Вихідні в Києві (Weekend in Kiev)

Like Warsaw, I saw Kiev as a good budget destination during peak tourist season in Europe. Added to that, the city offered a somewhat more challenging visit (at least by European standards), as there is considerably less English spoken by the locals or displayed on the streets. Fortunately, when the city hosted the European football championships in 2012, they added the basic Latin alphabet to (major) street signs and outdoor tourist maps. (I tried to study the Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet before leaving, but it's not easy, as its letters do not transliterate to Latin letters on a one-to-one basis.)

Despite the ongoing conflict in the eastern Ukraine, Kiev was relatively safe. Various travel websites warned of corrupt police that would pester tourists for bribes, but those warnings must have been outdated, because I found that most of the police officers tried to avoid me altogether (I think they were worried that I would ask them for directions in English).

Day 1

My hotel was located next to the Independence Square, so I started the first day by checking out Kreshchatyk Street. I was expecting a touristy street lined with high end shops, but it felt more like a regular commercial street with everyday stores (e.g. grocery stores, fast food outlets, mid-range clothing stores). I'm not sure why some tourist websites list it as a place to visit, but perhaps they were referring to the underground shopping area close to the square. Nevertheless, there are underground shopping areas scattered around Kiev and the one near Kreshchatyk didn't stand out from the rest of them.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The Independence Monument stands in the center of the square, with my hotel (Ukraine Hotel) to the right. This square was the site of several political protests, including the 2004 Orange Revolution. At the moment, there are displays commemorating those who lost their lives here during the Euromaidan protests of 2013-2014.

From the square, I walked northwest towards Saint Sophia's Cathedral and then further north into Old Kiev. While Kiev is a geographically large and hilly city, it turns out that most of its historical landmarks are clustered close together and within a (relatively) short walking distance, so most of its sites were easy to reach on foot.

The exterior of Saint Sophia's Cathedral. The cathedral is part of a larger complex which includes a bell tower (which also acts as a gate to the complex), a refectory, a library, a school and park space.

The interior of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. This was one of two side-altars that were centered by a slightly larger service space. None of the cathedrals and monasteries that I visited in Kiev had seating, such that everyone attended the services standing (except for older seniors).

The centipede cats at Peysazhna Alleia (Landscape Alley). This was one of several colourful sculptures in which you could sit and relax. This area was more appropriate for children, but it offered a unique experience that contrasted from the Byzantine architecture of Kiev's cathedrals.

The exterior of St. Andrew's Church. When I went inside, I walked into the middle of a very small wedding ceremony (aside from the priest, the couple and two witnesses, there was only myself and three other tourists crowded in a small interior). The beginning of the Andriyivsky Uzviz (Andriyivsky Descent) is to the left of the church. The descent is a winding, steeply sloped street lined with vendors selling various local goods (mostly clothing and handmade crafts). 

After Old Kiev, I took the subway to Mariinsky Park. While I could have walked the distance, it was already 35°C and very humid by mid-afternoon such that the sweltering heat was slowing me down. Plus, the closest subway stop to the park was Arsenalna, which is currently the deepest subway station in the world. This was only noticeable in that it took two very long escalators to get from the ground entrance to the subway platform.

Mariinsky Park contains several monuments to past Ukrainians and related events. Pictured is the January Uprising Monument.

Further south is Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves). This monastery is a very large complex containing 11 churches and four museums amongst several gardens and administration buildings. Pictured is one of the smaller churches, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, with one of the monastery's cemeteries in the foreground.

Further south is the Rodina-Mat (the Motherland Monument). This was like a Ukrainian version of the Statue of Liberty, only taller and shinier.

Due to the slower pace of the day, I did not have time to visit any of the museums at Pechersk Lavra or the Museum of the History of the Ukraine in World War II (underneath the Rodina-Mat), but I figured I could make a quick stop elsewhere during the next day.

Day 2

I went back to the Mariinsky Park area on the second day, but on the opposite side where I could visit the National Art Museum of Ukraine. The museum is small, but it contained a wide range of both classical and contemporary art by Ukrainian artists.

In the National Art Museum of Ukraine, this is a memorial painting to O. Venetsianov, by Halyna Borodai.

In the National Art Museum of Ukraine, this is Irodiada, by Anatoliy Petrytskyi.

