Three days?

The Big Red Bus for a city highlights reconnaissance just to get the bearings. The Eiffel Tower’s pretty sparkles, preferably viewed from the top of the Trocadero. The Arc de Triumph and a prayer for the unnamed soldier beneath. The Champs Élysées for fabulous Xmas fairy lights, Laudree Macarons, the Louis Vuitton Flagship store, Ferrari, Mont Blanc and Sephora.

The Grand and the Petite Palais for pure palace awesomeness. Palace Opera’s ornate mirrored glitz and bodaciously luxe tassels. The Louvre – Mona’s wing. Notre Dame, stand on point zero and admire her pure majesty. Sacre Coeur up there on the hill, mounted by the stairs, followed by a wander through the artists (at non peak to avoid the hustlers). Galleries la Fayette for that stunning domed ceiling. Fueled with plenty of fortification while seated on those cute little red wicker chairs on the Bistro footpaths of course.

Five days?

Add a day trip to Chateau de Versailles for an even bigger palace fix. Napoleon’s Tomb , Place de Voges, the Musee de Orsay, L’Orangerie and Pompidou for extra hits of visual culture. A wander in the Jardins des Tuileries and Jardins des Luxembourg to park your green chair wherever takes your fancy amidst the lush gardens, ponds, statues and Sunday boules players. The Latin Quarter. Bon Marche for the pleasure of feeling your credit card’s sphincter muscle contract. Fueled by still more French fare and people watching over a glass of wine or five.

 Already ticked these boxes? Time to dig a little deeper into the less touristy fare. My top 10 suggestions:

1) Rue de l’Abreuvoir –  it would be remiss to neglect this picturesque road as you wander around Montmartre, followed by Avenue Junot, very chic and along here you will find ‘Pass-muraille’ – the man who could walk through walls.

2) The Je t’aime wall – while still in the region, wander Place des Abbesses, find the small public garden (Square Johan Rictus) and admire ‘Le mur des Je t’aime’  where you’ll find ‘I love you’ written in 311 languages…tres romantic in the city of…well um…romance? For more detail: Jacques and Jane discover the Je T’aime wall

3) Le Moulin de la Gallete – while still in the Montmartre region you’ll find this elegant sister to the Moulin Rouge. One of only two other windmills left in Paris, this one houses a rather elegant restaurant.

4) Space invaders – always, look up as you traverse the more densely populated Arrondissement for high on the walls you will find pixel art mosaic space invaders. Over 1,182 in Paris alone, the brainchild of an anonymous French artist known only as Invader. A tiny buzz each time you find one and a lot less embarrassing than chasing Pokemon. A previous post: Who loves Space Invaders?

5) Porte Saint-Denis and Porte Saint-Martin. Aside from the well-known arches on the ‘Triumphal Way’  (Arc de Triomphe Carrousel, Arc de Triomphe, La Defense), these lesser-known arches are slap dab in the middle of densely populated streets and worth checking out just for their sheer audaciousness.

6) The Louis Vuitton Foundation – oh yes, architect Frank Gehry stretching our minds yet again with one of his most magnificent pieces to date. Right up there with the late great Zaha Hadid.

7) Rue des Rosiers for the Falafels – in Le Marais, my fave Arrondissement where the effortlessly minimalist chic Parisian hangs, particularly cool on a Sunday when the closed streets fill with said chic as they wander the many wine bars and boutiques.

8) Rue Montorgueil on a Friday eve – closed to cars, the street filled with French food open market specialties, from rare Fromage to giant meringues, even rarer chocolate to escargot. Speaking of; check out L’Escargot Bistro for the delicious molluscs for which the restaurant is named (and where I celebrated a milestone birthday and thus can vouch for).

9) The Passages – some quaint, many architecturally magnificent, a few in states of disrepair and all quite special. Check out Passages du Grand Cerf, Galerie Vivienne, Passage Jouffroy and Passages des Panoramas for starters. See more here:   Coffee, cats and more Passages and Loving Parisian Passages

10) A concert in Sainte-Chapelle – within the Palais de la Cite, on the Ill de la Cite and in the heart of Paris. Lazy afternoon light filtering through the most magnificent stained glass windows suffuses an atmosphere that, combined with the pure acoustics of the Chapel itself, may just bring a tear to your eyes. Pure joy.

Enjoy my friends, enjoy. And come back safe.xx

P.S. If you’d like to take in the most magnificent view that actually includes the Eiffel Tower, head to the Montparnasse Tower Panoramic Observation Deck, spectacular!

So what was the highlight of your trip?’

Given my little trip was a nine-day Japan Classics with an agenda as packed as a pub on a public holiday, and covering a mere fraction of what Japan has to offer – just being in a country where my grasp on the language was zero was a highlight. So too, experiencing the inhabitants treating their land, each other and you with the most profound respect. Where food presentation, delivery and consummation is an art form, slurping considered a compliment and chopstick placement significant. Where Mt Fuji, a deity, is referred to as shy, where deer bow for favours, temples abound, and blossoms have deep significance. Almost 100% literacy rate, unemployment at just 4%, and the second-lowest homicide rate in the world. What’s not to love?

