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as promised in my previous post, there are pics of my new illustrations, including the one that's featured in ammo magazine:



]]> illustration http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=134 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:57:33 +1100 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=132 it wasn't a particularly nice day though, but i thought i would compile my list of my favourite things about summer in readiness for when it does arrive properly - with sunshine, blue skies and the like!



i have also recently completed a few drawings. i don't want to give too much away, as some of them are to be printed, so here's a quick look now. as soon as the magazine has been released, i'll update my website!



read on, read on!

and one i did before i went overseas... initially done for blanket magazine but the concept was pulled and i had something else in there instead!



i hope you enjoy the first days of summer... or winter. wherever you are! ]]> illustration http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=132 Thu, 1 Dec 2011 20:28:52 +1100 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=127
jac not-so-subtly hinted that she would like a chair from me, so i decided that i would make her one for her wedding present.

i spent a very long time scouring ebay and gumtree for a chair until i finally found something suitable! it would appear that the demand for nice single vintage chairs has gone up, since they were always too expensive or just plain ugly or too new. so it did surprise me that i ended up finding one i really liked, considering what else was out there. i have a few things i look for when i'm after a chair: 1. it has to be less than $40. i don't see much point in buying a chair for $100 only to have to spend lots of time stripping it back and buying upholstery fabric/stain/other embellishments. plus, if i mess it up, i don't feel quite as bad! also, i like the idea of taking something really cheap and turning it into something beautiful. if it's $100 and already a beautiful chair, then it's not really a challenge. which leads into 2. it has to be somehow different - i like things with a bit of quirk. and 3. it has to have enough wood or upholstery to allow me to change it. this one definitely had all 3, and it satisfied point 2 by having an almost completely circular base, two different style legs (front and back) and an oddly shaped round back.

so with all that in mind, i bought this wooden chair covered in hideous thick green paint. unfortunately, however, i got too excited about the prospect of stripping the paint off that i didn't take a "before" photo. very annoyed! so instead, this is how the chair looked after stripping the seat of the horrible green paint (which covered the whole chair but was flecking off in places to reveal thick white paint).



and this is what it looked like after... well, sort of (yes, i wrapped a chair!)



see more photos, including how the chair actually looked, after the jump...it took ages to strip - i think the paint had covered the chair for a very long time, since it was stubborn and just did not want to come off, even with my industrial strength paint stripper! so it was with great patience that i finally managed to get it all off!

this is it finally stripped:



after stripping, i then had to sand off all the gunk. there was also a layer underneath all that where the wood was dark and greyed, so i got that off too. that also took a very long time - it was quite a fiddly chair to sand! but i also got to try out my new toy - a little hand-held multisander. previous chairs have all been sanded by hand because i was always a bit distrusting of electrical tools... i had visions of disaster like sanding things too much and them falling apart or just generally ruining the wood. but i was persuaded that these ideas were unfounded! and it was a treat - so much quicker than hand sanding, especially on the larger areas. after sanding, i stained the wood with one coat of walnut stain.



i had had this idea for a while of painting/staining a picture onto wood, kind of inspired by this. i didn't want to go too elaborate like that, so instead i decided on a chevron pattern, especially since the chair wasn't for me and chevron is a bit more universal!

unlike the example, instead of staining it, i had the marvellous idea of gold leafing the pattern on. yes... another one of my big ideas, followed by "it can't be that hard". honestly, i really do have to stop saying that! i had never gold leafed before and went out to the art shop in west ryde and found out all about size (gold glue), leaf, brushes and gloves, and all the other particulars of leafing. i had already bought my real gold leaf off ebay (999/1000 gold) and so, i was all ready to go.

it was a good idea to be geometric, but a little hard getting it to all line up on the chair because of the rounded nature of it. but after some time and lots of re-taping, i managed to get it looking right.



my first attempt at leafing on the chair was a bit of a failure, but it was because i had followed the directions on the size bottle to the letter and consequently left the size to dry too long. you see, the thing with leafing is that you have to paint this stuff on, wait til it gets really sticky, then you've got a little while before it dries to place the leaf. i had left the size for 45 minutes as instructed, and the gold didn't stick to it properly - it was all patchy, which thankfully didn't affect the final look at all. with trial and error, i reduced the waiting time to 20 minutes. gold leaf is really hard to use - you have to work with cotton gloves on (otherwise it sticks to your fingers), you can't feel the leaf at all, and you have to be careful with your breathing...one sneeze or a sigh and your gold leaf is fluttering around in the air! the leaf itself it is packed up in folded sheets of wax paper which are also a pain to work with, especially with the gloves on. in the end, i had a good system going - i would paint the size on one part of the design, wait 20 minutes, then work with one glove on for the leaf, one glove off for dealing with the wax paper. i laid all the little sheets on the size then tapped them into the wood grain with a soft brush.