Next to Mariinsky Park and Mariinsky Palace is the Ukrainian Parliament.

 

On the way back to the airport, I stopped by St. Volodymyr's Cathedral. The Eastern Orthodox churches in the city appear to have less formal scheduling for masses, because most of them had services running non-stop, with a continual flow of patrons coming and going as they pleased.

The front of St. Volodymyr's Cathedral.



Near the cathedral is the Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park, with a monument to the artist in the center. In the other direction is an interesting red Greco-Roman building of the Taras Shevchenko University.

So that was Kiev in a weekend. I'll admit that the city was not as interesting as most of my previous travels, but this was partly caused by the hot weather slowing me down and preventing me from visiting as many sites as I normally would have. Still, I enjoyed taking on a slightly more challenging European destination and experiencing a city with a more eastern flavour (Warsaw felt very westernized). I should also mention that the tourist traffic in Kiev was very light and the vast majority of tourists were from eastern Europe, such that I often felt like I was the only westerner in the whole city at the time.

Dwa Dni w Warszawie (Two Days in Warsaw)

I picked Warsaw as a destination in late July because it was more affordable in peak season than the more westerly European cities and because I hoped that it would offer cooler, drier weather than the humid summer days in Paris. While it certainly was more affordable, the weather was less cooperative on the first day (33°C and high humidity) but cooled down on the second (21°C).

Day 1

I started the first day at the Pałac Kultury i Nauki (Museum of Culture and Science) but only for the view and not the exhibits. The museum's building is the tallest in Warsaw and the eighth tallest in Europe, so it allowed a comprehensive view of the city before I took a more detailed look. North of there is the Ogrod Saski (Saxon Gardens), which contained a mix of fountains, statues and well-trimmed grass with flowers. Since the park is in the middle of Warsaw, it was more crowded than I would have liked for a quiet walk, but at least it provided shade from a suprisingly hot sun that day.

Ogrod Saski (Saxon Gardens) viewed from Plac Piłsudskiego (Pilsudskiego Square). The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier would be seen in the opposite direction.

Further north is the old town in Warsaw. Most buildings in the old town were painted in a tone that would contrast with the adjacent buildings, giving the streets a colourful but tasteful look.

The interior of Kościół św. Anny (St. Anne's Church). This was one of the more impressive church interiors that I've seen, with the dark wood contrasting with the light walls and brass fixtures. My camera could not do this justice.

Plac Zamkowy (Castle Square). On the left is Sigimund's Column (a monument to Sigimund III Vasa) and on the right is the Royal Castle.

Rynek Starego Miasta (Old Town Market Place). At the center of the square is the Warsaw Mermaid, a bronze sculpture by Konstanty Hegel, which also acts as a fountain with water running from underneath.

West of the old town was the Plac Krasińskich (Krasinski Square), which contained the Warsaw Uprising Monument as well as the Krasinski Palace. Unfortunately, the exterior of the palace was under heavy renovation and covered with scaffolding, and the interior was not accessible that day, but there was a beautiful garden behind the palace which again offered some shade and a break from the sun. There were also several museums in the area and I had enough time to visit the Museum of the History of Polish Jews (located on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto), which covered the difficult history that Polish Jews suffered from the 12th century to the 1940's.

In the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, this is a reconstructed bimah.

The Warsaw Uprising Monument in Krasinski Square.

My plan was to head south and visit Lazienkowksi Park, but on the way, the sky quickly went from lightly clouded to heavily dark-clouded and then a thunderstorm arrived within 20 minutes. It was already about 6:30pm by then, so my day wasn't lost but cut short by two hours.

Nowy Swiat (New World Street) right before a thunderstorm. This street is lined with overpriced shops and restaurants catering to moderate-heavy tourist traffic.

Day 2

I used the morning of the second day to visit Lazienkowski Park. The park contains some gardens, very small palaces and other chalets, but they're spread far enough apart that the area feels more like a park than a palace.

This is a shot of the large pond in Ujazdowski Park, just north of Lazienkowski Park. This park was more tranquil than its northern neighbour, as it wasn't overrun with tourists. Don't ask what the crow at the bottom is eating.  

