Dijon Part 1: Jardin Botanique de L'Arquebuse

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! :)

Paris Part 6: Tour Eiffel

WHOA...it's been quite a rough two weeks...I've been doing lots and lots of conceptualising, typing, drafting etc etc etc...so much work to do! I finally managed to find some time to update this little space, after editing a draft...and for today, we'll be focusing on the one and only Eiffel Tower!!

Ah yes. Here it is - just as I was walking towards the tower. The Eiffel Tower is the most famous landmark in Paris - how not to miss it? No matter what, I HAD to climb the Eiffel Tower. And by climb, I mean it. I literally climbed 600+ steps UP the Eiffel Tower...and that's just the ascend. Add another 600+ steps for the descend. On that day itself I must have climbed 2000+ steps (including the Arc de Triomphe steps...). LIKE A BOSS!!!!

Bought the ticket...and began the ascend up to the first deck! Challenge totally accepted. I'm so glad I go for zumba faithfully - twice a week (for the past one and a half years now!). Zumba really works magic - my stamina is so much better, I feel so much fitter and of course, I'm slimmer and happier. And I'm so glad that I'm dancing again...

OK - back to the Eiffel Tower. Here we are, going up the stairs, and seeing some information about the Eiffel Tower along the way. Just a brief trivia - the Eiffel Tower was named after Gustave Eiffel and is made of iron lattice. It was actually nearly demolished because its design was so different from that of the surrounding Parisian buildings (like Les Invalides and the other historical landmarks...). But fortunately it was retained! And now it's such a major icon!

When we were in Paris, it was tennis season! I think it was the French Open...and so there was a giant tennis ball hanging from the Eiffel Tower...check out the winding staircase to the right of the tennis ball! Oh yes - when I took this pic, I was right outside the bar on the first floor. 

View of the city from the first floor was actually pretty good! So I spent some time taking some pics...

Sacre Coeur was so prominent - as always. So I zoomed in...I'd love to go back to Montmartre someday.

And who could ever forget the gorgeous gold dome of Les Invalides?!

Ah yes - here's the garden below the Eiffel Tower. This area (where the Eiffel Tower is situated) is called Champ de Mars. Look how beautiful the square-shaped trees and cone-shaped shrubs are! I just couldn't resist zooming in to take a closer look at these lovely patterns.

The view got EVEN BETTER after I climbed up to the second floor - and highest accessible deck. We got a really good view of the Seine, and of course, the city. Check out how uniform the building heights are! All these buildings are no taller than 6 storeys...except for some of the newer ones. Best part - each building has its unique facade...and it was so fascinating. Even the walk to the Eiffel Tower was so fascinating...

After taking lots of pics and buying some souvenirs, it was time to descend. This time, I decided to take pics of the intricate iron lattice.

We were literally climbing in OPEN AIR. And so it got quite dizzying by the time we were halfway between the first and second decks. Check this out - exposed to the elements, protected only by the iron lattice...and even the stairs shook a little with every step we took. Of course, it was very sturdy...but it got a little scary sometimes. Overall - it was so worth it!! I'll NEVER regret doing this epic climb up/down the Eiffel Tower. I'm actually glad I didn't take the elevator! :)

The intricate iron lattice in its full glory. I was still quite high up when I took these pics, and so I was really, really, really cautious about my camera.

Oh yes. The entrance where we began our ascend and ended our descend. Have to take a pic of it for memento!

The names of the people who contributed to the construction of the Eiffel Tower, just above the majestic arches. I had to zoom in to take a closer look.

Took a walk around the park below Eiffel Tower also - and I'm still mind-blown over how perfect the trees looked. They looked so uniform from the Eiffel Tower...now on ground level, they looked so straight. And so beautiful.

And this is why we call Paris the City of Love. People were chilling out (some cuddling intimately) on the green green grass...enjoying the view of the beautiful Eiffel Tower in the background. Lots of love in the air!

Right at the end of the gardens - the Ecole Militaire, which houses military training facilities...and coincidentally, after taking this pic, I found myself walking in the direction of Les Invalides - another landmark that commemorated veterans in the French military.

Couldn't resist two more pics of the Eiffel Tower! So here we go!

More pics coming up soon! In the next post, I'll be focusing more on gardens and open spaces in Paris. Do stay tuned!