Day 6 (Day off in Paris)
The idea of a day off when you have flown 22 hours is slightly laughable. Everyone made the most of the day in their own way so we though it may be of interest to share our various experiences. See if you can match up who did what….
One of our number visited the Musee du Qauai Branly by Jean Nouvel, a fantastic museum opposite the Siene (just near the Eiffell Tower). The museum houses artworks from the indigenous cultures of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas, and notable features the work of a number of a number of Australian aboriginal artists. The building is set above an expansive landscaped garden on a series of randomly spaces posts representing trunks of trees. David
had seen the building under construction some 5 years ago and it was just a massive steel meccano set at that point but this has now morphed into a seriously sophisticated piece of architecture. Nouvel has again employed a street front façade of glass (as seen at the Catier Foundation) that maintains the strong Parisian streetscape with the bulk of the bulk of the building set some 20m back from Quai Branly, separated by this very handsome landscaped garden. The museum can only be described at sexy, and internally spatially great fun. The building is well known for its greenwall designed by Patrick Blanc that fronts Quai Branly and the whole site is well worth a look.
Some of us spent the day shopping (for architectural related goods of course) and a highlight was when one of us came back with shoes designed by Rem Koolhas (don’t tell Jo we mentioned this on the blog)
Lastly, one of us spent the day rushing around Paris on a bike, (apparently to use up any remaining energy that we had not previously used rushing around time). This is madness.
Back to the hotel and then off to the Airport to head to Barcelona. Bye Paris……