Modigliani

This is the last of the postcards from France. This is a painting by the hugely famous Italian artist Modigliani, that was displayed at the art gallery of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Pink Lady received this card from her brother many years ago. Modigliani was Italian-Jewish, but mostly lived and worked in France.

The humble library

This card shows the cozy library of the Chateau de Vaux-le-vicomte (see previous post). Quite a nice library this....

Chambre du Roi

This card shows the King's bedroom in the Chateau de Vaux-le-vicomte in Maincy, France. It is not far from Paris. The movie Marie Antoinette (one of Pink Lady's faves!!) was filmed there as was the movie Valmont - and many, many others.

This was also a card from Pink Lady's pen pal - and Pink Lady has not yet visited this Chateau.

Bretagne

This post card is also from Bretagne. Also from Pink Lady's pen pal.

Erquy, Bretagne

This is a post card from Bretagne (Britanny), France. Pink Lady had a pen pal there a very long time ago. The French School in Helsinki, Finland arragned pen pals for us so we could practice our French. Pink Lady's pen pal lived in Massy and had sailing has a hobby. Her name is Marie-Thérèse. This card shows the port of Erquy, near the famous walled city of Saint-Malo.

Pink Lady has not yet been to either.

Mont Blanc

This card shows the l'Aguille du Midi: a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is near the city of Chamonix. Pink Lady got this card from a friend - she has not yet been here either.

St. Jean-de-Monts

This is a very old card that Pink Lady received from a school friend in the 1970's. This is from Saint-Jean de Monts, near Nantes on the West coast of France. Another place that Pink Lady has not yet been to...

St. Cyr

This card was from Véronique (mentioned in a previous post). This is also from the South of France, this is the village of St. Cyr. Pink Lady has not - yet- been there...

Mirmande 2

This is a street scene from Mirmande - how charming!

Mirmande 1

This card shows the village of Mirmande, near Lyon in the South of France. Pink Lady had only one French friend while living in Paris (all the rest were foreigners, i.e. non-French like herself). Véronique's grand father was the Mayor of Mirmande. He had a huge old stone house there. Pink Lady spent a weekend there and loved it - she probably never ate better! They went to the best restaurant in the village and of course got amazing service because they were with the Mayor.

But what's even more amazing is that such a small village even has such restaurants. Let's just say that Finland is....very different.

Sightseeing 2

Another card of some of the famous sights of Paris. From left to right and from top down:

• the Moulin Rouge cabaret
• the Place de la Condorde
• Hôtel de Ville
• the Opera house

Sightseeing 1

This card shows some of the famous sights of Paris. From left to right and top down:

• the Eiffel tower (1889)
• the Notre-Dame cathedral (1260)
• the Sacré-Coeur church (1910)
• the Triumphal Arch of l'Etoile (1836)
• the Triumphal Arch of le Carrousel (1808)
• the Opera house (1875)
• la Madeleine church (1806)
• the Dome church of the hôtel des Invalides (1706)

Opéra

This card is a drawing showing the Paris Opera house. Pink Lady has not yet been inside to see an opera or a ballet....someday....

Places des Tertre

This card shows the Place des Tertre.

Quay

This card shows the famous Quays* of Paris. There are kiosks selling books and prints along the Seine. The Notre Dame cathedral is in the back.

* wharf usually built parallel to the shoreline

Sorbonne

This card shows the Sorbonne University. Well, one of the buildings. The university is these days spread out throughout Paris. This is the building where the big lecture hall is. Pink Lady used to take some classes there and in the winter the lecture hall was so cold that she would wear a winter coat, hat and gloves to the lectures! But the hall certainly is beautiful. Pink Lady took some classes on French literature, culture and history and also linguistics applied to teaching French for foreigners.

Moulin Rouge

The hugely famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Pink Lady has not yet been inside the cabaret, it is quite expensive and Pink Lady was a poor student when she lived in Paris. There are, however, some nice, inexpensive shops in the area: Pink Lady's Hubby found some nice jeans and T-shirts in the area.

Fontaine de Medicis

This is one of Pink Lady's fave places in the whole world - the Fontaine de Medicis at the Jardin de Luxembourg (the Luxembourg Gardens) in Paris.

When living in Paris, Pink Lady would often come here to read or to have a piquenique etc. She in fact lived right across the street from this park. She lived on the Boulevard St. Michel in the Fifth arrodissement - right in the heart of the Quarier Latin, i.e. the Latin Quarter.

Pink Lady and Hubby also went on a pilgrimage to this park and fountain when they visited Paris together. They had a lovely piquenique there - eventhough it was February!

In the words of Ernest Hemingway: Paris is a "moveable feast".

Montmartre

Another beautiful post card from Montmartre in Paris.

Sur le pont d'Avignon

One more famous French children's song: Sur le pont d'Avignon i.e. on the Avignon bridge. It's about beautiful ladies and gentlemen dancing on the bridge.

