Abu Dhabi in 36 hours

Although we all would had happily spent another day at the pool in the desert resort, Expat Mum was not about to miss the opportunity to visit the Abu Dhabi Louvre built on Saadiyat Island (the island of happiness), a natural 27-km² island a third of the size of Paris.

Oh, then there is Ferrari world, how could my Italian husband miss that experience? We had to see the Presidential Palace "Qaṣr Al-Waṭan" (Arabic for “Palace of the Nation”) that opened up to the public just last year. So many things to explore and such little time! Who said all you can do is shop in the UAE?

The next morning we were off to see the Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque. Reminiscent of the Taj Mahal with its white marble domes, the building was completed in 2008 and combines Mamluk, Ottoman and Fatimid styles. We skipped the Wat Al Karama, the Qasr Al Hosn, the Emirate Palace and the Heritage village in order to catch our plane back to Paris at 1am in the morning... but I did need to buy at least one little item just before leaving the UAE!

Albeit my initial impression of this country being sterile and artificial, I came to enjoy the divers mixture of people, the soft climate and the lullaby of the Arabian vibes.

A comment I read made me smile: "Dubai is like a high school kid trying to hang out with working adults, it copies them but lacks the experience and similar goals and lifestyles to actually be one of them." However, the Emirates has a great potential, and I will always have a soft spot for it, as the standard of living was by many means OTT and the people heartwarmingly friendly.

Wouldn't it be nice if Paris' Louvre pyramid would be surrounded by palm trees?

A very happy Expat with Kids has made it to the Louvre in Abu Dhabi!

Now, if only I could read Arabic!

Change of gear... Ferrari World here we come...

... always with style!

Ferrari World looks much better from the outside if you want my honest opinion.

Qaṣr Al-Waṭan: prior to its opening to the public in 2019, the palace was used only for official purposes, namely hosting foreign leaders of states, and for meetings of the country's supreme council and federal cabinet.

Great photo ops

Breathtaking interior

This is what I call an Arabian sunset!

Abu Dhabi's skyscrapers reflecting the sunset

Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque, even for people with little interest in religion, this landmark building is worth visiting for the architecture alone.

Waiting for Aladdin to turn up on his flying carpet.

The one and only object I bought throughout my trip to the Emirates decorating my fridge in Paris

It's just an illusion...

An invitation to the Musée de l'Illusion popped up on my facebook feed... that's weird I have not heard of this museum before. A bit of googling confirms it has opened just one month ago. There is no excuse I gather my girlfriends and we are off to explore.

Turns out it is not really a museum rather a few rooms scattered over two floors hidden under a scaffolding in the 1st arrondissement. Our first impression is a rather spartan space but as we go along with the interactive experiences and shoot the photos we are invited to take from a specific place in each section the fun gets better and better.

The parcours exercised our little grey cells by providing a scientific and rational explanation for what our eyes could neither explain nor understand. Every corner of the museum taught us extraordinary things about our vision, our perception and the functioning of our intellect. The goal was to discover why our eyes perceive things that are incomprehensible to our brain.

My first is surreal, my second is as educational as it is playful and my third is unique curiosity. Who am I?..... An optical illusion!

Of the three of us, I was the only one brave enough to jump into an illusion created by the Vortex Tunnel that at first was fun but then drove me slightly crazy as I made my way forward stepping through what seemed a slowly rotating cylinder. What began as a light-headed sensation turned into a real struggle – and yet the surface was completely stable and flat!

For over an hour our reliance on senses were tricked and as we entered the fascinating world of illusions we were confused and amazed... and ultimately also educated!

It's all about deceiving your eyes and entertaining the mind! Definitely worth a try but be sure to visit at a time without too many people, and take your camera with you.

Having fun in the smart playroom

Vortex Tunnel: more challenging than I thought!!!

Can you see him?

Feeling slightly sick looking down into the void.

It's all about illusions!

Charlotte Perriand, pioneer of modernity

When your BFF comes to town the best place to take her is the Fondation Louis Vuitton. It is an outing that combines trendiness, beauty, art, culture, nature and food all in one!

Little did I know about Charlotte Perriand, a French architect and designer, but that wouldn't really matter because the magnificent building is so impressive whatever is inside will be just fine.

Boy was I in for a surprise... who knew that this multitalented artist was Le Corbusier's sidekick... or shall I say his famous chair was actually designed by a woman named Charlotte Perriand? Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society. Her approach to design included taking in the site and appreciating it for what it was.

Charlotte Perriand wanted to work for Le Corbusier and pursue serial production and low-cost housing. She was inspired by Le Corbusier's books, because she thought his writings that criticized the decorative arts aligned with the way she designed. When she applied to work at Le Corbusier's studio in October 1927, she was famously rejected with the reply "We don't embroider cushions here." A month later, Le Corbusier came across her work while visiting the Salon d'Automne, which convinced him to offer her a job in furniture design.