this is a work in progress picture from my phone... see the leaf is hanging off the edges of the pattern? you are supposed to wait until the size dries before brushing it off with a soft brush.



after leafing the whole thing and fixing up the little bits where the leaf hadn't stuck, i painted a clear gloss over the gold. according to the girl in the art shop this is not necessary, but i wanted to make sure that the leaf would stay put for many years. the finishing touch was 3 layers of wax rubbed into the wood. i just love the way that wax warms up the colour of the wood and adds a little bit of a sheen to it.

so, this is the final product:







one other important thing to note is what i found out about the chair while i was restoring it. i was unable to get an exact date, but i think this chair was made in australia between 1900 and 1940. it is stamped on the underside (which i found after removing all the horrible green paint and gunk) with a stamp that reads “a6 european labour only”.



after some research, i found that this kind of stamp was added to furniture made from 1896 until the middle of the 20th century to indicate that it was constructed by white australians, and not asian australians. during that time, there was a lot of anti-asian sentiment, especially around the time of the great depression, as it was thought that asians and other immigrants were taking jobs away from white australians. also, this stamp and the information surrounding it, as well as the colour and grain of the wood, leads me to believe that the wood is australian silky oak.

so there you go. i thought that was pretty cool...

since i was taking the chair to the wedding to leave on the gift table, i thought it might be an idea to wrap it. thankfully, i have a very big roll of wrapping paper, because it took an awful lot of paper and a long time to get it right! it's very hard to wrap a chair, just in case you're ever tempted!





well, there you have it! probably the toughest bit of furniture i have tackled for a while... though the fault is completely my own!

i hope you like it jac (and merv)... but hey i don't mind having it back if you don't! ;) ]]> furniture http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=127 Tue, 8 Nov 2011 19:56:52 +1100 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=124
i sent out invites featuring the eiffel tour, made lots of yummy french food, decorated in red, white and blue, and we listened to french music. and yes, i even donned a beret, though no photos exist of that (you'll just have to take my word for it!).

so first things first - i had to design an invite! i'd seen a cardboard eiffel tower on a website and it gave me an idea. i thought a replica of the tower could be constructed from four pieces of board by slotting them together. because of the thickness of the board i used, it was impossible for me to print directly onto it, so i wrapped it in paper printed with the invite details... anyway, more will make sense below!

this is how the invites were packed into the envelope



invite put together - instructions side



read on for more details and photos of the invite and of the party itself! all pieces and instructions



instructions sheet



detail of tower



invite put together - side covered in bits of paper picked up in france... magazines, brochures and the like



as for the actual party itself, i saw this idea on design*sponge and thought it was a good way of decorating cheaply, especially when it came to flag colours! so i went to bunnings after work and took a whole heap of colour cards (sorry bunnings) to make bunting



i designed placecards and menus for all guests





when everyone had arrived, we enjoyed some lovely veuve clicquot (french champagne, of course!)



on the menu was herbed tomatoes in oil with french bread, main of coq au vin with buttered vegies and roasted potatoes and a dessert selection. all recipes were taken from julia child's "mastering the art of french cooking" and laduree's "sucre".



dessert was a selection of raspberry macarons (didn't turn out as well as last year's in terms of size and foot, but they were very delicious!), meringues, coconut macaroons and the piece de resistance - a tartes aux fraises, or strawberry tart.









dessert was accompanied by angelina's own blended tea, which i'd brought back with me from paris.



i got out my instax for the occasion and we took lots of photos! thanks all for coming and celebrating. gotta think of something awesome for the big one next year!

]]> general http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=124 Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:12:37 +1100 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=122
i have been doing illustrations and a bit of design work for blanket magazine for a few years now. before now, blanket was an online magazine, with some forays into printed work, such as posters and calendars. this all changed recently, when the editor of blanket decided to take the huge step to create a printed version of the magazine. i was so so lucky to have been included in this magazine! i have been a big supporter of blanket since i first found out about it in 2007 i think! and the first printed edition makes me so proud to have been part of this little independent endeavour!







i was also included in a recent edition of ammo magazine





one more after the jump!before that, i submitted my illustration "totem" to a zine produced by the guys who do ammo. the zine was called totummy, hence the name and look of the illustration!

