Pont Alexandre III

As we walked out the gates of les Invalides, a wide public esplanade greeted us with a display unobstructed view of the city. This grand open spaces in the heart of Paris - Esplanade des Invalides extends to the River Seine.

The Avenue du Maréchal Gallieni divides the esplanade into two halves; running from the north and south through the Esplanade. Three other streets cross it from east to west before it reaches Quai d'Orsay at the river's edge.

We took our time strolling the esplanade, trying to absorb as much that we could about Paris on that breezy morning.

Huge streets opposite Les Invalides (in the background)

We then came towards Pont Alexandre III, an arch bridge spanning the Seine; built between 1896 and 1900. It was designed by architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin. Pont Alexandre III spans across 107m of the River Seine, connecting pedestrian and auto traffic between Esplanade de Invalides in the 7th arrondissement and the Champs-Élysées quarter in the 8th arrondissement.

The bridge displayed exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end.

Numerous sculptors are featured prominently in the bridge. Four gilt-bronze statues of Fames watch over the bridge, supported on massive 17-meter socles - providing stabilizing counterweight for the arch. A gilded sculpture of Pegasus on the Right Bank, Renommée des Sciences ("Fame of the Sciences") by Emmanuel Frémiet.

One of the Fames - couldn't tell which is which. They all looked the same to this bare eyes.

Nymphs of the Seine

Seine River cruise boat

One of the nymphs of the Seine

Nymphs lagiiiii.....

Nissa getting really tired of the nymphs.....

And another nymph......

This one had pad locks on him...something to do with "love lock down" I think.

Lion à l'enfant by Georges Gardet.

And where to next???

HOHO 1st Stop - Les Invalides

The fastest and easiest way to do Paris when you have limited time is to go on the hop on hop off bus. At the circle near the Luxembourg gardens, we boarded the Orange Route on the L'Open Tour. It was a cold day, but that didn't stop us from going on the upper deck for better viewing of the city.

Streets of Paris....daily activities just starting to pick up.

Watch for the stops with the L'Open Tour call sign - boarding place of the tour buses.

Braving the cold winds on the upper deck

Parisian residence

A mix of old and new architecture standing harmoniously next to one another

Building on the Montparnasse. At the beginning of the 20th century, Montparnasse was the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris.

The area is also known for cafes and bars.

On the hop on hop off bus, you get to listen to audio commentary in 8 different languages - just to ensure you do not miss a thing. A few minutes on the HOHO bus, we came to our first stop - complex of buildings - Les Invalides. Visible from far is this royal chapel, better known as the Dôme des Invalides, gold-domed building now used as a burial site for a number of the country's war heroes.

Les Invalides sits in Paris's 7th arrondissement and consists of museums and monuments related to the military history of France.

The front facade faces the Seine river. Whole complex features 15 courtyards, the largest being the cour d'honneur (court of honor). This courtyard was used for military parades.

The building was completed in 1676. It was also a home for "invalids" - disabled and impoverished war veterans. Les Invalides was designed by Libéral Bruant.

High doors with fine carvings

Standing tall statue of Napoleon at Les Invalides

Long shot of Napolean

Ornament at the Invalides

On the walls of the Invalides

Elaborations on the gates of the Invalides

Cold....brrrrr but pic shot a must :)

Girls at pic stop at the Gates.

His favourite spot - by the artillery at the Invalides....

AMoT Launch

Once upon time not that long ago, while doing a research on Terengganu, Google brought me to a blog called “Kecek-Kecek”. I scanned through the writings in Kecek-Kecek and book-marked it for easy access later. The blog world was still so foreign to me then.

I continued being a silent reader, never dared leaving any cyber foot prints due to my limited knowledge on the subject matter itself. But I continued to follow postings of blog. Later when I started Sembang, “Kecek-Kecek” was permanently linked in my blog.

So that was how it started, my trailing of Awang Goneng - the blog owner and writer of Kecek-Kecek.

When I received the invite from Kak Teh (the very beautiful wife of Wan Ahmad Hulaimi aka Awang Goneng) to the launch of A Map of Terengganu AMoT, I was elated. AMoT is AG’s latest book after his brilliant success on Growing Up in Terengganu GUiT.

The event was held at RA Fine Arts Gallery in Solaris Dutamas (yes….like many others we got lost too!) last Sunday. It was a wonderful do – a delightful event attended by so many who’s who in the industry.

AG reading a short chapter from AMoT

Moi with Andre Goh!! He mentioned that he was the Bakat TV Champion in 1972. I told him I was only 8 then....

The man needs no introduction. Dato Jimmy Choo was at the AMoT launch too.

Book signing by AG

Congratulations to AG :)) and Kak Teh and all the great people of AMoT

Sent via Kay's Berry

Park Visit

With the recent development in the home front, thoughts and ideas on a travel blog of our last vacation got temporarily interrupted. Ideas just simple didn't flow and the body was most of the time exhausted to even write a line.

However, I am determined to have it completed - never mind if it takes ages.

In this entry, I am featuring the Jardin du Luxembourg, a park located near the Sorbonne University.

Jardin du Luxembourg or the Luxembourg Gardens is about 55 acres large. Originally owned by the duke of Luxembourg, hence the name.

The gardens were laid out in Italian style on request of Marie de' Medici, the queen consort of France. She was the second wife of King Henry IV of France. Blooms are not out yet, hence the barren look.

In Paris parks or gardens are like art. They exhibit paintings of tree and watercolor of fountains. Adorning the park there are many statues and one famous statue is Statue of Saint-Geneviève - the patroness of Paris.

Nissa and Statue of Pan in the background. Pan in Greek religion and mythology, is the companion of the nymphs, god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music.

Greens of the garden

Spring colours out in the garden

Top - Greek mythological figure - Polyphemus.
Bottom - sea nymph Galatea and Acis - a shepherd and the son of Pan.

Polyphemus loved Galatea, but Galatea loved Acis. Galatea and Acis mocked the love songs that Polyphemus sang to Galatea. When Polyphemus caught Acis and Galatea sleeping, he killed Acis by crushing him with a rock.

Threesome - Polyphemus, Galatea & Acis

Threesome - us

Statue of Pan & Palais du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Palace) in the background

Nissa fascinated by....

.......Pan, of course :)

Nissa & Daddy. In the background Fontaine de Medicis, a romantic baroque fountain designed in 1624.

The park allows one to get hold of one of the many chairs and take it to the exact spot where you want to sit, just like this someone did.