Whoa it's been quite some time since I last updated...been drowned by lots and lots of readings and editing, and I've also just started work as a tutor! So lots of stuff to prepare. But I'm sure things will work out as the semester progresses. I'm actually enjoying myself much more, as a PhD student - the freedom, the research, the quest for knowledge (and excellence...)...
Anyway - I've pretty much covered most of the attractions in Paris - so now we'll be moving on to Dijon! I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last visited Dijon! I miss the place very much - and viewing the photos always puts a smile to my face...especially when I think about the food. I had the best chocolate mousse EVER in Dijon, the best escargot...lots of awesome pasta (which then kicked off the 'pasta marathon' that involved me eating pasta for 10 days in a row...), and lots more!
Before I get carried away with food - let's start off with Jardin Botanique de L'Arquebuse - a lovely park situated near the Dijon train station! The Dijon Biodiversity Museum is situated right at the corner - and we also explored it! More to that soon! But here we go - the beautiful grounds of the museum...and the gardens itself. I'd like to stay here for hours...but we had other places to go.
This is the actual Jardin Botanique de L'Arquebuse. It's actually an English garden, designed by Jean-Marie Morel. When I walked through the garden, it was so beautifully landscaped, and so well-organised. Although it was early summer, there were still some flowers around...and these were pretty fresh!
When I look at these pics, I can't help but wish spring would come faster. I really love taking pics of flowers - especially roses. Although I've got hay fever - I'm happy to just brave it and go crazy with my camera. I did end up sneezing quite a fair bit after viewing the roses (rose pics coming up soon!), but it was all so worth it!
One of my favourite collection of pics - the fountain in the middle of the gardens. So peaceful...and of course, the sun was out and we were happy :) by the time I left the place, I had this glowing tan - and it's still here even after 2 months of winter (I'm now in the Southern Hemisphere)...
I actually passed by a flower field - a small one, but nevertheless good for photo taking...
When I was walking towards the gardens, I spotted the rose garden which was tucked away at the corner. And so I decided to explore it...since I love photographing roses...
First thing I saw - this sculpture, surrounded by the roses and scaffolding. So beautiful!
I recently bought this really awesome book - "My Passion for Design (2010)" by Barbra Streisand - and I'm so thankful that I read through it in great detail, prior to my trip to Dijon. I learnt so much about composition...detailing...what to look out for in buildings...lighting...etc etc etc., and most importantly, I learnt a lot about colour coordination. I find colour coordination really important in pics...and that's something I wanna keep working on. And of course, I definitely intend to keep working on the tips I learnt through the book. It's always good to keep striving for improvements :)
The walk round the rose garden was a really great way for me to 'warm up' and get myself back into macro and nature photography...I'm prepping myself for the upcoming Wildflower Festival in September, and possibly the Tulip Festival in October - all of these will be in Perth. So awesome! I've been to the famous Tesselaar Tulip Festival twice - when I was still living in Melbourne...
Needless to say, all hell broke loose after I entered the rose garden. I went round and round the rose garden, taking as many pics as I could of the lovely roses...they came in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colours...
Had to slot in some macro pics too! :) I actually miss living in Melbourne sometimes - we had a rose garden in my residential hall, and I also miss travelling to country Victoria. One of my best mates has got a rose garden in her house in country Victoria, and everytime I go there, I'm always taking pics of her roses...and of her cat...
And that's it for the Jardin Botanique de L'Arquebuse! More on the Dijon Biodiversity Museum in the next post! :)