Paris Playground

I've gotten a bit behind on my blogging - all the fault of Paris. We were there for a week over my birthday, and I still haven't quite recovered (particularly my bank balance). We go to Paris quite often because my husband does research there, and I tag along as often as possible, because, well, it's Paris! Only the most beautiful city in the world. Well, as far as I'm aware, not having visited that many other cities lately because we're always going to Paris.

Not that I'm complaining. I absolutely love Paris, and one advantage to going there often is that I'm starting to know the best places to visit. Which for me means museums, parks, and shops. I've been to most of the museums by now, but we did visit Quai Branly to check out the Baba Bling show, about the Peranakan Chinese community in Singapore. The male heads of family are called Baba and the exhibit included all their bright finery - hence the title. It was all wonderful (though quite familiar from my years in Malaysia), but the batiks in particular were spectacular. Unfortunately I couldn't get any good pictures with my camera phone, but here is one example.

Amazing colours and detail - and those are squirrels embroidered on the top!

I can't resist one other example - the colours and pattern are so gorgeously subtle. These are Indonesian batiks, of course. No one else makes them quite so well.

It was a bit too cold for parks, but we swung through the Tuleries on the way to the Louvre. One of these days I'm going to rent one of the boats - it can't be fair for only children to have all the fun.

I passed through the Palais Royal on a later day (unfortunately the sunshine did not last). Wonderful place for window shopping - but only that, it's even more ritzy than Rue St Honoré.

As to the actual shopping I did... more on that later (guess what - it involves yarn!)

I'll leave you with this photo - not sure if this is yarnbombing or a gift for a very lucky homeless person.