Pink Lady has not - yet - been to Avignon. This was a card from a friend. Note the use of the word yet. This was something that Pink Lady first heard from the husband of her Italian teacher at University. She met him at a friend's wedding. He asked Pink Lady if she spoke some language and Pink Lady replied that she did not. And he then said: "I see, not YET!".

The habit of using the word yet has remained. Pink Lady will often say e.g. "I can't afford to buy that car yet" or "I have not been to Tahiti yet" or "I am not a millionaire yet". You get the point. Just saying "I have not been to Tahiti" is boring - but saying that you have not yet been implies that you will some day, and that's really exciting! What we say is important: if you don't mean it or don't want it, don't say it.

Frère Jacques

Another immensely popular French children's song: Frère Jacques i.e. Brother John. This has been translated into many languages - even Finnish.

J'ai du bon tabac

This post card gives the lyrics to a traditional French children's song. I don't know how suitable it is for children since the song is about one guy having some good tobacco and about not wanting to give any to the other guy! I guess the French are not so much into being "PC" i.e. politically correct.

Pink Lady used to sing this in school. She went to the only French school in Finland and was speaking French from age 4. She in fact learned to read and write in French before learning to do so in Finnish (her native language). So in some ways, Pink Lady (or should it be La Dame Rose?) is culturally also French.

Moving on up

These are stairs in Montmartre. What's so beautiful about Paris is that all the little details are beautiful: the lamp posts, the garbage cans, the man holes, the newspaper kiosks, the entrances to the metro, etc. Why should practical things be ugly? It cost no more to make them beautiful - good taste costs nothing.

Au clair de la lune

When Pink Lady and Hubby were in Paris for a long weekend in February of 2007, there was an amazing full moon - just like in this postcard. The photo shows the famous roofs of Paris.

Pink Lady and Hubby danced the waltz under the full moon, to the sounds of an accordeon player, behind the Notre Dame cathedral, on the way to the Isle St. Louis for dinner.

La Boheme

This is the Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart) Church in the Montmartre area of Paris. And the portrait painters and other artists in the forefront. The amazing thing about Paris is that it never seems to change. Pink Lady lived in Paris for a year and then did not visit for a long time. When she went back after 20 years, the only thing that seemed to have changed was that the students had cell phones and laptops!

See the pyramids along the nile...

This is the glass pyramid at the Louvre museum. Also seen in the movie "The Da Vinci Code".

Paris!!!

Paris is one of Pink Lady's favourite cities in the world. This card was bought on her first trip to Paris together with Hubby. This was to celebrate Pink Lady's B-day 2 years ago.
Pink Lady will not post cards of Paris and also of France in general. Enjoy!

Confucius say...

Confucius say...hungry man who stand on top of mountain waiting for roast duck to fly in mouth...will be waiting for very long time... ;-)

This is the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong. It was built in his honour. The temple was first built in 478 B.C. and is another World Heritage site.

Forbidden fruit

This is the Forbidden City. Officially it's now known as the Palace Museum. This is one more place that Pink Lady has visited several times. The Forbidden City is the biggest cluster of wooden buildings in the world. It is included in the World Heritage list.

We are the hollow men

This is of course the terra-cotta army in Xian. Pink Lady's friends visited it while Pink Lady was in China and ol' Pink did not "feel like going" that day. She's still not been...but she will...

On Golden Pond

This is West Lake in Zhejiang, to the West of Hangzhou. This is one of the most famous scenic areas in China.

Still falling...

This is the Jiuzhaigou scenic area in Sichuan. According to the back of the postcard, the area has: "emerald lakes, multi-layered waterfalls, lush forests and snowcapped mountains with Tibetan culture and customs." Sounds great....yet another place to add on Pink Lady's list of places to visit.

We all fall down

This is the Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou, China. It is the biggest waterfall in China at 70 meters high and 81 meters wide during the flood season. Pink Lady has not (yet!) seen these falls.

The Great Wall 24

The Great Wall at Jiankou.

Great Wall 23

Shanhaiguan Pass.

Great Wall 22

It's completely incredible the way it climbs up over the mountains. I can't imagine how they actually built it.

Great Wall 21

The Great Wall at Badaling. What a beautiful sunset!

Great Wall 20

Great Wall at Jiankou.

Great Wall 19

The Great Wall at Gubeikou.

Great Wall 18

The Great Wall at Huangyaguan Pass.

Great Wall 17

The Great Wall at Mutianyu.

Great Wall 16

Great Wall at Jinshanling.

Great Wall 15

Another amazingly gorgeous card! This is the Great Wall at Mutianyu.

Great Wall 14

Great Wall at Badaling. You can see some of the tourist action near the bottom.

Great Wall 13

This might be even more beautiful than the previous one - I love the colours! This is the Great Wall at Jiankou.

Great Wall 12

This is one of my favourites. I just love that mist. This is the Great Wall at Jinshanling.

Great Wall 11

The Great Wall at Simatai.

Great Wall 10

Great Wall at Wangjinglou.

Great Wall 9

Great Wall 8

The Great Wall at Simatai.