This is Paris, you know?

Of all places in Paris, the last destination I would imagine myself visiting is a police station. Well I suppose to experience the full spectrum of city life means I have to accept whatever is thrown at me - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Police on patrol at Gare Montparnasse

Stories of tourists being mugged and pickpocketed in Paris are alarming enough but to hear it coming from a police officer is quite a different matter. This time, I can speak of it from my personal experience.

Petty crime is such an everyday occurrence in the streets of Paris that the police seem to have resigned themselves to failure in dealing with this problem that is giving Paris a bad name. Bringing the culprits to justice is not in the least their interest as I was not even asked to give a physical description of the thieves who stole my wallet in the metro station. The officer on duty reprimanded me for letting my guards down and in his nonchalant manner, he told me, " This is Paris, you know?" I wanted to retort by adding,"Yes, I also know thieves target Chinese, in particular."

Tourists are easy targets for pickpocketing

A group of two teenage girls and a woman, possibly from Eastern Europe, pushed me into a semi-empty carriage and within seconds, my wallet was gone. Back home, I did a bit of digging myself and found out that these activities might have been linked to a large European network of pickpockets, mostly girls from the Balkans aged between 12 and 16.

A press report in last December revealed that the French police had broken up a network of some 100 girls which accounted for half of all cases of pickpocketing in the Paris underground metro system since 2008. It was also known that male leaders mostly kept their distance from the pickpockets, leaving the task of overseeing them to hardened female handlers who lived with them in Parisian hotels.

This sounds exactly like the trio who nicked my wallet in June this year. Mystery solved. Crimes unsolved.

Cite de l'Architecture: Is the largest necessarily the best?

Hailed as the world's largest architectural museum, the Cite de l'Architecture et Patrimoine opened in 2007 at Palais de Chaillot, a 1930s art deco structure that faces the Eiffel Tower across the River Seine. It is a vast site that houses three galleries which give an overview of architecture, predominantly French, from the Middle Age to the present day.

A view from the Palais de Chaillot

A portal of the Chartres Cathedral

The museum has a diverse collection mainly of casts of historical buildings, wall paintings, stained glass windows and models. The plaster cast gallery on the ground floor makes an impressive display of 350 life-size statues and sections of important buildings such as a portal of the Chartres Cathedral, a pillar of the Strasbourg Cathedral and the portal of the 12th century church of Saint-Fortunat.

Flamboyant gothic architecture

On the scale of 1:1, most of these casts were commissioned in the late 19th and early 20th century by the famous architect and theorist, Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, as a means to educate the French public about national heritage. Since the 1937 International Exhibition, the collection has been held in the Musee de Monuments Francais, now a part of the Cite de l'Architecture.

Beyond these magnificent reproductions, I have to admit I was underwhelmed by the lack of depth, breadth and coherence of the galleries. The narrative, if any, should at least show some consideration of the major architectural trends in the rest of Europe. There is little context, with styles seeming to develop out of the blue, unconnected to people, politics and society.

It is ironic that a museum of architecture itself could have such a poor layout. The access to different floors was convoluted at best and at times, it was so hidden that I completely missed the floors consisting of mural paintings and stained glass windows. An inexcusable design fault.

An element of the facade for
the Institut du monde arabe

By comparison, the top floor gallery of modern and contemporary architecture is a small space that showcases models, building elements, drawings, photographs and archival films of buildings and urban developments from 1850s onwards. The unevenness on the emphasis of the display is problematic. Personally I think it is largely because of the fact that these exhibits have been thrown together without a real effort to integrating them into a cohesive entity.

Models on view at the top floor gallery

Place de Vosges in the Marais

Built in 1612, Place de Vosges is the oldest residential square in Paris.  It may not look more impressive than the likes of Eaton Square or Belgrave Square in London which are both 19th-century renditions, but its significance lies in the fact that it was the prototype of all the residential squares in European cities that were to come.

