French Polynesian 2016

And then there is the water - how many shades of blue can the eye see?
Oh, beautiful Bora Bora!

Return to French Polynesia 2016

When our trip in 2014 got interrupted with me breaking my neck, our comment even in the hospital was 'we have to come back and finish our trip'.

So we went back for the month of May 2016. And what's the most common thing there?

Sunrises and sunsets! In no particular order...

 

 

Anniversary...

The past week has been spent celebrating my good fortune from one year ago during our trip to Moorea and Bora Bora when I broke my neck in the French Polynesia.

Before...

After...

As soon as I had excellent medical care and the operation in Tahiti where they put in a titanium plate attaching my C5 and C6 vertebrate to the spine I was on the road to recovery. One year later things are pretty well back to normal (sort of) but definitely WAY better than it could have been!

French Polynesia update 2

To go back in time... Bora Bora was amazing. So much beauty it hurt your eyes!

Some photos to share:

Ah, the islands from the air!
Flying away from Moorea with its two deep bays.

Over Huahine.

Onto Bora Bora.

Lei'ed on arrival.

And the boat to take you to your hotel as the airport is on the atoll.

Another InterContinental for us.

Our beach.

Still collecting sunsets. Looking west.

Looking east. Our hotel is on a skinny peninsula so it was easy to get both views by just walking across the street.

Spring???

I went west last weekend for my first trip out of Calgary since September (health reasons) and it was so wonderful to get away from the snow here and extra long winter and head to the greenness of British Columbia.

I was in Vancouver for 5 days, the forecast for which was solid rain, but in reality we never felt a drop of rain the very many times we went out for shopping trips to various trendy areas. Stayed a 20 walk away from Granville Island and the market; hit West 4 Avenue for latest goodies in boots, scarves and kitchenware; and then onto Commercial Avenue for the interesting eclectic mixture in the old hippie area.

These photos show the contrast:

March 26, Vancouver
- their spring is late too and the cherry trees were just popping out in blossoms this weekend.

March 28, Calgary
- meanwhile I had to come back to all this snow but the chinook winds are coming and now the water is running down every hill in copious amounts. But the forecast is for more snow this coming weekend...

Leaving via Barcelona - Dali Museum in Figueres

From the Cote d'Azur we headed west along the coast via Cassis, the Camargue, and the Pyrenees, back to Barcelona for a flight back to Canada. We managed a stop in Figueres, Spain (the closest town to the French border just south of the Pyrenees) and a visit to the Dalí Theatre-Museum. Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was born and died in Figueres, and he designed his own museum which opened in 1974.

After passing through phases of Cubism, Futurism and Metaphysical painting, he joined the Surrealists in 1929 and his talent for self-publicity rapidly made him the most famous representative of the movement.

The Dalí Theatre-Museum has to be seen as a whole, as the great work of Dalí, for everything in it was conceived and designed by the artist in order to offer visitors a real experience of getting inside his captivating and unique world.

for more information about Dali, his life and his art, check this web site:

http://www.salvador-dali.org/en_index.html

In the garden, the sculpture "Rainy Taxi". As described in Rick Steves guide book: 'You know how you can never get a cab when it's raining? Pop a coin into Dalí's personal 1941 Cadillac, and it rains inside the car. Look above, atop the tire tower: That's the boat enjoyed by Dalí and his soulmate, Gala — his emotional life-preserver, who kept him from going overboard. When she died...so did he (for his last seven years). Below the boat drip blue tears made of condoms.'

The original painting is one of his most famous called "The Persistence of Memories" but also know as "Soft Watches" or "Melting Clocks." This is actually a woven tapestry above his bed.
Surrealistic, avant-garde - this museum can show you all the wild craziness that art can be.

Cote d'Azur 4 - Antibes

Our home base for this part of our vacation was Antibes and it was a lovely for this purpose - the old town and harbour area would get crowded during the days but the evenings were quiet with most of the tourists gone back to the bigger centres so we had quiet streets and emptier restaurants - this suited us just fine!

Here is the beach


the daily food market (every morning) that became filled with local artists in the afternoons


the harbour, which is one of the largest on the coast so was filled with monster-size yachts (5 storeys with their own helicopter on top) by the stars attending the Cannes Film Festival



and designs, that I was collecting from everywhere we went. Some great iron railings on a church. This was actually right beside the PICASSO museum that was previously mentioned as closed for 2 years and opening the week after we left!!