cover by daren newman



my illustration





]]> illustration http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=122 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:07:19 +1100 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=119
so where i left it last time, i had just had a huge day at versailles. the next day, i went to montmartre.

i was originally going to go to the marche aux puces st-ouen de clignancourt but the whole not-being-able-to-speak-french thing threw that idea off because i figured i would not be able to buy anything or would get ripped off. so i skipped that part - i'll go next time, once i've learned french *wink*

instead, i started my day off at sacre coeur. oh how i love that place - it's so cool and weird-looking. the only one thing that was a bit of a negative are the people hanging around the gardens below the cathedral trying to tie string around your wrist (they then try to make you pay for it). thankfully, i had been warned, and politely told them that i neither spoke french nor english! i figured this would throw them off! despite this, it is still one of my favourite places in paris.



i climbed up another 300 steps to get to the top of the cathedral. it was so worth it - though it was rather treacherous getting up there, and definitely not for anyone especially large (either tall or wide), because it's quite tight. but the view was worth it.







after going inside the cathedral and also down to the lower levels, i then went to explore montmartre. i had an amazing tarte tartin from one of the boulangeries in the town, walked through the art markets (i was hoping to buy something, but nothing jumped out at me), and wandered through other pokey little shops up there. after going and buying some lovely perfume in fragonard, i headed back to the metro... next stop, cite
i got off the metro and headed over to the notre dame. it was lunch-time, so i bought a lovely baguette on the way, and sat in the square to eat it. then i joined the queue of people waiting to get into the church. this is what greeted me when i got inside...







i walked back outside and wandered around the back, heading towards st-louis-en-l'ile. there, i stopped at berthillion to get some rhubarb gelato. yum yum! i walked across the pont de sully, and walked along the quais, where i had this amazing view



i kept walking along the quai to rue saint jacques, where i visited st severin, la sorbonne and the pantheon







inside the pantheon, not only was it nice and cool (was getting a bit warm outside!), but it was just beautiful... the paintings, the stone carvings...



in the middle of the main floor of the pantheon is a foucault's pendulum. this is a simple device that demonstrates the rotation of the earth.





i also visited the crypt, where the remains of voltaire, rousseau, marat and victor hugo are housed.

the next stop was the palais du luxembourg and the gardens, which was one of my favourite places the last time i visited paris. by this time, the ominous black clouds had cleared and it turned into a nice, sunny afternoon. the french do lead a good life - there were so many people lying about in the sun in the beautiful jardins, seemingly without a care in the world!





i got a bit lost when i was walking through the gardens, and ended up at place st sulpice. i walked on to find laduree, where i went in and bought the laduree book (with all their yummy recipes), a few macarons and a few other little bits and pieces. i headed up the rue bonaparte and across the the louvre because i couldn't quite figure out where else to catch the metro from. i caught the train back to the hotel to rest up and get ready for dinner.

i didn't really have anything planned, but i decided to go to the marais district and walked up the rue beaubourg, but couldn't really find anything. i stopped at the hotel de ville to take a quick snap



a bit lost, i got back on the tube and got on the wrong damn train, which i realised after one stop, and jumped off at st paul. after popping my head out at the surface, i decided to try look for somewhere to eat around there. i ended up on rue du roi de sicile, where i found a cute little cafe called boboli, and had a very enjoyable dinner (and some very tasty mariage freres earl grey tea).

the next day was my day to climb the eiffel tower. i jumped on the metro and caught it to trocadero. while there, i visited the cimitiere de passy, and the grave of the great painter manet. it was a little sad there - there were so many broken, old and decrepit tombs and mausoleums. no one seemed to care too much. on the way back, i was dying to use the loo and attempted to use the free-standing public loo. not being able to read french, i hit the wrong button, and it seemed to think i wanted to go out and i can only assume that it was starting cleaning procedures (can't be too sure, it was talking to me in very loud french). so i headed out before it started spraying me with water and disinfectant. major fail on my part!

so instead, i went back to the trocadero, where i realised that i was not dressed appropriately for the day - it seemed so nice and warm, and i had been burnt the previous day, but today the wind was cutting right through me, and i was freezing! it was nice at the trocadero in the sheltered spots, because it looked straight out over the eiffel tower and the champ du mars



i walked down the stairs, encountering more of those men trying to flog string bracelet things, and headed towards the tower. i had bought a ticket already, and my trip up the eiffel tower was not until 10:30. so i had to hang around for a while. because it was so cold, i picked a park bench in the sun and huddled into my coat to look around and read an ebook. this seemed like the best thing to do because the champ du mars was covered with men trying to sell their crappy souvenirs, and young women trying to get me to sign a petition (for what, i don't know. but these girls were everywhere).