Place de Vosges was the model of all the
residential squares in European cities 

There are a few interesting facts about this aristocratic square.  First, it is a true square (140 m x 140 m).  Second, the housefronts were all built with the same design of red brick over vaulted arcades which was a new concept at the time. Third, famous residents of the square counted the 19th-century poet and novelist, Victor Hugo and Cardinal Richelieu, the most powerful statesman in 17th-century France.

Explore the history of Paris at the Musee Carnavalet

French lacquer panels with Chinese motifs

Today, Place de Vosges sits between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements and shares the same district as some of city's hippest addresses for shops, cafes, restaurants and museums. In its immediate neighbourhood is the Musee Carnavalet which is dedicated to the history of the city. Explore a bit of the 18th-century Chinoiserie on display while taking a look at Marcel Proust's bedroom when he was writing his greatest work In Search of Lost Time.

A few steps away is the famous and hidden treasure trove of high fashion, L'Eclaireur. This original concept store, now 30 years old, had existed long before Colette, 10 Corso Como or Dover Street Market came on the scene. It is easy to miss the entrance but once you walked through the narrow alleyway leading to the shop, you will be delighted by its tasteful display of designer fashion alongside carefully edited furniture and artworks.

An installation in the concept store, L'Eclaireur 

The Marais is well known for its myriad sidewalk cafes and bistros serving different kinds of cuisine at reasonable prices. If you are happy with a casual bite, then visit the Jewish quarter in the 4th and enjoy the best falafel or yiddish sandwiches in Paris respectively at Chez Marianne and Sacha Finkelsztajn.

Queue up at Chez Marianne for a takeaway falafel sandwich

Yiddish patisserie has a huge following in Paris

A street view from the Cafe des musees 

At this time of the year, nothing beats having your meal al fresco. I particularly enjoy a simple girolle salad at Cafe des musees and watch the world passes by.  This bustling corner bistro is one of my favourite lunch places in the 3rd.  The food is consistently good and excellent value for money, and more importantly, it stays open on Sunday. And if you are lucky, you might even get a table without reservation.

The refreshing and tasty girolle salad

Rungis, the world's biggest food market

Entrance to one of the many food halls at Rungis

Rungis is not a food market where you can just go and pick up some cheeses, meat and salad leaves. In fact, you cannot even get in unless you are taken on a tour of the complex that covers an enormous area of over 200 hectares. Just a 20 mins drive from Paris, Rungis is the world's biggest wholesale market for fresh produce and that is where Parisian chefs buy what they cook. Traders from all over Europe also come to buy and sell their produce in Rungis.  This place is much more than a wholesale market for Parisian restaurateurs.

I was lucky enough to visit the market on a school trip organised by Le Cordon Bleu and upon arrival, we had to put on a set of disposable outfit before entering the food halls. Our tour began with the Pavillon de la vollaile and for the next three hours, we were in and out of different compounds in a freezing cold temperature, posing in front of animal carcasses, oversized cheese meules and rare, exotic plants.

Some poultry comes pre-packaged, like duck breast and foie gras, or as individual birds in cartons. Meat, apparently, is sold only by the carcass. 

There was practically nothing in the Fruits and Vegetables Hall that I had not seen elsewhere, but to encounter such quantities under one roof was nevertheless an eye-opening experience. Most stalls are highly specialised in their product offerings; there are ones who sell mushrooms exclusively while others carry only garlic heads and onions.

The Fruits and Vegetables Hall at Rungis is the largest of its kind in the world

Girolle is one of the most popular French champignons 

Summer is the season for berries

My favourite place in Rungis was the Cheese Hall. As I walked through its entrance, the aroma of cheese was immediately noticeable. There were commercially produced cheeses as well as a whole range of artisanal ones from smaller producers. The most impressive cheeses were the big meules of Emmental, Comte, Beaufort and Gruyere, some of which weighed as much as 120 kg each.