The Orangerie in Lazienkowski Park. This was shot facing away from a small art museum containing the Roman sculptures collected by the royal family.

Lazienki Palace (also called the Palace on the Water). This palace is so small that it appeared to be only one room in depth.

On the west side of the park is the Chopin Monument. I lucked out in that there was a public performance of Chopin's works right around the time that I was visiting. I uploaded an excerpt from Fantaisie Impromptu, although the wind caused some background noise in the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMjYKB2wpvI. I've been meaning to upload more videos to YouTube, but haven't found the time to do so yet.

The Chopin Monument during a public performance. The pianist was of course playing works composed by Chopin.

I had just enough time left before my flight to quickly visit the Zamek Królewski (Royal Castle) in Warsaw. After visiting various palaces in Paris, Vienna and Stockholm, I'm finding that the monarchs of 18th and 19th century Europe must have visited one another often and shared design notes, because the layout and style of the most commonly occurring rooms (throne room, assembly hall, antechamber, council chamber, soldiers' room) were eerily similar.

Adjacent to (or part of) the Royal Castle is the Tin-Roofed Palace, which contains a collection of oriental rugs (like those pictured) as well as the apartments of Prince Józef Poniatowski.

The Knight's Hall in the Royal Castle in Warsaw.  

So that was a weekend in Warsaw. The city offered a great mix of parks, palaces and landmarks, although I didn't get to see a football match due to rescheduling (Leggia Warsaw played a cup match earlier in the week so their weekend league match was bumped to late Sunday evening). I'll also point out that the city had some of the newest streets and public transit that I've seen in Europe, giving Warsaw a very modern and pristine feel. It's also worth mentioning that this city has by far and away the most talented buskers in Europe; I came across several violinists, accordionists and pianists, most of whom played as if they were aspiring professionals (or professionals out of work), capturing the mood and nuances of each composition that they played.

A Trip Through København, Stockholm and Helsinkiin

July 14 is Bastille Day in France, but rather than stay in Paris for the celebrations, I put the extra day off towards a five and half day trip through Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. This trip was more complicated in terms of logistics, as I used a different mode of transport between each city, but this gave me the chance to see the Swedish countryside, the archipelago outside of Stockholm as well as the Finnish coast, plus it forced me to slow down and relax for a few hours on each trip rather than try to pack too many activities into each long summer day.

Copenhagen

I arrived in Copenhagen after 6pm, expecting that there wouldn't be much to do except check into my hotel, but it was still very bright out, so I walked to the northeast part of the city where I could see a few landmarks. Along the way, I even visited the Rundetaarn (Round Tower), which is a large tower in the old part of the city. It was still open so I managed to climb up and get a good view of the city. The tower also offers access to a few historical exhibits and a small chapel. I then went further northeast to the Frederiksstaden part of the city.

Copenhagen's most famous landmark, Den Lille Havfrue (the Little Mermaid). The sculpture was created by Edvard Ericksen as a homage to the character in the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

The statue of Frederick V in the center of Amelionborg Palace. Amelionborg is actually a complex of four palaces all facing each other in this courtyard, and it also includes Frederick's Church which is just down the street.

 

The following day, I started by visiting the National Museum of Denmark, which contains a large number of artifacts from the history of Denmark going back as far as prehistoric times as well as various exhibits on Ancient Egypt, China, India and Africa. The subject of exhibits felt a bit random in relation to one another, but they were all well done. A block away from there is the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, an art museum containing a mix of Danish and French impressionist art as well as a disproportionately large amount of Greek and Roman sculptures. 

At the center of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is a small garden, which contains a beautiful sculpture: Water Mother by Kai Neilsen.

After the two museums, I walked through the Botanical Gardens, which were next to the gardens of Rosenborg Palace. The palace itself is small, but there are several uniquely decorated rooms to go with a small armoury and treasury that make it worth the visit. 

The Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen has a mix of naturally occurring plants and ponds with man-made paths and gardens that make for a relaxing park. The one downside is that the greenhouses appeared to be closed to the public.

One of the salons in Rosenborg Palace.

I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the central part of Copenhagen and passing by many of the secondary sites around the city, including the Christiansborg Palace (went up the tower for an ok view of the city), Copenhagen City Hall (the interior had an exhibition of modern art), and the Christians Kirke (it was closed by the time I got there). I also went to the Nyhavn (New Harbour), which is a waterfront lined with colourful old buildings. The area felt too touristy for me, but I think some people would like it for simply sitting at a waterfront café and people-watching.

