15/09/2015 Cairns 2015 Research trip review

15/09/2015 Cairns - Trip review.

Review. European research trip 2015.

1. The 2015 research trip was "on-budget" and completed all major research elements as planned. 
2. The most successful research elements were:
(a) the visit to London Natural History Museum for the primary source of Ferdinand Lucas Bauer paintings of marine animals from the Tropics (Queensland) and Tropical plants (Queensland, GOC) from the Mathew Flinders voyage of discovery to Australia 1801-1805.
(b) the visit to Paris National Natural history Museum for the primary source of Charles Alexandre Lesueur paintings of tropical marine animals (? Australia) from the Nicolas Baudin voyage of discovery to Australia 1801-1804.
3. The visits to the Cambridge University Library (Westall drawings archive) and Kew Gardens research archives (Franz Bauer artworks), while germane to the study were only a limited success. Follow-up work on the Westall drawings is required at the National Library and possibly at Mitchell Library in Sydney.
4. All images have now been downloaded into a minimum compression ".tiff" format and the brightness/contrast adjusted. Further post-production will be required prior to publication in the Thesis appendix but the images are now usable. These represent "filling the gaps" in the initial collection of images from the 2011 project feasibility visit.  
5. Subjectively I am very pleased with the quality of the images I have collected and that I have achieved my primary aim of "veiwing" the original sources of the exploration artwork produced on the 1801-1805 French and English voyages of discovery to "Terra Australis/New Holland". I feel honoured to have been able to see and hold the original paintings and drawings produced over 200 years ago during one of the first series of scientific investigations of Australia. 

I am indebted to and wish to acknowledge the assistance of all the librarians and curators in the various Museums.

Postscript:

A funny thing happened to me on the way to Europe! A week or so before my departure I got mild food-poisoning (a tummy bug) from a Japanese restaurant. Ironically, not from raw fish but from the Teriyaki chicken. I went to the 24 hour Clinic for the “magic” four anti-biotic pills (for treating Giardia??), which seemed to work or at least slowed down the flow dramatically. 

I was OK to fly, so off I went to London via Brisbane and Dubai. Reasonably unstressed but I arrived in London with jet-lag “Flu”, which took a long time to shake. Very poor sleep, which again I put down to jet-lag.

I got everything done at the London Museum, made  successful side-trips to Cambridge Uni Library and Kew Gardens, and even went to orchestral concerts (the Proms) but I noticed that I was walking a bit slower than I normally did, and at least one acquaintance noted that I looked “exhausted” after my walk back across Hyde Park. Given my normal daily walks along the Cairns Esplanade this distance should not have tired me out. Not enough “debilitation” to panic me, I was just a bit ”off”.  I then had to organize and travel to Paris, which again was reasonably unstressed but elevated my adrenaline a bit, and I had bought some day/night Flu medication by then; i.e., when in doubt self-medicate with paracetamol. 

Two or three days into my Paris research I noticed I was walking at my normal pace again (and my back-pack was not as heavy). I think I had been carrying the side-effects of the tummy-bug, and/or the “draconian” medication, for the best part of a month but had “soldered on” because of the adrenaline generated by the trip. I literally could not afford to be sick.

In hindsight, I seemed to be functioning OK, just a bit slower and clumsier (e.g., overbalancing backwards on an inclined travelator at the EuroStar terminal, which I blamed on my heavy backpack). The good thing was that I was not infective but I may have come across as not overly incisive to the Museum staff. Still not 100% in Paris but at least I understood what was going on. I realised I was not quite “with it” when I looked at my photographs; all work related and no tourist or background shots. Not even from my side-trip to Cambridge, one of my favourite places. I had narrowed my focus down to achieve my direct research aims, with little spare energy for peripheral tasks.   