a bit before 10:30, i wandered through the tourists and straight to the gates to head up the eiffel tower. the trip up to the first level was not too bad. i must have gone a bit white though, because people kept asking me if i was ok - i do not like heights. the trip up to the second level was terrifying though. i did a stupid thing and looked down and felt really woozy. but i managed to wrench my eyes up and it was a bit better then.

if i thought it was cold and windy on the champ du mars, it was icy up the top of the tower. but the view was just spectacular, it was so worth being freezing and petrified. the champ du mars:



the trocadero:


the grand palais:


me, slightly petrified and twitchy:


on that photo above, i had to back up to the railing - it was pushing it a bit much to walk straight towards it, since i did not want to look down! after i'd had enough, i headed back down to safer ground. i set walking out over the champ du mars, turning to look up at the eiffel tower again:



i walked along past the ecole militaire and decided that i couldn't take being cold any more. so i caught the metro back to the hotel to change into more suitable clothing, then caught it back to the ecole! hooray for the metro visite pass - it rules! i walked from the metro down to the invalides. i had never been there before but had seen the gold dome from many angles (sacre coeur, arc, eiffel tower, and the streets of paris itself!). it really was as pretty up close as it looked from far away



the gardens were also very nice, with lots of people picnicking there



this photo does not do it justice, because it's a huge place, but this is the facade of the invalides:



i then went wandering down towards the boulevard raspail and towards st germain. i caught the metro and headed over to pere lachaise. i had previously tried to go there, but the people in charge of the great cemetery were closing the doors and kicking people out so i hadn't been able to go in and stickybeak. but this time, i got there early and went to visit the grave of jim morrison, ingres, and some others

jim morrison:



this tree was near jim's grave and covered in writing



like de passy, this cemetery was also a bit dishevelled. i think its a bit of a shame. i mean, yes it's a huge place and there are thousands of graves, but some stones were piled on top of others, with others being in a state of disrepair, and others looking like they had been set alight. it was sad. the whole place was just a bit too depressing - i mean, i know its a cemetery and not meant to be a party, but i thought it would be more interesting. instead, i was just glad to get out of there (and no, not because it gave me the willies... it didn't!!). when i did try to go home though, i realised my lovely metro pass must have fallen out in the cemetery, since i no longer had it (thankfully, it expired the next day so it was not a great loss). but i also did not have my french book so i was basically stuffed. i got to the metro station and tried to communicate with the gruff lady who was working there. i couldn't use the automated ticket machines because i couldn't read french, and she was so rude because i couldn't speak french. i apologised profusely, but she made it seem like such a hassle to help me. i know people do say this about french people but this was the only person i encountered where i had this kind of problem...

that night, i went for dinner at a place on avenue des gobelins. it was rather nice, and i treated myself to half a bottle of nice french wine!

the next day was my last day in paris. being without a metro ticket, and not being able to ask for one, i decided to stay near to my hotel. they allowed me to leave all my baggage there thankfully, and i walked to the place de italie, where there was a printemps! i did a bit of shopping, albeit with a lot of hand gesturing and apologising. then i walked back outside the shopping centre and went to the boulangerie and bought a raspberry tart. i walked down to the jardin des plantes again to eat it and sit in the sun and just enjoy my last few hours in france. it was sad to leave - i really do love that place.



i sadly headed back to the hotel to grab my baggage and head to the metro. unfortunately, i do not pack light, and my bags were very heavy, and once again there are very few lifts in metro stations. i had to catch the metro to gare d'austerlitz, then change for the RER train out to the airport. that was fun.... not... there were about 1000 steps through that damn station, no one helped me with my bags, and there were no lifts. like really, how hard is it?! i was carrying 30kgs! when someone did help me, i almost cried with gratitude.

i got to the airport very early and sat down and read my book until it was time to go. then it was back on the plane, back to abu dhabi (no problems this time) and back to cold sydney.

in abu dhabi



in the sky, with the beautiful sunrise... or sunset. i wasn't too sure at that stage, though i do think it was sunrise.



the end.

thankyou to everyone who came out to see me - chris, samantha and ethan, nicola, sarah and pat, claire and michael, anthea, mavis, bec. thankyou also to my rescuers katja and graeme - i owe you guys heaps. i had an amazing time, and i will be back soon.

and paris, i love you. i will definitely be back. don't miss me too much.

