Author Archives: Louise Jayne

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About Louise Jayne

Avid reader who enjoys travelling and taking photos of her adventures.

Paris: Part One

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I realise I haven’t posted here in ages, but since I recently visited Paris, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get things going again. This was my second trip to Paris and a chance to see some places that I hadn’t visited the first time.

Our hotel was not far from Place de Bastille, where Bastille prison used to stand and where the Colonne de Juillet was erected in the memory of the rebels who were killed in the 1830 and 1848 revolutions.

Deciding to walk from our hotel to the Seine and our final destination of the Musee d’Orsay, we took photos of the beautiful architecture of Paris, and stopped off for a brief period at the Place des Vosges, considered one of the most beautiful squares in the world (though personally I think that’s probably stretching things).

Our stroll along the Seine took in many famous sights, including the most famous of all, the Eiffel Tower (more of which later)……Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, the first stone of which was laid by Henri III in 1578…

…and our final destination of the Musee d’Orsay.

A beautiful building, converted from a railway station, it was opened as a museum in 1986 and exhibits art work from 1848 to 1914 including that of Renoir and Van Gogh. Unfortunately you aren’t able to take photos inside (I’d love to show you the inside of the building itself, never mind the artwork on show).We then headed towards the Eiffel Tower and managed to survive the extremely long queues to admire the views from the very top.

Originally built for the 1889 Universal Exhibition, it was the world’s tallest building until the construction of the Empire State Building in New York.

Next time…my favourite building in the world, Notre Dame, a boat ride along the Seine, Opera National de Paris Garnier, the Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, more of the Place des Vosges, the Hotel de Sully and the Maison de Victor Hugo.

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Nottingham – Here Be Dragons

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Whilst out walking yesterday I came across something that I thought deserved its very own post. It’s a sculpture of a dragon made by this sculptor, commissioned by Nottingham City Council. It is quite simply amazing. The location really isn’t that great for showing it off, but it definitely deserves some more recognition.

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Oxford

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Last weekend I met up with a couple of friends in Oxford and in between catching up with them we did a brief spot of sight-seeing. A few of the pics I took are below.

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Out and About in Derbyshire

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Yesterday I was out and about in Derbyshire, visiting two different mills. The first was Masson Mills, a working textile museum, on the banks of the River Derwent. Built in 1783 it is one of Sir Richard Arkwright’s mills and was in continuous production until 1991.

The second was Caudwell’s Mill in Rowsley. Built in 1874 it is a working example of an early water turbine-driven roller mill. Much of the machinery inside dates from the turn of the century and represents the most advanced technology of the time.

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Week Thirty-Seven

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I only did a few tourist things this week. One was a visit to the Police Museum which turned out to be a very interesting, if small, floor of the old Coroner’s Court Building. Included on site are the city’s original morgue and autopsy laboratory, which includes the forensic table where Errol Flynn was declared dead.

I also visited the Marine Building, which has some of the most beautiful Art Deco style architecture I’ve ever seen.

And that actually concludes my time in Canada. I have decided to go home a few months earlier than planned, so this will be my last blog post from Vancouver. I have had a fabulous time and I hope that all of you who have been reading and commenting have enjoyed hearing what I’ve been up to and looking at the pictures. I’ve quite got into the habit of always carrying my camera with me now, so I expect I shall keep this blog going to post my continuing adventures, wherever they may be.

Till next time…

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Week Thirty-Six

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I achieved quite a few little trips this week. The first was a long walk across Burrard Bridge, taking lots of photos as I went:

A friend and I also visited the UBC Botanical Gardens which, whilst okay, were certainly not as magnificent as I’d been lead to believe by other people and their website. I suppose I’ve just been spoiled by Kew Gardens back in London.

We also went to the Nitobe Memorial Garden, as part of the price of admission to the Botanical Gardens. This is a very pretty Japanese style garden, which is apparently one of the most authentic such gardens in North America, as you can see:

I also went on another explore around Kitstilano and found myself, inevitably, at the beach:

Till next week…

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Week Thirty-Five

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I went on quite a few excursions last week. The first was walking across Granville Bridge to take photos of the view I always see when I’m on the bus:

I also visited the VanDusen Botanical Garden which was bigger than I’d expected but not very colourful. However I was very impressed with the sculptures of an artist’s interpretations of the signs of the zodiac that were dotted around the Garden. You can find a pic of my sign, Taurus, below. And my friend and I had fun in the maze too.

And this weekend I went along to the Davie Day Street Festival which had some eclectic festivities, including Morris dancers and classic cars:

Till next week…

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Week Thirty-Four

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The weather has been strangely patchy this past week – lots of warm sun mingled with days where it’s done nothing but rain. In fact one day last week was apparently the wettest day in Vancouver for over 5 years.

However, on one of those sunny days a friend and I went for an extremely long walk and explore of the University of British Columbia campus, going from Wreck Beach all the way round to Jericho Beach. It took us quite a while, particularly as we were traversing rocky beaches and doing a fair amount of climbing over boulders, but we kept up a steady pace and the scenery was definitely worth it, as you can see for yourselves below:

And yesterday I happened across Taiwanfest which was taking place downtown. I’ve no idea who this band were, but they were very good:

More next week…

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Week Thirty-Three

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Not much to report this week. I did do some exploring of Kitsilano and ventured to a few places I hadn’t been before which proved to be a great spot for views of Downtown Vancouver, as evidenced below:

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Week Thirty-Two

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There hasn’t been much opportunity for photo-taking this week. I did go and see the Brazilfest happening downtown on Saturday but I wasn’t impressed enough to take any photos. Instead have a couple of random photos I don’t think I’ve posted here before.

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