A large Emmental AOC cheese meule typically weighs from 70 to120 kg

These Comte cheeses weigh about 35 kg each

Institut du Monde Arab - West meets the Middle East

Zaha Hadid's mobile art pavilion, commissioned and donated by Chanel, now forms
a permanent part of the exhibition space at IMA to showcase works by Arabic artists

Located along the left bank of River Seine, the Institut du Monde Arabe is an architectural gem as much as a symbol that epitomises the Islamic culture and the engagement of the Middle East in the West.

  

The building is designed by the legendary French architect Jean Nouvel, winner of the 2008 Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour. It is also this project of 1987 that brought Nouvel international fame. The signature of IMA is the glass facade comprising metallic screens that unfold with moving geometic mofits around the day controlling the amount of sunlight entering the building -  similar to a camera shutter. In fact, this seemingly revolutionary idea can be linked to traditional Arabic architectural features for climate control. 'Mashrabiyah', for example, is an ornamental window screen that provides shade and protection from the hot summer sun.  As such, IMA is an exemplary result of a marriage between foreign ideas and functionality that inspire contemporary designs.

As seen from the inside, mechanical lenses reminscent of Arabic latticework in its south wall open and shut automatically, controlling interior lighting as the lenses' photoelectric cells respond to exterior light levels.

One of the best kept secrets about the IMA is the panaromic view of Paris on its top floor. If you are not fond of crowds, this is the place to be.

A view of Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris and Pont Marie from the IMA

Marie Antoinette's country retreat in Versailles

Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI, is probably best known for her lavish taste and outrageous spending that led to her downfall and eventual execution by guillotine in 1793.

Portrait of Marie Antoinette by Vigee Lebrun,
the first female French court painter

Her reputed obsession with all things rare and exquisite seems at odds with the modest apartment at Petit Trianon in Versailles where she resided for most of her married life. The two-storey building consists of a series of chambers, all surprisingly small and intimate. The neoclassical decoration and furnishings throughout are simple and restrained.

The bedroom of Marie Antoinette at Petit Trianon

The private apartment overlooking the hamlet in the distant

The idyllic private life that Marie Antoinette tried to recreate in Petit Trianon and the grandoise Palace of Versailles could not be more different.  Look at how naturalistic the landscaping is in contrast to the formal, geometric arrangement of typical French gardens.  The folly, pond and willow trees seen here suggest a new style of Anglo-Chinese gardening that became popular across Europe in the late 18th century.

A folly named 'The temple of love'

The pond and the lighthouse in the hamlet

To satisfy her love of the countryside, Marie Antoinette built a small hamlet in Petit Trianon, complete with an artificial pond, a dozen cottages with gardens, an orchard, a farm to raise animals, a lighthouse and a windmill.  This is a place where she could return to the pleasures of simple, rural pursuits, away from the pomp of Versailles and the rigours of court etiquette.

I suppose this is extravagance of a different kind - to construct a new reality for herself when the life at court proved to be too hard to bear.

Typical cottages in the late 18th century with exposed beams and thatched roof 

Farm animals are raised and kept for the
consumption by the queen's household

Modernist designs of the 20th century

Iconic chair designs of the 1950s

Particularly noteworthy is the 20th century furniture collection at the Musee des arts decoratifs which occupies seven floors, each of which is dedicated to a decade of iconic designs.  Again, no effort is spared to provide a panorama of the chair designs of the 1950s by modernist masters - Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen in the United States, Arne Jacobsen in Denmark and Castiglioni in Italy.  Advances in technology since the post-war period had made possible the mass production of new materials such as plywood, fibreglass, light-weight steel, to create modern furniture in fluid, organic forms that are still being made by their original manufacturers, Knoll and Cassina.  It is amazing how these designs could look so contemporary and blend in well with modern interiors when they were conceived half a century ago.

Lighting and tableware from the 1950s.