]]> europe 2011 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=119 Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:05:39 +1000 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=111
it was a really nice walk, apart from there being people everywhere! i was in desperate need of a drink of some sort, but all the cafes were full and i couldn't find anywhere that looked like a convenience store! so in the end, i headed into maccas. classy eh?! but when you're desperate.... so i ordered a cup of tea, and a bottle of water (which was soooo overpriced!), and i saw little boxes of 6 maccas macarons, so i grabbed one of those too. as much as i don't like going to maccas, the one thing they have is wifi (hooray!), so i was able to skype my friend while i sat there eating my macarons and drinking my tea.

anyway, after the refreshments (and no, i didn't eat all the macarons... 4 of them went back with me to the hotel), i headed to the arc de triomphe.



i'd never been up it before, so with my museum pass in hand, i ducked to the front of the line (hooray!) and started the climb to the top... yes, that's 284 steps up, and 284 down... oh my poor, tired legs!



but the view is sooooo worth it!





after drinking my fill of the view, i headed to the charles de gaulle etoile metro station and caught the train back to the hotel, where i got changed for dinner. my friend had told me about this amazing place in the marais district so i was keen to check that out for dinner. i realised that might not have been such a good idea while i was walking there from the metro station, since i was alone and received way too much attention due to my long blonde hair. i did manage to find my way there though, only to see that it was closed. with no idea where to go for dinner from there, i stumbled into this lovely little restaurant called grizzli cafe, where i had lamb shanks, potato gratin, creme brulee and a nice glass of wine for dinner. after eating my fill, i headed on back to the hotel feeling very content.

the next day, i was off to versailles. ok, i'm going to say again how amazing the public transport is in paris - it is so easy to get around and work out the maps, even for a non-frenchie like me! i love it! so i had to get to the musee d'orsay to change for the RER train out to versailles... no problem!

i arrived in versailles a bit before 9am and got off the train and walked with the many others over to the palace. thankfully, i arrived before all the tour buses turned up, but it wasn't long before the line i was standing in was snaking all the way down from the palace to the gates (it was preeeeeettty long!).



it took me about 30 minutes or so to get in, so it wasn't too bad. glad i got there when i did though! i went in and was immediately struck by the beauty of the palace... click read more to see more photos!



the organ and ceiling inside



unfortunately, there was no dodging the crazy photo-taking tourists who were more interested in snapping pics of things than actually learning about them...



so pretty - hall of mirrors



around about 11am, i was walking past these stairs when i spotted a sign for angelina, the famous tea house on the rue de rivoli in paris. it seems they have one also in the palace of versailles. so i thought it was perfect timing for a cup of tea. they also had a plate of 4 macarons on the menu, which i assume is meant for sharing, but i ate them all... and very happily too, since they were delicious! so i had a pot of angelina's special blend of tea (a box of which i also brought home with me), and a plate with a raspberry, chocolate, coconut and salted caramel macaron. oh my goodness, the salted caramel one just blew me away!!

after my very nice morning tea, i headed back to join the steady stream of people wending their way through the palace. unlike other people there, i was very interested in taking photos of the amazingly old parquetry floors, the colourful wallpaper and the totally incredible chairs and other furnishings. i realise that this makes me a little odd.....





the gardens were also pretty amazing... though i didn't go through these ones as the lines were just too long!



i left the palace then to head over to the chateaux de trianon, and marie antoinette's house. unfortunately, because i didn't go through the gardens, i had to walk around the palace and gardens to get there. about halfway up the avenue de trianon, i realised that i should have waited and gone into the gardens! plus, there was a taxi service there and back for people with tickets... bugger! it was a lovely day, so i didn't mind the walk, it was just that i was so pooped that i was willing myself up the road! finally, though, i got there, and it was so worth it!





gardens of the trianon



it was just really the most beautiful place - the gardens smelled of roses (they were everywhere), it was sunny and warm, and it really was heaven. it was nicer being there than with the hordes of people at the palace of versailles - although that was much grander, there were just too many people. i could have happily stayed there all day, i loved it there. but it was time to be heading back...

unfortunately, being in the trianon without a ticket for the gardens meant that i had to walk alllll the way back to the train station! again, it was really a case of me willing my feet to move, but i finally got there in the end.

the plan was then to head to pere lachaise, the most famous cemetery in paris. but i decided to go back to the hotel and shower and lie down for a bit. which meant that by the time i got to pere lachaise, they were closing the doors and booting people out. on the way there, i went through this cool market, though sadly couldn't buy anything because of a) needing to somehow get it home and b) not being able to talk to people due to lack of french skills. so, a little disheartened, i decided to go back to the champs elysees and have dinner there.

