Top of a Diamond

Rooftop terraces are right up my street. I can still hope I will have one some day, somewhere... For now, visiting some when they are open is the only thing I can do... This last terrace was special, it was on top of a diamond, once the biggest known diamond, the Koh-i-Noor.

For generations now, most little children in Central Europe start their drawing career with a set of coloured pencils from Koh-i-Noor Hardmuth. I still own two sets  of these pencils plus one of aquarel pencils. They last and have beautiful colours. 

The company was originally founded in the Austria-Hungary Empire in 1790. By the beginning of the 20th Century, they've expanded to Milan, New York and Paris. In Paris, a very contemporary building was built by the company in 1906, mostly of metal and glass. Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth doesn't own the building any more but it is newly renovated and opened to the public during the European Heritage Days. It's a hidden gem, a real work of art in a small street, a real diamond.

Northern Lights

Back in my student years, we went on a study trip to Finland, to the Helsinki metropolitan area. It was late November. I hope for snow but we got only cold wind and rain.

I am a sucker for Scandinavian design. In the little free time we had, I went to the Marimekko shop. Fortunatelly for me, in Finland, design is everywhere. Which means I didn't need free time to see it. My favourite part was definitely the Alvar Aalto Technical University Campus in Espoo.

A few shots from real Finland:

And a few shots from Finland in Paris:

This is the newly renovated Finnish Embassy in Paris. A beautiful mixture of old classic design (as Alvar Aalto lamps) and current young Finnish designers generation.

Welcome to the Queen's Table

2013 is an important year for heritage in France. 100 years of the 1913 "Monuments" law and the 30th edition of the Heritage days. Created in France 30 years ago, with an endorsement from the Council of Europe and the EU, they are now a tradition all around our continent. A weekend when monuments and sites are open to the public for free and when many places you can't normally visit open their doors. The exact weekend may differ from one country to the other, but always is a weekend in September. 

The British Ambassador kindly opened his Residence to the public for a day. Nice of him. He was even there in person to welcome the visitors. Very nice of him. He had set the big dining room table for 60 people. There was a short video showing the meticulous procedure of assembling and setting the table (two layers of one-piece tablecloths being ironed directly on the 26 pieces table, then the central pieces, the silverware, the cutlery, the bouquets, the name tags, the chandeliers...). The menu and name tags dated back to 1972, to a dinner hosted by the Queen herself. Among the invited - Mr and Mrs President George's Pompidou, Mr and Mrs Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Mr and Mrs Edouard Balladur, a few other ministers, counts and earls... The Embassy's butler was there in person to answer all our weird questions about protocol, food, plates and flowers. Thank you for making us feel welcome in your home, Your Excellency!

My favourite parts - the conservatory, the bouquets, the dining room, the garden and the chandeliers. 

It was a very British visit, we queued in heavy rainfall to get in then we all got bags for our soaked umbrellas upon the arrival and walked out through the garden in heavy rainfall again.

One Modern Railway Station

Every time I come to Lille, there is a new building being built, a new bike station, a new project. You can say many things about this city, but one of them is sure, it's a city in perpetual movement an evolution. 

One great example is the Gare Saint Sauveur. An old railway station transformed into temporary exhibition area during 2004 when Lille was one of the "European Capital of Culture" cities of that year. If in 2000, Prague hasn't really been able to keep the dynamic of this special year, Lille was. Gare Saint Sauveur grew into one of the hip spots in town, merging old industrial architecture, modern art, cinema, Café and a very interesting cultural programme with plenty of interactive actions, giving all its importance to interpretation and work with the public. 

You want your children to enjoy themselves playing games in the yard and building lego cities the same afternoon as you see a modern art exhibition and drink a local beer? This is the place you need to try. 

I have a little something for 

• brick buildings
• reconverted spaces
• multifunctional and multigenerational areas
• lively cities
• refreshing ideas

= I like Gare Saint Sauveur.

"Our" Restaurant & the Samaritaine

Way back, when we were still students, our friends lived above a restaurant close to Bastille. I didn't really understand, why they went there several times a week even though the food there was amazing (best foie gras in Paris). Man, there are so many great restaurants in Paris.

"Our" Restaurant

Now I get it. When we moved to our flat two and a half years ago, there was a shabby old cafe close by. I never went inside and since it was almost always empty, I guess I wasn't the only one who found it weird. Then, about two years ago, the owner changed, the place changed and we went in to give it a try. Since then, we keep going back.
To eat great bavettes.
Drink nice cocktails (cocktail du jour for 6,5 euros during happy hour, changes every day, usually very yummy).
Sit in the sun. In the mornings, during the day, in the evenings.
Drink tea and other warm things during dark winter afternoons.
Stuff ourselves with amazing deserts, especially the crumble with Berthillon's salted butter caramel icecream.
Today we went again.

Sun was there, good food and wine too.

It's so nice to have a good restaurant close to your place.

Samaritaine

On our first romantic trip to Paris in June 2006 we didn't know we'd be living in this beautiful city one day. My favourite photo from trip was one I took on Pont Neuf of the beautiful building of the Samaritaine. This 19th century department store is a gem of steel and glass architecture. Unfortunately, it has been closed since 2005 because of its state.

Samaritaine today.

Could I even think of picking another word?

After many years, several projects and a few problems, it finally looks like the Samaritaine should open again in 2016, more beautiful than ever. The project is by SANAA. If you haven't heard of these amazing architects, go check this website to see some of their beautiful achievements. They got the Pritzker Prize in 2010. I think for the Samaritaine, they just managed to create a nice link between old and new, with respect to the heritage and innovative ideas for our future. You can see the project on the city of Paris website. Sorry, it's in French.
What do you think about the project?

Samaritaine project. ©SANAA