So when I got the chance to photograph some of the Cite de Universitaire building and did an obligatory trip to the Eiffel Tower, I found I was cherishing my stay in Paris as this will probably be my last time here.  Again with 20/20 hindsight, while in Paris I slowly improved in energy levels and my interest broadened from the research-project focus. By this stage I had achieved all my major research tasks for the trip so could afford to relax a bit. By the time I reached St Petersburg I was enjoying the “tourist side” of the journey more but after two-months living out of a suitcase, was getting a bit travel weary. I achieved my aims of seeing the art collection of the Hermitage/Winter Palace and comparing the gardens of the Peter the Great’s “Peter Hoff” with Versailles. Flying back to Cairns I had few regrets and a deep feeling of achievement and maybe a little relief.

Neil A Gribble

12/9/2016 Cairns

12/9/2016 Cairns

Back "home" and sleeping irregularly/fitfully. Cooking fresh meat and vege meals with lots of fruit. No gut problems just the normal air-pressure related sinus/ear problems; always worst after domestic flights (last leg of the return flight). I will summarise/precise the European field trip over the next week and post it in 7 days.

10/9/2015 Brisbane-Cairns

10/9/2015 Brisbane-Cairns

Crowded flight but uneventful. Arrived Brisbane and got through Customs, Passport Control and onto the transit bus to the Domestic Terminal. Just followed the signs at the Airport!

Booked into the Domestic Qantas Club to wait for the Brisbane Cairns flight, had another breakfast and took an Anti-flu tablet (which had a small amount of pseudofed) to clear my sinus and hopefully allow ear pressure compensation. Flight from Brisbane to Cairns was again crowded but mercifully comparatively short and I caught a Taxi from Cairns Airport to my apartment. Very tired but I tried to keep going until "normal" bedtime. I had lost a day crossing the international dateline, so had actually been awake for 18 hours so far.

Powered up the hot-water, fridge-freezer, and turned on all the electronics at the poerpoints. Tried the car, which started immediately, and drove to the Supermarket for fuel and basic milk, eggs, and takeaway. Had a short unintended nap, ate a scratch meal, then watched TV until I finally called it quits and crashed.  

9/9/2015 Dubai-Brisbane

9/9/2015 Dubai-Brisbane

Got away from St Petersburg Airport at 5.10 pm as per schedule on a crowded A380. Reached Dubai by 12.30 am and found the Emirates lounge (and was allowed in, bless their hearts). My flight out was at 10.00 am or about 10 hours later so a bit of comfort made it bearable. First thing I did was to have a shower then a cup of decent coffee. Crumpled clothes but at least I felt clean and awake.

I sat and "vegetated" for a while, just catching my breath a bit in the Emirates Quiet Lounge. The flight had been full of crying children and "difficult" Pakistani passengers. (Why Pakistani's in Russia??) I almost understood the need for Business Class. Actually I can feel myself de-stressing a bit, now I am nearly home. Continuously organising travel details, "reflex" adjusting to changing situations,  and meeting travel schedules has its own cost, hence the attraction of pre-packaged tours. Given a decent group of fellow travellers and a useful tour guide, I am beginning to believe that it would be worth the extra cost.

Just on the topic of costs. I was forced to convert all my Euros and "emergency" US$ into Rubles because of the problems with my Citibank card but it also forced me to be fairly careful with my spending. (Questionable whether this was good or bad.) I managed to come home with only 55 Rubles (i.e., 1 A$ equivalent). I will still need to transfer monies from my travel cards back into A$ but overall I have been quite frugal.

[9.1 hours later];  waiting for Boarding call for flight to Brisbane. The Emirates lounge is a good place to sit-out a transit but time does drag a bit. I used my Internet to check the QF flight number and found it was routed to Auckland. Checked and it flys there after Brisbane?? We also got a breaking news feed of a BA plane that caught fire on a runway (somewhere in the USA); it caused a little consternation. Just waiting out the last few minutes before the boarding call (given no delays).  Had at least one breakfast plus countless cups of coffee.

8/9/2015 St Petersburg-Dubai

8/9/2015 St Petersburg-Dubai (Travel)

(3.00 am) Paid my last Ruble and US$ notes to the Tour Guide (which worked out to be around US$ 21.00, close to the recommended "tip" of US$25 in the travel info sheet) and handed in my questionnaire.  She had done an excellent job. My airport transfer was organised for 1.00 pm, from the Hotel Lobby; I was to checkout by 12.00 am then wait a bit for the bus. The Qantas/Emirates flight did not leave until 5.10 pm, therefore I had a wait of a couple of hours at the St Petersburg Airport, then I had a 10 hour stopover in the Dubai Airport.