i caught the train to the place de la concorde, and just revelled again in how beautiful it is in paris





i found a restaurant off the champs elysees, and it is one place that i wish i had never found - considering the french people are meant to have the best food in the world, this was absolutely crap. considering there were people already in there eating... maybe they were all lost tourists too. anyway, after that meal, i must have had a death wish because i climbed the 284 steps again to the top of the arc de triomphe! i really wanted to see it in the dark, but considering it got dark about 10pm, it was just not going to happen. but it was still lovely...





it was nice and cool up there and, considering it had been such a warm day, it was nice to just sit up there and chill out. after gazing at the sights for a while, and deciding that twice up there was enough, i headed back to the hotel, and collapsed into a deep sleep!

next time is montmartre, notre dame, pantheon and the palais and jardins du luxemborg. hope to see you then!


]]> europe 2011 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=111 Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:28:38 +1000 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=108
so after the crap day, i also had a crap night... staying in a hostel was interesting, but i sure did miss a good night's sleep. this was particularly evident on my last night. i had bought a eurostar ticket to paris that left london at 7:20am. yes, yaaawwwn, so early!! so with that in mind, i was getting up at 5am, and in for an early night. i was staying in an eight bed dorm and there were only 3 of us there when i went to bed that night (at 9-ish!). however, from 10-1am we got 5 new dorm mates, who made a hell of a noise, especially this old cow who kept bitching about everything! so that stuffed up my early night. i woke up the next morning to more noisy people, checked my phone and realised that i'd slept through my 5am alarm and that it was now 6am! i don't think i've ever gotten changed and packed up as quickly as i did that morning! i was running down the corridor to the elevator within about 5 minutes of waking up. within another 10, i had checked out and was running up bolsover st in london to the great portland st station with my suitcase behind me. of course, when i got to the station, my oyster card was out of money and since i only had a 20 pound note, i had to put it on the damn card! carrying my suitcase down the stairs, i made it to the station and caught the train within about 20 minutes of waking up! i got to st pancras station in time, thankfully, to go through customs and so on...

talk about hectic!

i got on the train with no further problems, and left london for paris. i don't really remember too much about the train trip there, except my desperate desire to go to the food car and get a cuppa and some breakfast. and, embarrassingly, i was also quite upset that i would be arriving in paris with no makeup on!

i realised i was in france when my phone switched roaming areas and vodafone kindly welcomed me to france. it was cool. the landscape was very much like what i had seen of england - green fields and countryside - though it was obvious when we were getting closer to paris. the train pulled up into gare du nord station finally, and i was on my way. i bought a visite pass and a museum pass and headed off to the metro.

it's funny, gare du nord is the entryway to paris from the uk, and yet, they still have stairs and no lifts. so i had to lug my heavy bag up and down a whole heap of stairs. i finally got to the platform for my train and headed to place d'italie where i was staying. after getting to my hotel room around noon (and so glad that i'd decided to book a hotel room rather than a hostel), and cleaning up, i walked down to the jardin de plantes.

it was such a beautiful spring day. i went into a boulangerie and bought a croque monseur, and walked among the beautiful gardens. it was a brilliant way to start my parisian adventure.





that night, i visited the louvre. i had been before and had done all the italian/renaissance artworks, so i decided to start with the flemish side first. i found new artists and new paintings that were inspiring... including steenwyck



and i rediscovered ingres, whose work i've always loved



i also marvelled at the fact that people could paint things at a giant scale



read on for more parislouvre from louvre windows - such a remarkable building!



the louvre closed at 10pm that night, so i headed back to my hotel. before i left, i had meticulously planned out my activities every day i was in paris. i figured that it would be good because then i could make sure i saw everything i wanted to see, and that i also didn't get lost (not knowing french was so much more of a disadvantage in france than i was expecting. in my memory of france from the last time i was there, i thought more people could speak english. i was wrong!)

so friday was to be spent in the heart of paris itself. i started off at the musee d'orsay - i think my most favourite of all the galleries in paris. unfortunately though, there was a manet exhibition on which wasn't covered by the museum pass and i wasn't up for standing in line for hours. which sucked because manet's "les déjeuner sur l'herbe" is one of my all-time favourite paintings. oh well, next time....



buti did visit a few other favourites, and rekindled my love for the impressionists...



i then headed across the pont de solferino, which was curiously covered in padlocks. it is apparently a thing for loved up couples to do...