Chair designed by Niki de Saint Phalle

Children furniture designs from the 1950s

Moving one floor down, the creations from the 80s and 90s tell quite a different story. They are showcased in sections by top designers including Ron Arad, Tom Dixon from the UK and Philippe Starck from France. Honestly it is hard to visualise some of these pieces outside of the museum setting. No doubt they are high on style but low on comfort for everyday use.  It would not surprise me at all if a few of these pieces are one-offs and have been specially commissioned by the museum just for display.

Papadelle chair, Ron Arad, 1992

Collection Pi, Martin Szekely, 1984

Homage to De Chirico, Pucci de Rossi, 1990

Collection 1979-1992, Philippe Starck

Tracing the grotesques from the Renaissance

Visiting the Musee Des Art Decoratifs in Paris is like taking a course in the history of style from the middle ages to the present day.  The exhibits in the ten period rooms are laid out in such a way that visitors can distinguish the characteristics of a particular period as they appear on different media. The chronology is easy to follow and the objects chosen are exemplary.

Renaissance maiolica vase decorated with grotesque motifs.  Urbino, c.1560.

For example, the grotesque motifs of mystical beasts and caryatids that originated in 16th century Italy were incorporated in the French decorative scheme in the era of Louis XIV. It evolved into the later Rococo style and made its final appearance in French Neoclassical interiors in the 18th century.  

Section of a tapestry featuring the grotesque. Florence, c.1646

The grotesque motifs on a harpsichord cover. Paris, c.1690. 

Blending the Middle Age with the Contemporary

On Sunday mornings, to visit a church is like going to a wedding without an invitation.  After having a nice expresso on Rue Mouffetard, I decided to explore a 'religious' site of a different kind - a place of intellectual exchange.  

The College des Bernardins in the 5th arrondissement is an outstanding example of Cistercian architecture, a style most associated with churches and monasteries of the Roman Catholic Cistercian order.  It stressed simplicity and avoided any superfluous ornamentations that were seen to distract from piety.  The austere aesthetics of the Cistercians was expressed in pointed arches and ribbed vaults made entirely out of stone.

The College was constructed in 1248 when universities were popping up all over Europe - Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Heidelberg, Bologna.  After the French Revolution, it was took over by the Government and had served as a prison, a warehouse and even a fire station. The College was completely renovated and reopened in 2008 as a catholic artistic and cultural centre.

Showing now at the College des Bernardins is a light installation Between You and I by American avant-garde artist Anthony McCall.  His simple projections that emphasised the sculptural qualities of a beam of light was theatrical and lyrical. As the viewer moved around the work in the pitch-black space, the observer would in turn become the observed as he came under the light. 

Paris at the dawn of the 20th century

In 1900, Paris entered a new era of mobility with the inauguration of the Paris Metro that has become the symbol of the city.

Hector Guimard crowned the iconic metro entrances with his organic, curvilinear forms that epitomised Art Nouveau - an art movement that peaked in popularity throughout Europe at the turn of the last century. There are many fine examples of architecture in this style, notably by Victor Horta in Brussel and Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona.

Cast-iron balustrade decorated in botanic motifs

The last vestiges of Art Nouveau in Paris are probably best preserved in Musee Carnavalet.  Czech artist Alphonse Mucha's design for the Fouquet jewellery shop in Paris in 1900 was reassembled here after its removal from the original site. Also of interest is an interior designed by Guimard.

Mucha's Art Nouveau design was also popularised by Liberty & Co in London

In Germany, the decorative style of Art Nouveau is termed Jugenstil

Guimard's sinuous forms in a domestic setting

One of the most interesting aspects of Art Nouveau is the philosophy behind it.  Art should be a way of life.  The movement was a reaction against all things classical and aimed to break down the barriers between fine arts and applied arts.  The fact that everyday objects could be a work of art in the 1900s underlines a new way of thinking in modern society and the changing attitude towards the nature of art.   

It seems least surprising that in 1917 avant-garde artist, Marcel Duchamp, created his most prominent work, Fountain, out of a urinal.  It was Dadaism but it also raised important questions about the concept of art that even artists of today are still trying to address.