Up at 7.30 am for 8.30 am breakfast. No other tour group people up so after breakfast I went back to my room to pack and transfer photos from Camera to Computer. Took longer because there were multiple days (i.e., before and after midnight) and I either doubled up or "missed" transferring some shots. I will need to check my research photos for missing shots that may still be on the SD card and not transferred. Some of the anomalies in my data-set may be explainable, due to the idiosyncrasies of the transfer program, (given the initial problem with the Computer date/time setting).

Ran through the Internet info on Pulkovo Airport Terminal 1, St Petersburg, and had a basic idea of where to go for Emirates flight check-in. I am now packed and ready to go down to reception for check-out. Next stop Airport, via my prepaid transfer.

The transfer arrived on time but was by limo rather than bus (normally I would have simply organised and caught the hotel/airport bus, probably for a lot less than this cost me). The limo trip was comfortable and a surprisingly long distance, but at relatively high speed. Arrived at the Departure hall with tons of time to spare and got through all the customs, passport, boarding pass routine with no dramas. Only glitch was that they did not let me into the Emirates lounge at the Pulkovo Airport so had to sit out with the other "lowly" tourists until my boarding call.

As I had time I organised all my boarding passes right through to Cairns; so I do not have to run around the Dubai airport searching for the Qantas ticket/boarding pass booth again. I will still have to find the Gate/departure lounge for my Dubai-Brisbane flight but will have 10 hours to do that. I did manage to get Qantas Club member on all my boarding passes and for the Dubai-Brisbane one they gave me an "Emirates Business Class Lounge" pass as well. Given the 10 hour stopover this may be important.

Before the transfer limo came I was sitting in the lobby of the hotel and managed to say goodbye/good trip to at least two couples from the tour group as they passed through. Only three days but the group was quite reasonable travel companions. It was fun although I was pretty "travel weary" by that stage. Definitely "on the way home"!

7/9/2015 St Petersburg

7/9/2015 St Petersburg

Up at 8.00 am; sorted bills and money so can take care of the Tour fees etc today. And pay back my share of a coffee bill that another tourist paid for us. I am still having trouble with the Citibank debit card; it will be read by the tap and go outlets (as per London and Paris) but is rejected by the older "enter the pin number" type. Headed for a late breakfast to allow the Chinese tourist groups to clear. They have to eat then get onto their buses etc., so they are fairly "motivated".

The weather looks grey and overcast so walking in the gardens may be a bit damp. We leave at 10.30am so I will decide on shoes just before.

Weather held off and we had a big day:
1. bus trip then walking tour of the Peter Hof palace and gardens (Peter the Great's answer to Versailles)
2. Lunch at a traditional Russian restaurant
3. The church of the Spilled Blood (one of the reforming Tsar's was assassinated on that spot).
4. A night cruise along the canals/river to watch the opening of the bridges at midnight (closed to road traffic but open for cargo ships/barges).

Finished at about 3.00 am.

6/9/2015 St Petersburg

6/9/2015 St Petersburg

Up at 7.30 for breakfast and ran into all the Chinese tour groups that were getting an early start. Big breakfast hall but only just managed to find a spare seat. Killed time until 10.00 am when tour guide arrived and we headed off for a city tour. Found our own lunch then regrouped to be taken to the Winter Palace/Hermitage. Stunning building and art collection but crowded. Finished "touring" by 5.00 pm, so part of the group could go to the ballet. I opted for the boat cruise tomorrow night.

Found dinner at the hotel restaurant then changed my US dollars and Euros into Roubles to pay my local tour/transit fees. Used cash to pay for dinner and still have enough for tour guide. Found I was running a bit late for the group meetings so double checked the time; firstly for my watch then for the computer. The computer was set on the Paris time zone. After resetting for the St Petersburg time zone, my computer now gives the same time as the watch.