i walked up through the tuileries to the musee de l'orangerie, which i'd never been to before. it had the most amazing paintings by monet displayed on the walls - an oval room with 4 huuuuuge paintings of waterlilies painted morning, noon, afternoon and evening. there was also an impressive display of more modern art including picasso, rousseau and modigliani. i then walked past the place de la concorde, through the tuileries to the palais royal (as a side note, everytime i say, read or write the name "tuileries" i think of how the lady on the train says it... the one that says "the next stop is...").



relaxing in the tuileries, paris-style



louvre from the tuileries



the palais royal is an odd place, with all these black and white things "growing" out of the courtyard, and big silver balls everywhere...







as you can see, i took soooo many photos in paris. after the palais royal, i walked to the opera... where phantom of the opera was based. its so beautiful and imposing with its massive gold statues



i then walked down the rue de la paix to have lunch near the place vendome. this is where the ritz is situated, so there are many posh shops along the rue de la paix, including cartier...



after lunch i went to the madeleine. i passed laduree on the way there, but there were so many people inside i thought i'd choose a different one to visit! i'd never seen the madeleine before either and it was really pretty. i went inside and it was equally pretty, with amazing sculptures and dramatic lights





i then walked down the rue st honore, one of the oldest streets in paris. i was told off by a military guard there for attempting to take a photograph, though i still have no idea why... i then walked to the grand palais and the start of the champs elysees (and this view... oh i so almost cried!!)



i think that will have to do it for now. i have so many photos of paris that it's so hard to decide which ones to share, and so i'm putting up more than i probably should. if you've read this far, thanks very much, and i hope i haven't bored you. i'll have to continue on with eeeek! day 1 next time. i packed so much into my 6 days there that i guess its bound to be the case that i have so many stories and photos!! sorry!! ]]> europe 2011 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=108 Mon, 1 Aug 2011 20:10:16 +1000 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=104
I then walked down regent st to piccadilly circus and then on to burlington arcade, a very posh little shopping mall (way too posh for me!). they even had men in funny little outfits standing outside the doors, presumably to stop rif-raf like me entering! hehe



from there, it was time for a cuppa and a bit of afternoon tea! then i headed off back down piccadilly and walked through green park. i only ever remember going to hyde park in london, and it was nice to go to another london park. it was a pretty little park too, full of people picnicing...



the park goes straight up to buckingham palace, so i thought it was about time i visited the queen.



read on for more london!funnily enough, the day that i chose to visit the queen was also the day that barack obama was visiting! so there were loads of coppers around with their funny little hats. they tried telling everyone that obama had already left, but didn't explain why they were putting UP the barriers rather than taking them down. the mall up the the palace was decorated with alternating union jack and stars and stripes flags.



i didn't really feel like sticking around - too much chaos going on. so i headed down the mall down to admiralty arch, and then on to trafalgar square



talk about perfect timing....



i was feeling kinda stuffed at this point, so i caught the tube from charing cross back to the hostel. that night, i met up with my friend anthea in soho.

the next day, i was off the the national gallery. i was so stuffed at this point, it took a while to get my legs working properly! i went to the national gallery and stood there with all the other chumps waiting for it to open at 10am... lazy! i discovered a new artist whose work i really enjoy at the gallery - canaletto. i spent a lot of time with the impressionists there too. from there (trafalgar sq), i caught the tube to covent garden, and wandered around there. i bought a few things, but i learned from the previous day that anything you buy, you have to carry. and shopping plus a heavy slr and handbag equals very sore arms and shoulders! so had to refrain from going nuts.

from there i walked up along the thames to the millenium bridge. i almost got run over many times by crazy people running past... they need to separate the footpaths into running and walking sides! anyway, i made it to the bridge without too much injury (thankfully!) and walked across to the tate! was very excited to be going to the tate!!



after wandering around the tate for a bit (some crazy/cool stuff in there), and going to the shop, i headed back across the bridge to st paul's. i've been to st paul's before (and walked up those damn stairs) and i wasn't really planning on going there again, but it just looked so appealing from the bridge that i thought i might go take a look...



bench in front of st pauls



people lounging on the front steps...



after grabbing a cuppa at the starbucks nearby, i headed off to the st pauls tube to catch the train back to the hostel. that night, i headed out to angel to meet up with my friend who lives in islington. we had a nice little pub dinner at a pub near their place (so many pubs in such a small area!) then she took me to show me around her place - you can see the gherkin from there!