Cote d'Azur 3 - Nice and Cannes

After driving through Nice a couple of times to get somewhere else, we decided "enough of the traffic!" and to take the train from Antibes to Nice to 'do' the main museums - those were MATISSE and CHAGALL.

From the train station we walked uphill (and uphill) to the Boulevard de Cimiez looking at the lovely old villas along the way. It is a pleasant walk and one can enjoy the silence compared to the bustling city left behind. Situated in a park surrounded by an olive garden, the Musee Matisse has a collection of paintings spanning the length of Henri Matisse's career. The collection of works was left by the artist (and his heirs) to the city of Nice where he lived from 1918 until 1954.

for more information on Matisse and this museum, check out the web site: http://www.musee-matisse-nice.org/anglais/index3.html

This is a photo of the exterior of the museum, note that the blue shutters are the actual windows and the rest is trompe l'oeil (French for "trick the eye"), an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in 3D instead of actually being a two-dimensional painting.

We then walked down the street to the Musée du Message Biblique Marc-Chagall (Marc Chagall Museum of Biblical Themes)and although I wasn't the biggest fan of Chagall before walking in the door, I became an instant convert to his style and art. I loved this museum.
Small, intimate, surreal...classic Chagall! This museum's modern architecture is the perfect host to Marc Chagall's large format oil painting. The Musée contains only 17 large canvases, and a few other exhibits so you do not get intimidated by an infinite number of works of art glaring at you from every wall. This is a museum with human proportions.

Twelve of the pieces depict different chapters from the Old Testament. Vibrant and colorful, each painting displays the expressive and emotional style of Chagall. But it was the texture seen in each piece, the intenseness of colour and overlaying layers of images that so entranced me. The benches encouraged you to sit and take in the art from a distance, but the piece itself pulls you closer for further examination.

for more information on Chagall and this museum, check out this web site: http://www.destination360.com/europe/france/chagall-museum.php

Then we took the train south to Cannes and arrived just in time for the first day of the 61st Festival de Cannes - wow, just to be there to experience the excitement and craziness that overtakes this small town that comes alive for the world famous film festival. As an extreme movie buff I loved being able to attend a small part of this - can't wait until September when some of the art films I heard about here finally come to Calgary for our International Film Festival.

The 12 miles of beach become a tent city, one end used by small countries inviting film makers to their part of the world for movie magic; to the other end filled with schmoozing and boozing. The themed parties come complete with bouncers, chandeliers, and some amazing interior decorated decors.



the hotel where celebrities stay and are mobbed by the fans waiting outside

the famous red carpet

a carousel decorated with past movie posters... one of which being Audrey, of course

for more information about the most famous film festival in the world, check out their web site:www.festival-cannes.fr/en/festival

and back in Antibes (where the famous PICASSO museum was closed for repairs for a year and a half and supposed to open a week after we left town!!!) I did love the bathing suit models who say it all about a day on the beach along the French Riviera...

Cote d'Azur 2 - north to Monaco

Driving the coastal road north past Nice, to the quaint village of Villefranche-sur-Mer, known for its pastel coloured buildings along the harbour. (It was actually pouring rain so we stopped in one of the waterfront cafes for a warm drink.)

View of Villefranche-sur-Mer from the Middle Corniche.

The rich enclave of Cap Ferrat.

And onto Monaco.
Monaco is the world’s most densely populated country and the second smallest independent nation, with a population of just over 32,000 people. Monaco land area is only 1.96 kilometers. Monaco is also very famous for hosting one of the world’s most famous Grand Prix Formula 1 – The Monaco Formula One Grand Prix. We were there a week before the race and the fences were up along every sidewalk along the route.

The harbour... view from the Upper Corniche

and a close up of the yachts parked for a day of gambling.

the Casino...
Built in 1863 in the Principality of Monaco, overlooking the Mediterranean, this architectural masterpiece has been the scene of Monte-Carlo's finest hours, spawned prestigious resorts and provided gaming with its most elegant setting.
Designed by Charles Garnier, the legendary architect who also built the majestic Paris Opera, the Monte-Carlo Casino was dedicated from the outset to the art of gaming. With its frescoes in the style of Boucher, its bas-reliefs, sculptures and caryatids, and an astonishing gold and marble atrium, the architecture exerts an unforgettable emotional impact.


A view from Casino Square where you can see the stands set up for the upcoming race. I love the juxtaposition of the Smart cars next to the BMW... as we sat in a sidewalk cafe watching the people go by, we noticed just as many small economical cars in ratio to the Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and other high-enders.