Highlights of the day:
1. visited a small Russian orthodox church during a mass
2. the Hermitage; two Da Vinci's and Rembrandt's " Abraham sacrificing his son".
3. the complex of the Winter palace and the harbour of St Petersburg

Large numbers of Chinese tourists (plus my own "travel weariness"), meant the Hermitage was not as spectacular as I expected. Excellent selection of artworks, beautiful buildings, great setting. Not quite on a par with the Louvre.

5/9/2015 Paris - St Petersburg

5/9/2015 Paris - St Petersburg

I was up at 6.00 am and had a light breakfast, but the hot water had not come through yet. (I had my shower last night to save time in the morning). The weather was cloudy but not raining. Very cold so chose thick trousers and my micro-fleece jacket "shell". Finally justifies packing them! Checked the St Petersburg airport and my flight is due in at 4.55 pm. Last minute pack then off to RER station and Charles de Gaulle Airport. Allowing a lot of lee-way time so I expect to be sitting in the departure lounge for a while.

I did indeed have a half-hour wait for the "Gate 14" to open, after getting to the Airport and to the Terminal 2C, then another hour standing in the slowly moving line for the AEROFLOT boarding pass and to check my suitcase. More lines through to the customs and passport control, then a wait for about 15 min before the boarding call. Everything was "just in time" from the RER journey through to boarding call, so although I left CITE very early for the airport I really could not have left very much later. No stress because I had "dry-run" the RER connections and located the correct Terminal before hand (and had given myself a lot of lee-way time).

Flight was good although crowded, and the meal was a bit strange but I arrived in St Petersburg on time and cleared customs and immigration with no problems. Met the "ON THE GO" tour lady and a couple of other group members and went by mini-bus to the hotel, excellent room. Had tour group meeting at 8.00pm then tried for a meal. Only MacDonalds open so got a Russian "Cheese burger and a coffee". Very little sleep.


 

4/9/2015 Paris

4/9/2015 Paris (Last day)

As planned a fairly lazy last day at the Cite. I checked with the front office of the Maison regarding inspections etc before/when I leave tomorrow morning. I just have to hand in my key-card to security on the way out, as there will be no office staff on the weekend, and therefore no inspection needed.

I had breakfast and lunch (full 2-3 course meal) at the Spanish Maison, taking a leisurely stroll around the grounds/park on the way there and back. Then I did my laundry and started packing my suitcase for the flight. First step was to sort the accumulated papers, maps, information sheets into what I needed to take back with me. Between the paperwork, the nostalgic "tour",  and playing with the computer the morning "went".

Laundry had the inevitable "glitch" despite working perfectly the previous two times I used the machines. Basically I put in my coins, set the dials, pressed "go" and it ate the coins but nothing happened. Front desk said they would report it but nothing could be done until Monday! After I explained that I leave tomorrow morning, one of the ladies came round to the laundry room with me and we retraced the steps, she put in her money and the damn thing worked!! At least I have a suitcase full of clean underwear and socks if searched by the KGB.

Afternoon was basically more of the same; checking through the Travel agents instructions and doing some Internet searching of St Petersburg. The weather has turned grey again (it rained last night), but I had an excellent sunny "last morning" for my walk around the Cite park.

3/9/2015 Paris

3/9/2015 Paris

Fine day, cold but mostly sunny. I did my personal emails in the morning;eg., joining a multi-buy for water tanks at NRC and replying to international Linkin contacts. For nostalgia more than for any other reason I had a full "Complete Menu" lunch at the Spanish house restaurant. Excellent beef stew with a fresh salad, something I have been missing. The diet both in London and here has consisted mostly of pre-processed packaged microwave meals, with fresh fruit on the side. Lunch was a filled half-baguette or the London equivalent, a Tesco sandwich. Cheap, filling, but of dubious nutritional value. Breakfast was a bowl of high-fibre cereal with milk and a cup of instant coffee. Not awe inspiring and heavy on the starch but I suspect it is about to get worse in Russia.