The colourful buildings along Nyhavn.

While the days are long in the summer, most of the palaces and museums closed by 5pm, so I saved my visit to Tivoli for the evening. Tivoli is basically an amusement park peppered with some other entertainment venues (an open air theater, a concert stage, a casino, etc.). The lineups for the roller coaster and other exciting rides were too long, so I just rode the bumper boats and took in a show at the theater.


The theater at Tivoli. There was a peacock roaming around the flowerbed behind the stands and a lot of people (young and old) found the bird more interesting than the show, but most everyone came for the rides and not the theater anyway.



The next day, I had enough time to see the western part of Copenhagen. This part of the city is calmer and less touristy but still has a few sites to visit. I took a quick look at the Enghaven (a small park) before heading to the Carlsberg Brewery, which has a museum summarizing the history of the Carlsberg family and the Carlsberg brewing process. Of course, there were samples provided as well. After the brewery, I walked through the Søndermarken (a forest/park which was busy with a weekend crowd of locals) and on to the Fredericksberg Palace. The palace has a nice garden surrounding it, but the building itself did not appear to be open to the public. 

Carlsberg Brewery has the world's largest collection of unopened beer bottles. All of the bottles contain Carlsberg or Tuborg (also brewed by the Carlsberg family).

In the late afternoon, I took the train to Stockholm. The trip took over five hours, but it was a good chance to kick back and relax after two days scrambling around Copenhagen. The scenery was like most of Europe, a mix of forests and farmland, although occasionally the track would run close to the coast and you'd get a view of the Baltic Sea.

Stockholm (first part)

My first day in Stockholm was dedicated to the Gamla Stan (Old Town) area of the city. I started off by visiting the Stortorget (the public square in the old town) and came upon the Nobel Museum in the square. The museum wasn't on my to-do list but I was making good time that morning so I gave it a visit. It contained a few artifacts and displays of past Nobel Prize winners as well as the death mask of Alfred Nobel and a replica of his will (in which he creates the prize), but otherwise the museum was very small. If it weren't for the fact that the museum is moving and expanding in 2019, I think they would otherwise be better off merging into a larger museum.

At the Nobel Museum, the death mask of Alfred Nobel.

After the Nobel Museum, I visited the Kungliga Slottet (Royal Palace of Stockholm). The palace has four parts that you can visit: the Royal Apartments (comprised of the bedrooms, office, salons and meeting rooms of the royal family); the Treasury (containing crowns, swords and other ceremonial items); the Tre Kroner Museum (containing artifacts from medieval Sweden); and, the Museum of Antiquities (containing a few paintings and several sculptures of the royal family's art collection). Each one of the four seemed small on its own, but together they made for a comprehensive and diverse palace visit (comparable to Fontainebleau in Paris).

One of the salons in the Kungliga Slottet (Royal Palace).

The changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. 

 

After the Royal Palace, I viewed the Tyska Kyrkan (a church with a nice exterior but plain interior), walked through the Mårten Trotzigs Gränd (a plain narrow alley which is oddly a minor landmark for tourists) and then went to the Evert Taube Terrass. 



At the Evert Taube Terrass. The statue in the foreground is of Evert Taube, a famous Swedish author and musician. In the background is the Stadhuis (Stockholm City Hall).  

I also took a closer look at the exterior of the Stockholm Stadhuis. The building looks plain from a distance, but it has a pleasant courtyard in its center and there is a relaxing boardwalk along one side. I did not have time to visit the interior as I had to rush across the city to catch the Viking Cruise, which took me on an overnight cruise through the Stockholm archipelago and on to Helsinki. The views were nice, although the coastal area of Sweden and Finland is relatively flat (i.e. not mountainous).

Helsinki

I had about eight hours of free time in Helsinki before the Viking Cruise went back to Stockholm, so I was worried that I would have to forgo some significant sites in order to get back to the ship in time. This wasn't a problem, as Helsinki is geographically small enough that you can see the major sites in one day. While I never thought of Finland as a very religious country, it turns out a lot of the famous sites in its capital are churches.