At Le Corbusier's studio, she was in charge of their interiors work and promoting their designs through a series of exhibitions. Perriand described the work as being highly collaborative between Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and herself; they were "three fingers on one hand."

I spent three hours strolling in and out of gallery halls exploring the links between art, architecture and design by a pioneer of modernity, a leading figure of the twentieth century design, who contributed to the definition of a new art de vivre.

Charlotte Perriand truly invented a New World as the exhibition's title promised. It was a pleasure to be taken on the journey of her long, productive, fascinating life.

Recognise the chair and the chaise-longue in front of Fernand Leger's painting?

Charlotte adored Isamu Noguchi's lanterns

A miniature model of Charlotte's world

Snapshot of the past

Avangarde, timeless and so up-to-date

A page out of Charlotte Perriand's scrapbook

The embodiment of Charlotte's vision of a “synthesis of the arts”

Perfect layout for today's chambre de bonne on the 6th floor!

How small, simple and functional can a kitchen be?

My absolute favourite: "Le refuge tonneau" is a

transportable mountain igloo with the interior space of 8m2 built in 1938!

The artist's concepts were in high demand and she worked on many projects from ski resorts to student housing.

Charlotte Perriand put into practice the concept of prefabrication where all components were prefabricated and organized around a tubular steel frame. 

The refuge camp for 6 people had everything you needed to stay toasty on a cold winter night.

Charlotte Perriand looks like quite a character! 

In 1940 the artist sails for Japan where she has been appointed as an advisor on industrial design to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The teahouse she designed in 1993 in the garden of UNESCO’s global headquarters in Paris, is an affectionate homage to the ones she had visited in Japan.

"La maison au bord de l'eau" never saw physical execution un til the LV foundation decided to give it a go. The plans for "the house by the water" were first drafted over eighty years ago, in 1934.

The inside living space... 

... and the original sketch by Charlotte Perriand.

Frank Gehry's dream

Enough of Napoli for now... even though I cannot get enough of taking pictures of one the most densely populated cities in Europe.

Not one to be stopped by the current transportation strike that has been plaguing Paris for the past 44 days, I hopped on an electrical scooter and headed for the Foundation Louis Vuitton located on the west side of Paris. Much to my surprise my trottinette died on me as soon as I hit the famous Bois de Boulogne. Who knew these things not only had geo-locators but also remote control mechanisms to block them?

Rather disappointed I walked through the woods to reach the magnificent museum sponsored by the luxury group LVMH to promote art and culture.

From an initial sketch drawn on a paper napkin to the transparent cloud sitting at the edge of the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne, Frank Gehry constantly sought to "design, in Paris, a magnificent vessel symbolising the cultural calling of France".

In a unique, emblematic and bold building with 3,600 panels of glass curved to the nearest millimetre forming the Fondation's twelve sails and 19,000 panels of Ductal (fibre-reinforced concrete), each one unique, that give the iceberg its immaculate whiteness, Frank Gehry pushed back the boundaries of conventional architecture.

It took 13 years from Bernard Arnault's meeting with Frank Gehry after visiting the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to the grand opening in 2014 but Paris now has a first-class flagship with a surface area of 11,000 m². 

But beware, the Bourse de Commerce, a private museum for rival luxury goods billionaire François Pinault's collection, is scheduled to open in June 2020.

All you need is a dream...

A vision appears through the trees...

... it's Frank Gehry's white sailboat.

A front view of the Louis Vuitton Foundation

It reflects pure luxury on every level 

Even on a dreary day the view onto Le Jardin d'Acclimatation and La Defense is spectacular.

The Eiffel Tower on the horizon.

My favourite spots are the many terrasses on different levels.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

November week in pictures

Taking advantage of all Paris has to offer and enjoying the vibes all while ignoring the agressive cars honking, the unfriendly waiters serving and the looming general strike ahead!

Friday morning breakfast on the Eiffel tower and the sun is shining...

Paris on its best behaviour!

Visit to the French National Library on a Saturday afternoon.

Discovering the art in Paris' metro stations.

A Sunday afternoon stroll with Paris dressed in autumn colours.

Monday night and I'd rather walk than take the metro.

A cultural evening out at the Grand Palais followed by ...

... un chocolat chaud entre copines at the bistro around the corner.

Wednesday evening the lights went out for a second in our arrondissement... that was a first!

Thursday is Thanksgiving and the preparations are in full swing

Friday at the Swedish Christmas market looking for goodies...

... and discovering new parts of town.

Saturday morning and Expat Boy brought back a Milanese panettone!