After lunch I headed off to the Centre Pompidou for a dose of contemporary art. Very much like the Tate Modern in its mix of international artists but more heavily European. No really inspiring pieces apart from some of the computer generated graphics. Back by 6.00 pm via Bus 67 and a bit of a walk. I am not necessarily more confident with my navigation, just better at it given familiarity with the Paris system. Dinner was simply eating all the last of my supplies (which became an omelette with cheese, cherry tomatoes and the last of my sandwich ham). A chicken stock cube mug of broth completed the meal. Empty fridge except for cereal and milk.

I have now completed my "wish-list" extra-curricular activities; I visited both the D'Orsay and Pompidou art galleries, did a free bus tour of all the sights including the Eiffel Tower, visited Sacre Couer Basilica and the Funicular railway, completed a Seine River ferry cruise (again past all the famous landmarks), "promenaded" down the Champs Elysees and best of all I got to see Versailles and the gardens. Tomorrow I do my laundry and pack for Saturday's flight to St Petersburg.

2/9/2015 Paris

2/9/2015 Paris

The weather was cold but sunny so I decided on Versailles. I caught the RER B to St Michael-Notre Dame and changed to the RER C line to Versailles Chateaux RG. No extra cost to my Navigo card.

The journey took 45 min both legs and I walked out of the Versailles Railway station into a suburban street. I had memorised the walking directions from an Internet travel blog and set off across the street, between the Cafe and a Vegetable stall, then turned right down the next street until I came to a (very large) parking area, which is the car-park for the Chateaux. Walked through the car-park to the "huge iron gates" and followed the signs after that.

They relieved me of 15 Euros and I joined the tourist "conga line" through the very large palace. The "Hall of mirrors" would have been truly spectacular before electric (or even gas) lighting. The crowds were intense and getting more so but I saw (and photographed) what I came for. The real story is in the formal gardens that surround Versailles. Truly magnificent even today. I walked a few kilometres right around the Grand Canal (central lake/water feature) and visited some, but by no means all, the smaller garden "rooms". Many, many acres of grounds all set-out in a geometric pattern with central sculptural pieces in each "room". It would take days to go through it all properly. In its heyday, with hundreds of serfs/workers maintaining it, wow.

I called it quits when my back started to ache, a sure sign of exhaustion, and back-tracked to the railway station. I took only a couple of minutes to sort out which train to catch to get me to St. Michael-Notre Dame, to meet up with the RER C line. Either the French have improved their communications since my last visit, or I am getting more adept at puzzle-solving but I got to Notre Dame relatively easily. There was a short delay waiting for a Cite bound train but I was back by 4.00 pm. It was quicker coming back than getting there is the morning?? I just missed the rush-hour both times.

Late lunch/snack then a nap and work on the computer till dinner time.

1/9/2015 Paris

1/9/2015 Paris

Up at 6.00 am and off to the Maison Espanola for petit dejeuner (the restaurant is open today). A little bit of nostalgia; the meal and people were as good as last time I was there (on the initial feasibility study). It was raining and cleared to slate-grey threatening skies. I will wait a day before travelling to Versailles but may try for a dry-run into the Charles de Gaulle Airport, after the morning crowd thins out. 

It fined up a bit so I made a run for the RER station and set off for Charles De Gaulle Airport. Relatively easy to get there by RER (B) line although it takes a fair while, definitely the longest train trip I have taken within Paris. The Terminal 2 station is at the end of the line and I memorised all the landmarks so I could get back there. I then followed the arrows/signs to 2C, much as I had done "virtually" via the CDG website. There is a difference in logic however. The arrows started off pointing towards the direction that I had to go but then started pointing down?? I worked out that they were "telling" me I was on the right path, any change of direction had a directional arrow. 

I went up three escalators/floors navigating this way to a departures area and again followed the signs towards 2C. There was a number of powered walkways to take me to the next building. I finally came to a series of numbered desks, with the usual "sheep herding" tape barriers, but no Aeroflot sign. I walked on further and there were a series of info booths, one of which did have an Aeroflot sign. I explained in English that I had a ticket to St Petersburg for Saturday and I was just locating where I had go ahead of time. The lonely info lady, who was fiddling with the water-cooler for something to do, explained that I would need to go to Desk/Gate 14  (just back a bit) at 10.30 am (earliest start) on Saturday for the 12.30 flight. So far so good.

