It's the 1st of March today which means autumn in Australia and therefore I assume spring in the northern hemisphere, but someone forgot to tell Paris! I think today is one of the greyest and coldest days I've had since arriving. For that reason I'm glad I've planned an indoor day - I'm going to visit the Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou (otherwise known as the Georges Pompidou National Centre of Art and Culture). So like I said, a bit of culture today. I hope so anyway, as having visited a certain museum in Hobart last year and being singularly unimpressed (dare I say appalled) by some of the debauchery claiming to be art, I find myself a little wary of anything calling itself "modern" art.
The Centre Pompidou is one place I missed last time I was here so I'm looking forward to my visit. I check it out online first and discover that it doesn't open until 11am so that means another leisurely start to the day, which in this weather is not a bad thing! The Centre isn't far away so I plan to walk again, my favourite way by far to get around in Paris. I pile on the layers again and set off about 10.15 and am there by 10.45 but already the queues are stretched back through the Place Georges Pompidou and beyond. It's not easy to work out which queue is the right one so I just take pot luck and hope for the best. I strike up a conversation with a friendly Scottish couple in front of me and they inform me that I am indeed in the right line (that would be the line for those who haven't pre-booked tickets online)!!. I then notice a sign which says that due to overwhelming numbers of people coming through the museum, priority will be given to those with pre-booked tickets. Hmm, since this is something I don't have, I wonder what the chances are of getting in anyway. I'm starting to think I might be best to come back another day when the Scottish couple, who are cheerfully optimistic, point out that the line of ticket holders is moving and in fact is quickly diminishing and they assure me that our line will start to move soon. I love their optimism and they are indeed correct. It turns out we are in by 11.30, so not such a long time to be waiting outside in the freezing Paris morning!
While waiting I also notice a sign saying that there are significant waiting times to get into the Salvador Dali exhibition, up to 3 hours during the day (oh no!!!!) but much less after 7pm (by which time I'll be well and truly back in my cosy apartment). I guess I'll just have to see when I get in there!
Another friendly queue dweller starts to chat - well I say chat but I use the term loosely because she speaks a little English and I speak almost no French. But she's very gracious and tries hard to find the right words in English. She is a regular visitor to the Centre and kindly allows me to follow her to learn how to buy my ticket from the automatic ticket machine - it's by far the best way to do it. Before long I'm following her up the escalators to the 6th floor to join the queue for the Dali exhibition. She assures me this is the best time to come as the queue will only get longer as the day progresses. She's right and we only have to wait for about 10 minutes! What a relief - I hadn't fancied spending the better part of the day waiting in lines!
I find the Dali exhibition really interesting, to my surprise. His works are much more varied than I was expecting, and I see some familiar ones, such as La Persistance de la Memoire (The Persistence of Memory), with its melting clocks. I like his bizarre and quirky style, but he also did some very conservative portraits of his father and sister. I notice too that he has numerous ways of signing his paintings, and I wonder if this makes it difficult to verify that a painting is a genuine Dali? There's a quote by Dali on one of the information boards, it says "I know that I know nothing, that's why I'm less likely to be wrong than scientists." :-)
By now it's lunch time so I find the café on the 1st floor and sit for a while with a bowl of delicious tomato soup and watch the ever-growing entry queue and feel thankful that I was here early! The Centre has free WiFi so I connect my phone and check to see who is on Facebook back home. For all its drawbacks it's a great way to stay in touch with my family! And there is my boy online so we have a brief chat. He's in Canberra for a rally event so I wish him good luck and a safe weekend xoxo
Next I head down to the 4th and 5th floors to the contemporary and modern collections. Here there are beautiful and colourful works by Matisse, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Kupka and Kandinsky. Some pieces I recognise as well-known and familiar, others I enjoy for the first time. My favourite is called 10 Lizes, a repetition of prints of Elizabeth Taylor by Andy Warhol. She's beautiful and I love his sense of humour :-)
Finally I've had enough - I've lasted longer than I usually do in museums and art galleries! And it's been nice to be in the warmth for a few hours. I sit for a while on the 5th floor and look at the view. A young woman comes up to me and says something in French that's too fast for me to grasp. I say "sorry" and she laughs and says with an American accent "do you know where the toilets are?" We both laugh then, and she says "that's the only thing I can say anyway"! I know how she feels!!!!
When I'm ready to brave the cold again I head out for the walk back to the apartment along the Rue de Rivoli, which is now starting to feel quite familiar. It's a very tempting street gastronomically, with its boulangeries, patisseries, fromageries, and other yummy "ies" :-) It would be very easy to get used to indulging every day, it all looks so beautiful. But I restrain myself this time and, feeling exceedingly cultured ;-), head home for a nice cuppa!
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