The Uspenskin Cathedral in the east side of Helsinki. The church is closed on Mondays so I did not get to see the interior.

The Helsinki Cathedral (aka Lutheran Cathedral) in the center of Helsinki. This church is in the Senate Square and overlooks the Government Palace and the University of Helsinki. The interior was plain but very modern and pristine.

Heading from central Helsinki towards the west is the Esplandi Park. Pictured is a statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg (the national poet of Finland) at the center of the park.

The Kamppi Chapel of Silence has a very unique architecture. The interior is just as the exterior suggests, an oval shaped room with similar wood paneling, with a very small altar and a few pews. This is one of the most minimalist buildings I have ever seen on both the inside and outside.

The interior of the Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Rock Church) in the northwest part of the city. The church is built right into solid rock.

One of Helsinki's most famous landmarks is the Sibelius Monument in the Sibelius Park. The monument consists of 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern to reflect the music of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

 

It turns out Monday is the off-day for some buildings around Helsinki (like the Uspenskin Cathedral), so the Ateneum Art Museum was closed during my visit. Since I was able to see the major landmarks in less time than I expected and the museum was closed, I had enough time to take the ferry out to Suomenlinna, a series of islands south of Helsinki where a sea fortress was built in the 1700's. The islands were small enough that I was able to walk around six islands in under three hours. The fortress itself was a series of walls and small buildings made of grey bricks, built into the landscape.

The best photo I have of the Fortress of Suomenlinna was actually taken while I was on the Viking Cruise ship leaving Helsinki.

After returning from Suomenlinna, I had enough time to look around the Helsinki Market Square and try a local dish comprised of reindeer meatballs, reindeer sausage and potatoes covered in garlic sauce. The meat had a milder taste than deer, but it was moist and filling. If you're ever in Helsinki, I recommend trying it.

Stockholm (second part)

For my second leg in Stockholm, I visited the Djurgarden area in the eastern part of the city. Djugarden is a large park containing a wide variety of different museums and I decided to visit the two museums that were rated highest by tourist websites. (And no, I did not visit the Abba Museum although I did pass by and watch tourists posing with the cardboard cutouts of the band members.)

The Vasa Museum provides a good mix of the history behind a ship that sunk in Stockholm harbour on her maiden voyage in 1628, and the science of raising the ship back to the surface and preserving it with as many of her original materials as possible. Pictured is a model of the ship in front of the actual ship. The museum was too dark and the actual ship was too large for me to take a complete photo of it.

The Skansen Open Air Museum is a combination of many activities, including a museum on Swedish agricultural life in the 17th and 18th century, an aquarium, a open concert hall and a zoo containing animals native to Sweden. The reindeer in the zoo were much smaller than I expected (perhaps only three feet tall) and had shed most of their fur for the summer. They seemed domesticated but still cautious around me, probably on account of me still smelling of reindeer meatballs from Helsinki.

A shot of a quiet spot in the western part of Djurgarden. The Swedish geese are smaller than Canadian geese, but much less fearful of people. I was even able to stand next to a gosling without much hissing from the mother.

That was my five and a half days through three Nordic countries. Copenhagen ended up being one of the more interesting cities that I've visited, given the number and diversity of places to visit. Stockholm and Helsinki were also very engaging, although I think an extra day in Stockholm would have allowed me to get a more complete view of the city. The one other observation that I have to mention is that the people in Copenhagen and Stockholm seemed very different (at least anecdotally). Copenhagen had a small town feel to it, as many people would nod and smile to me as I walked by. The opposite was the case in Stockholm, where most people had a serious demeanour (like Paris, a lot of people just seemed to have a bitchy resting face).

Next up will be a short visit in Eastern Europe.

Les Excursions à Versailles et Fontainebleau (Daytrips to Versailles and Fontainebleau)

June is peak tourist season such that airfares and hotel rates have been much higher lately, so I've delayed my trips to other cities until July. On the plus side, the weather in Paris has finally warmed up. May was cool (if not chilly) on most days but June in Paris is hot (but usually also humid). To escape the city heat without flying to a cooler region, I've used the weekends to take separate excursions to the two largest palaces in the Paris area: Versailles and Fontainebleau.

