawings and installations created a kind of fantastic vision that was also grounded in the real and used bic pens, 3-D installations and drawing on the wall. It was engaging and imaginative and I loved it.

Candles in the Canal, Gent

Candles in the Canal, Gent
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

As a peace action and to remember the anniversary of the dropping ofthe atomic bomb on Nagasaki a group lit paper lanterns and floated them in the canal near the house. It seemed especially relevent given the war in Lebanon.

Gent at night

Gent at night
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

Gent at night is also amazing...

Gent Canal

Gent Canal
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

Just to give you an idea of how beautiful the place where I am staying is, this is the canal and view about two blocks walk from W. and A.'s house.

Alexanderplatz

Alexanderplatz
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

Leaving Berlin on the night train, a blurry dark shot of the TV antenna in Alexanderplatz. It is done up like a soccerball for the world cup.

Bionade

Bionade
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

M. and G. aenjoy Bionade, our drink of choice in Berlin, at the V Cafe in Kreuzberg. It is fizzy, refreshing, organic and not too sugary I love the mod styled label design, though one would think it was English, not German. Maybe I can set up a Bionade import business?

General Idea Retrospective

General Idea Retrospective
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

At the Kunswerke, a really interesting center for modern and contemporary art, this Canadian artists collective had a retrospective. They also worked with ideas of design, art, media and life, but in a much, much different way than the Bauhaus. They designed publicity to call attention to AIDS (their most famous being the word AIDS in the style of Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture), staged a beauty pageant by mail and published an art magazine called FILE based on LIFE magazine. The best part was you could read photocopied versions of FILE and look at the originals in glass cases. Though it was a magazine, it seemed to have a zine ethic and even reviewed early fanzines, and I think for me it was quite an inspiration for riffRAG to see that...

Gorlitzer Park

Gorlitzer Park
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

In Kreuzberg, this park also seems to house an old train station and the these strange, modern ruins, where the city attempted to build some kind of fancy fountain and then gave up. It is quite sinister with the sky behind it I think and I think it is a really interesting concept for Berlin, modern ruins, history, how we deal with it, how we try to move forward and not cover up the past.

Bauhaus Archive

Bauhaus Archive
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

The Bauhaus Archive from the outside. Somehow the Bauhaus managed to have poetic modern architecture, wheeas much of the modern architiecture in Berlin I found to be just ugly.

photo by Lazlo Mohoy-Nagy

photo by Lazlo Mohoy-Nagy
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

This was part of an exhibition at the Bauhuas archives in Berlin. These color photos were taken in 1935 and they totaly blew my mind. The colors were rich and intense and had the quality of an Almodovar film at times. It was hard to beleive that color film had just been invented then. I think this also shows that good composition and photography is lasting, that you dont need photoshop to make good photos, or maybe I am just an analog crank (she says on her blog...). I think also the Bauhaus in general created really moden, clean, simple forward thinking forms that had a human tough, that did not loose the people into the machine, as if the artists and craftspeople of the Bauhaus knew that ultimately, design is for people.

Overnight from Berlin

So the overnight train without a bunk really wiped me out. I never want to see the train station in Dortmund Germany at 2 am ever again... but Berlin was great, pictures coming soon. Here are some of my favorite things to drink in Berlin: Bionade (organic fizzy Brittish lemondate type drink, but German), Schwepps Bitter Lemon, Caprihinias (especially at Tante Horst, a new collectively run bar on Orienstrasse 45 in Kreuzberg, which everyone should go check out, they are opening officially on the 13th, but opened special for a night for Ladyfest Berlin).

BCBG?

IMG_2585
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

So I did a little shopping and struck a silly pose on one of the bridges over the Canal de St. Martin, if you know you are silly you might as well revel in it! Leaving for Berliln tonight, so I am not sure when I will get to update again...

Canal de St. Martin

IMG_2582
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

G. and I probably walked through 10 different neighborhoods on Saturday, which promted this photos taking some repose on the arguably trendy Canal de St. Martin. Despite it's bougie surroundings, it is probably one of my favorite places in Paris.

Coco Chanel by Marie Laurencin

IMG_2575
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

A paitner I had never heard of, a woman of course, a contemporary of Picasso, she had her own little room at the Orangerie Museum and I was so taken by her work, lots of greys and roses and blues, the paintings all had women and dogs in the them, a comment on ladies nature? But of course she is not as rememebered as all those other modnerist dudes, even if her paintings are way more interesting.

Orangerie Museum

IMG_2577
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

I finally got to see Monet's waterlillies in person and also sme impressionist work, though I loved these window most of all.

Jardins De Luxembourg

IMG_2580
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

I love the chairs set out in public gardens in Paris. The perfect place to hang out and write postcards to my family.

Café Flor

IMG_2578
Originally uploaded by killerfemme.

Where the existentialists hung out, it seemed like a great place to write a letter to S, who loves Simone de Beauvoir. The cafe crème was excellent, if pricey.