I then backtracked down to the RER Terminal 2 station, with a few false turns but ultimately got there and chose the opposite platform to the one I arrived on. I thought about it later and given this was the end station that choice really did not make sense but luck was with me and it was the right train to get me back to Cite Internationale. I had subconsciously checked the overhead train notifications, as you do when you are tuned-in to travelling, but it was still more luck than good management. I was back to the Cite early afternoon, reasonably pleased with myself. So long as there is not a huge crowd on Saturday morning my trolley suitcase should not be a problem (there were a number of them on the train, either sitting on seats or at the doorways).  

I am glad I could sort out my route before the time-deadline and potential luggage problems increased my stress levels. I find it is usually time well spent when you do not speak the language; unhurried Information staff usually speak better English. Particularly when there is not a long line of fretting customers all worried about their flights. 

As for the CDG Airport (in the rain) well it is big, and crowded, and confusing but I was not blown-over by its styling. It looked a lot like Dubai in a neutral "international" way; complex, functional, and a bit idiosyncratic. 
           

31/8/2015 Paris

31/8/2015 Paris (last 5 days)

Up early and got four days of supplies from local Supermarket. . The Spanish Maison opens tomorrow and so does their dining room, so breakfast (petit dejeuner) and lunch (dejeuner) are taken care of; that is if I have read the French signs correctly. Only fly in the ointment is that I managed to talk my way in last time (as a resident of the nearby Maison du Provinces de France). I think that was because I was polite, unlike a lot of their students, and they simply got used to me as a regular customer. Technically I am pretty sure it is for residents and visitors (of residents), at least at the reasonable student prices.

Last day at the MNHM library so I will confirm/edit my photograph captions and check their catalogue one last time for anything I may have missed. I am pretty happy I have got everything I need for the MA project in terms of seed images and areas that I should retrace the artist journey. This is based on William Westall’s landscapes on the East coast and Petit/Lesueur’s landscapes/coastline profiles on the West coast.

I think Brown’s diary (biologist on the Flinders voyage) will be worth tracking down, although not a source of images it is a source for where they landed and where Bauer did his sketching. This was the "hint", both from the London NHM librarian, and from my own reading. Information on where Petit/Lesueur paintings were done can be derived directly from their Atlas and from (English translation) Baudin’s journal.

Arrived at 2.00 pm and both MS1722 & Ms1728 were available. I went through MS1722 and located the missing photo (I have no explanation for how this happened). I checked MS1728 and located the confusion in numbering (and marked one photo as missing). I photocopied four pages (in French) from Roux and Bonnemains (1984) “Les poissons  du Voyage de decouvertes aux Terres Australes (1801-1804) etudies per F. Peron et C.-A. Lesueuer”, Annexe 1, that related directly to catalogue numbering of the drawings/paintings from the Australian voyage held at La Havre. I only got to see part of the collection of these images during my feasibility study trip. 

Luckily for me J. Bonnemains, with a variety of co-authors, has published images of the full Le Havre collection in a number of French and English sources. I have seen all these publications, plus examples of the original works of both Lesueur and Petit, as well as located the published compilations of their 1801-03  artwork, so I have completed the basic task I set out on.

According to the ever helpful  (and patient) librarians, apparently, I can check the MNHM catalogue online and “copy screen” to get a record, rather than copy by hand. I will do this back in Australia. 

At 4.30 pm I said my goodbyes to the library staff and was off. Usual Bus trip back to the Cite and then a quite beer to celebrate a job well done. Tonight I transfer copies of everything onto both my external hard-disks for safekeeping i.e., three levels of redundancy.

30/8/2015 Paris (Sunday)

30/8/2015 Paris

Sky clear, weather warm. I have a "free day" so I thought a bus ride into the "Tourist heart" of Paris and a walk along the Seine. Luxembourg Gardens on the way back maybe. First things first; I need to recharge my Navigo Card at the RER station.

Recharge went seamlessly. A notification came up re the "all zones now covered" so I checked again with the RER Info desk, I got an English speaker and we went through the deal and yep I can get to Versailles without having to pay extra (except the entry fee of 15Euro).