Château de Versailles

The Palace of Versailles is just outside of Paris to the southwest. The palace was built in multiple phases by different French kings, so the salons, chambers and courtrooms of the interior include different styles depending on the time of construction and the monarch's personal tastes. While the palace has many beautifully decorated rooms, I found it difficult to appreciate them because of the overcrowding of tourists in most (but not all) rooms. The flow of traffic coincided with the length of recordings in the audio guides, so some rooms ended up being packed shoulder to shoulder as half the tourists stayed to listen to their audio guide while the other half (without guides) were trying to view the palace at a more constant pace.

Fortunately, the gardens of Versailles are so large that there was plenty of exterior space for everyone. I even had several groves/fountains to myself during the afternoon, although part of this may have been due to the fact that the Musical Fountain Show was on display that day so admission was charged to enter the gardens (they have free admission on days without the fountain show). I think the gardens stand out more for Versailles (compared to other palaces around Europe), as they were very large, well-trimmed and contained a wide variety of unique fountains.

The Fountain of Apollo's Chariot, with the Palace of Versailles in the distant background.

The Orangerie, with the western and southern sections of the palace in the background.

The most ornate fountain was in the Enceladus Grove. It depicts a titan getting buried under rocks, with the main fountain spouting from the giant's mouth. The grove is encircled by a trellis of flowers.

The Hall of Mirrors. This is the most famous room in the palace so it was constantly crowded. The glare from the sunlight also made it difficult to take a great photo. It was a few days after visiting Versailles that I discovered that it was in this room that Bismarck and the German princes from the Franco-Prussian War proclaimed a unified Germany.

The end wall and ceiling of the Coronation Room.

The Galerie des Batailles. The interior tour of Versailles follows a singular path, which only splits at the very end where one doorway goes to the palace exit and the other goes to this gallery. As a result, about 90% of tourists miss this room, but it's one of the most impressive in the palace. There are paintings of France's major victories (between the 5th and 19th centuries), with busts of key military generals flanked on each side of the painting.

After walking around for several hours inside the palace and outside around the gardens, I decided not to view the Grand Trianon or Marie-Antoinette's Estate. I figure I'll be back in Versailles another day to see the parts that I missed.

Château de Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau is a palace southeast of Paris (although about three times further away than Versailles). The palace was also built in multiple phases, but beginning from a much earlier date (around 1137), so there is much more history to this site. What surprised me was that while Versailles was overcrowded with tourists, Fontainebleau was sparsely attended. I'm guessing that on a limited travel schedule, most tourists will visit the most famous sites and exclude the second-best sites from their itineraries. This is unfortunate because in this case, Fontainebleau offers a more educational experience (there was more signage and more artifacts on display) and a more pleasant experience (if you're weary of crowds).

The one downside to Fontainebleau is that the gardens are relatively plain. In fact, large parts of the garden looked like an abandoned public park, with grass that had never been cut. This gave the English Garden a haunted atmosphere, as the garden included a few Greco-Roman statues that were sporadically scattered amongst tall grass and weeds.

The Main Courtyard at Fontainebleau. The parts of the palace in this photo were built during the Renaissance.

The palace includes a Napoleon I Museum, which contains the hat and jacket famously worn by the general.

The Galerie Des Assiettes contains beautifully decorated porcelain plates, displayed in wood-paneled walls with paintings on the upper walls and ceilings.

The Galerie des Portraits contains artwork of the Emperor's family, with a bust of each subject opposite the painting of them.

The Throne Room. Apparently this is the only throne room in France which still has its original furniture.

The Grand Parterre in the gardens. The building on the right side of the background is the medieval château (the original part of the palace built in 1137).

So those were the highlights of Versailles and Fontainebleau. Both palaces had a lot to offer and made for a great summer daytrip from Paris. There was much more to the interiors and exteriors than I could show in just a few photos, but the above provides a good sample.

Paris Football

As an aside, I'll mention that the OECD is holding a seven-a-side football tournament during the early summer. My directorate's team didn't clear the group stage, but we improved with each game and had a good time. I bring this up because our last game was at a field near the Eiffel Tower and we had a great team photo taken after the match.

The Statistics Directorate team at the Centre Sportif Emile Anthoine.

 My next trip in July will take me further north and I'll post more details shortly.