Three Highlights

1) The ‘Symphony of Light’ Kimonos

Itchiku Kubota wanted to live to be 120. That’s how long the textile master estimated it would take him to complete his life’s work: a series of elaborately handcrafted kimonos that, when hung side by side, will form a panorama celebrating the four seasons and the cosmos.

At the age of 14, Kubota began studying yuzen (rice-paste resist), six years later stumbling across a 350-year-old fragment of elegantly patterned cloth in the Tokyo National Museum. ‘Trembling in the face of such mastery and refinement’ he related, he stood transfixed for three hours. ‘I encountered a source of boundless creativity which revealed to me my calling’.

Later, incarcerated in a Siberian prisoner of war camp, he observed sunsets that he hoped one day to emulate on his kimonos using the technique he’d identified on that tiny piece of cloth – tsujigahana. A complicated method of tie-dyeing embellished with intricate embroidery, elaborate brush painting, sumi ink drawing and gold-leaf application. Post-release, 20 years attempting to replicate that lost art, Kubota eventually perfected his particular technique, referred to as ‘illusionary dyeing.

Each Kimono takes up to two years to complete, an atelier of artisans to help and 40 of his intended 80, called the ‘Symphony of Light’ can be found at the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, a gallery he built to showcase the work. Hung side by side, the kimonos create a panoramic landscape, the intricacy of each taking my breath away. It will you too. His son continues the collection. Impressive!

2) Onsen Ryokan at the foot of Mt Fuji

Love bathing? Indulging in an Onsen (hot springs) ritual is absolutely sublime. One must enter entirely naked, armed with just a small washcloth, perch on little stools with a shower hose and wooden bucket, soap and scrub up and, once squeaky-clean, only then enter the hot springs. Wallow, cool, rinse, repeat. My rooftop onsen faced Mt Fuji, shy as she was that eve, but I didn’t care, for as the rain gently fell on my face, there was something deeply spiritual about losing all sense of self-consciousness and giving oneself up to the meditative waters.

Post bathing, wrapped in yukata (a simple cotton belted kimono – standard wear in Ryokans – I could get used to this!), toe socks and sporting wooden platform slippers, feasting and sipping saki while reclining languidly on tatami mats with fellow travellers made for weary relaxation, the day culminating in a deep sleep beneath soft feathers on floor-bound futons. An experience unique to Japan and an absolute must. We stayed at the Fuji View Hotspring Spa Hotel and later, Biwako Hanakaido, Lake Biwa. As for Mt Fuji herself? There she was in all her glory the following sparkling bright morning. Breathtaking!

3) Miho Museum

Sure the museum houses ancient, priceless artefacts from Egypt, Western and Southern Asia, Greece, Rome and China collected by the founder Mihoko Koyama and at the time of our visit, a magnificent exhibit of masks, but it’s the approach to the museum that particularly enthralled.

Visitors travel down a walkway lined with cherry trees, pass through a tunnel (forcing their way through the myriad of folk kneeling to capture the cherry blossom reflection upon its steel lining), before emerging to cross a bridge leading to the museum. It’s a harmonious blend of architecture and natural beauty, built into a vibrant backdrop of seasonal colours and based on a sweet little story.

Architect I.M. Pei, yes the same man who built the glass pyramids at the Louvre in Paris, was inspired by the ethereal utopia described in an ancient Chinese work written by Tao Yuanming call the Taohua Yuan Ji (The Peach Blossom Spring).

Taohua Yuan Ji tells the tale of a fisherman who roams into a grotto after being drawn in by the fragrant scent of forest and peach blossom and, emerging from the other side, finds an idyllic village of inhabitants who all live joyfully and welcome him. Upon completion, Pei was surprised, and overwhelmed to discover he’d built his vision upon the actual site depicted in the book. Perfection! Miho Museum

So many more wonders to share, but I’d love to hear yours lovely readers – please drop your favourites in the comments box – Arigatou gozaimasu! (Thank you)

Being blinded by The Kinkaku (The Golden Pavilion) / Rokuon-Ji Temple

Marvelling at the Tsujigahana-Dyed Kimonos in the ‘Symphony of Light’ exhibit at the Itchiku Kubota Museum, simply breathtaking. Stay tuned for the full story. (Oh! And photos sadly not permitted, this one found on Google)

Wallowing in hot springs and feasting while lounging in comfy Yukata and socks

Capturing the last of the cherry blossom reflections on the interior of the tunnel leading to the Miho Museum, an Architecturally astounding complex housing ancient Asian artefact (Stay tunes for full story)

Being overwhelmed at the sheer magnificence of Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple after a 5am start to beat the crowds.

Falling in love with this dancing beauty, that umbrella money shot, this prayer station.

Strolling through the Bamboo forest, with a billion fellow tourists and rewarded with honey ice cream.

Being almost templed out by day’s end at the Osaka Castle Park followed by a whole raft of feasting -but that’s a story for another day.