Following that success I jumped a bus to the Louvre, or rather the Seine River Ferry dock just below the Louvre. I found this dock as I was strolling along next to the river on what would have been the tow path for the barges and is now a paved walk/cycle way. After reading their signs I paid my 16 Euro for an all-day, hop-on/hop-off, trip to all the major Paris destinations; Eiffel tower, Louvre, D'Orsay, Notre Dame etc., plus a beautiful day on the water.

I started early before the real crowds so at least in the morning had a very pleasant time cruising past all the landmarks. I stopped off at the D'Orsay Museum for a few hours then caught the Ferry back to the Louvre in the late afternoon. This reduced my exposure to the crowds but it is still "Tourist season".   There is a real contrast between the cloister-like atmosphere of the Cite, with no students resident yet, and the Paris centre with its teeming tourist "Hordes".

Back at my room I said some goodbyes to departing summer residents, made myself a late lunch/early dinner and settled down to work on the computer.

29/8/2015 Paris (week end)

29/8/2015 Paris

Saturday morning; doing my laundry early to miss the rush. I got new sheets from the front desk so I will have clean linen tonight. Somehow I missed the official change last week and it is now 14 days since the last change. (Actually the Maison info sheet says bed-linen is changed every 15 days ???? so I was just about right with my request.) There was a note in the lift saying that as there were a lot of residents moving out this weekend normal cleaning would be suspended on Monday, which is why there was no demur when I asked to change my own sheets.

The Sun is fighting to get out from behind the clouds so it has the potential for a nice day. Waiting around a bit for the dryer etc., but the Cafe may be open at 10.00 am on Sat. If so Coffee and a croissant! No Cafe so I headed over to the RER station to get information.

I had a win: I needed to find out how much it will cost me to get to the Charles de Gaule Airport for my flight to St Petersburg. At the RER information booth I was told in broken English that for September only there is a "Nouveau" offer, my Navigo card will give me travel on all sections including section 5 to the Airport! They gave me a brochure in French, which I took back to the Cite and asked a couple of residents if the could explain the deal to me. Basically the same story!

I finish up at the Museum on Monday and fly out on the Saturday the 5th September, so the timing is excellent. Section 5 also includes Versailles, which I will try on Tuesday 1st September. If it is "free" I can also try a dry-run to CDG airport to reconnoitre the Aeroflot departure area in Terminal 2C. (Normally a 20 Euro round trip). I am told CDG is big, busy, beautifully styled, but functionally confusing. (Sounds typical French; and part of it collapsed soon after it opened!) 

I have started the research field-trip report for SCU. Based mainly on my daily blog but I will include insights from the feasibility trip in 2011. The two trips together have given me a sound platform to proceed with the next phase of the project, which will be the retracing of sections of the 1801 artists journey(s).

28/8/2015 Paris

28/8/2015 Paris

8.0  am weather is overcast and cold. Today is a "free day" as the Museum research archive is closed to me and I have all my notes/database up to date. I will try out the RER to Charles De Gaulle Airport and if possible for the D'Orsy Art Gallery.

Well the "tasks" did not go entirely to plan. An Internet check and then a visit to the RER station information/ticket desk turned up a special 10 Euro ticket to CDG Airport, separate to my Navigo card. A return would be two singles or 20 Euros, which converts to about A$32. Just a bit high for a reconnaissance. The information person did not understand "return ticket" for a journey that is always one-way! I did find out that I could use the RER to get to Versailles. That does have a return ticket but again it is not covered by my local Navigo card.

By this time my frustration level was elevated so I jumped on a Bus 21 at the Cite Stade and went for a tour. I hopped off at the Tuileries and Carrousel gardens next to the Louvre and walked through them onto the Champs Elysees, then down to the Arch de Triumph. This is one impressive walk! Designed for military parades but now full of open-air restaurants it still emanates grandeur. The weather cooperated thankfully, it was cool but not raining and even sunny at times. I think I have done this walk or parts of it each time I have come to Paris.