the next day, i was tossing up between going to camden passage to the antique stores there or to shoreditch and brick lane. after factoring in transport, and listening to my friend's advice, i went to camden passage. but alas, it was a horrible rainy day and the tourists weren't flocking there, so according to one shop owner, it wasn't worth opening (yeah really great to hear when you've come all the way from australia and they won't let you into their cool-looking shop!). so, a little put off, i thought i would head back to oxford st and go to selfridges and just have a wander. but it was rainy and i wasn't prepared and got wet. selfridges was weird - they have their own tattoo parlor... shows how much tattoos have moved from being the realm of bikies and thugs haha. i did, however, stop at a street fruit market and bought the nicest raspberries i have ever seen. i then had lunch in a pret-a-manger (i think we need these in aus - so handy and tasty!), then i decided to head to some shops i thought sounded cool. but it was still raining and my map was getting wet and i was a bit miserable. so i gave up and stopped in this amazing cake shop on the way back to the tube and ate my way through most of a huge slice of checkerboard cake! i finally got to the tube and got back to the great portland st station and walked to the hostel. bedraggled, i had a hot shower and then sat on my bed and ate my raspberries and the rest of the cake - what a pig eh?! but then this little american girl came in and we started chatting about the shitty days we'd had, so i took her out to dinner to cheer up! it made my last night in london a little more bearable. there is a lot to be said for good weather in london i think!!

anyway, due to such a crap day, i didn't take any photos. but that was my last day in london, so i think i shall end it there. the next stop is st pancras station and then paris (my love!). so, until next time.... thanks for reading!!
]]> europe 2011 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=104 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:15:30 +1000 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=101
i got to the station at 9:15pm, and did the "official" big hug reunion thing and we zipped through manchester to their place. i had thoughtfully gone to tesco's the night before to buy them some champers (jacobs creek, of course! plus, there were lots of weird own brands in tesco... like coles branded champagne... i thought it best to stick with something i know!). however, they had ALSO thoughtfully bought some champers to celebrate the occasion. so between the three of us, we polished off the two bottles. yum!

i don't have a lot of photos of manchester because i didn't want to lug my SLR about with me. we went to all these cool places in the northern quarter, including the craft market and the richard goodall gallery (where i bought two awesome gig posters). due to the merriment of the previous night, a nice breakfast was called for and i had the best scrambled eggs at this amazing little cafe called 'teacup on thomas st' - i wish i knew what they put in their eggs to make them so amazing. we then wandered around the actual city of manchester, me with one eye on the road, one eye on the lookout for damn trams that kept coming past - scary stuff! we then met up with bec from blanket magazine, who gave us a tour of all the hot spots in the northern quarter for later that night...

we started off the night with what i think is the best dinner i have ever had at brown's (which is inside a very old bank, it's so cool) then went to this bar recommended by bec in the northern quarter, the name i cannot remember!

the next day, they showed me the sights of manchester.... the trafford centre, a huge, opulent shopping centre:



inside the centre - here are my manchester guides!



i want to cover london in this post too, but i might just do half. read on for more story and photos!the canals in manchester - i really don't think they make enough use of these. if they were in sydney, there'd be floating restaurants and cafe's spilling out onto the path nearby...



we also went to the indoor snow fields - so cool!

but then it was time for me to catch my next train, this time to london. so after a teary goodbye and some silly faces pulled through the train window at them, i was off. i was riding on one of the trains that, because they go really fast, they lean when they go around bends. i noticed at first when we went around this corner and all of a sudden out of the opposite window, i could see the ground! but i managed to get to london in one piece and got off at euston station and walked to the hostel i was staying in. ok, one thing you should know about me, i am not considered a 'hostel' type of person when i comes to accommodation... certain people found it funny that i was going to stay in one. but i managed, and it actually wasn't too bad!

my first day in london, i ventured out to notting hill and portobello road. i have to say, i love the tube system - its so handy and easy to use, even for a traveller without good map-reading abilities! i walked through notting hill, down portobello road and all the cool little shops down there.





one shop in particular caught my eye - all saints. i had never heard of it before, but it was very cool - they had this wall covered in old sewing machines, plus some very nice, but very expensive, clothes and accessories:



i then walked down to kensington gardens and explored the gardens and the palace





this was a massive walking day, because after walking down through the gardens, i headed on to the natural history and V&A museums

the natural history museum:





the strawberry thief fabric (original) in the V&A museum, a liberty copy of which i used for my chair upholstery, see here



i then went on to harrods, which was crazy busy, then finally walked up to the marble arch tube station to go back to the hostel, completely and absolutely exhausted. that night i had dinner at the hostel because i could barely move. then i did it all again the next day... which i will cover in the next post because i have already waffled on way too long!

thanks for reading! ]]> europe 2011 http://blog.alisonrichards.net/index.php?itemid=101 Sat, 2 Jul 2011 14:14:29 +1000