I will skip the louvre this time, given I will be visting the Hermitage, but I want to get to the D'Orsy and the Pompidou galleries.

27/8/2015 Paris

27/8/2015 Paris.

It is raining again. Did some useful things on the computer in the morning then walked across to the Cafe at exactly 12.00 pm and ordered a "Menu 7 EU" which consisted of; a can of drink, bread, a cheese and ham omelette with vege or salad and chips, and a slice of apple tart. Then the "hordes" arrived but I had got my order in and was fed by about 12.30  Killed some time then headed for the Bus and the Museum. Started at 2.00 and was done by 4.00 pm.

Getting very close to the end. I ordered a couple of manuscripts for Monday (I cannot get into the research section on Fridays) but that will be it. I need to double check the names on some of my photographs, given that Bonnemains et al used independent experts to identify species from Lesueur's paintings. I may have more work to do on my catalogue as I used Lesueur's species names on the drawings  (and that also explains why the species in the manuscript do not line up with Bonnemains et al Le Havre species list).

Although I had finished relatively early it seemed to take just as long to get back to the CITE! Still standing room only on the bus. It was also still pouring with rain and I was really pleased to get "home" and into dry clothes. I wear my "waterproof" hiking boots when it is raining (otherwise my New Balance joggers do nicely). My feet stay dry but I clump along, squeaking on linoleum, and leaving wet tracks over carpet. Neither the raincoat nor the daypack are really waterproof, however, which is a problem as I carry the camera and my laptop in this pack. Really good in all other respects but not in the rain.  

I have the weekend coming up so I need to plan some sight-seeing/art galleries.

26-8-2015 Paris

26-8-2015 Paris

The exchange rate has been "volatile"; it now takes A$1.62 = 1 EU, or A$1 = 0.62 EU, which is down from two days ago and way down from the start of my trip planning. Not critical but a concern. When I consider the price of food, travel, whatever I simply multiply the EU price by two to get me in the ball-park of the real cost (exchange rate plus Card fees). I checked my Qantas Cash Card and transferred the residual British Pounds into Euros. These were at a good exchange rate when loaded but the $2.3 fee per ATM transaction makes the point moot. There is no free lunch when dealing with the finance industry.

Up early and had a breakfast (Chocolat croissant and coffee) at the Cite' Cafe, then loaded images from my camera and phone onto the computer and added captions. Linking the XL spreadsheet entry, made when I took the photo, to each image from the camera/phone has thrown up an anomaly. I may check with MS 1737 again to verify my records. All previous links have been seamless, so I think the phone camera may be the problem. Convenient but!

Arrived at MNHM at 2.0 pm as arranged and they had the 4 volumes of Freycinet's “Voyage De Decouvertes Aux Terres Australes” 2^nd Edition (rebound). For completeness I went through this version, as well as the original back in 2011. No plates, they are in a separate Atlas and contain mainly maps. Unfortunately the volumes throw no light on the images created by the artists.

I spent the remainder of my visit going through Bonnemains et al 1998 in detail. The task is to determine where best to retrace the original journey as part of a “practice led research” journey, based on what I now know of the French artists methods and images. Bonnemains et al break up the voyage into (a.) Track chart of the vessels arriving in Australian waters and (b.) Track chart of them leaving. Plate 10 page 13 in Bonnemains et al 1998.  There appears to have been considerable interaction with the land (? landings) along the WA coast on both inbound and outbound journeys. Shark bay shows up a number of times in the text on Western Australia and in the Tract charts.  

Finished up at 5.0 pm and caught the bus back to the Cite. A lot more students appearing and more facilities are opening. Summer is just about over. I got am email reminder from CIUP that I leave the Maison du Provinces de France on the 5th August (clean my room, return my keys, have an inspection, etc) so my time in Paris is drawing to a close. Still some time for sight-seeing and visiting the Art Galleries. 

 

25-8-2015 Paris

Now into my second week of the Paris MNHM research and the time has flown. I checked the exchange rate and it is not good but not as bad as I feared; 1A$ = 0.62 EU. Will have to see as the Sharemarket crisis unfolds.   

Up early and clear skies so I hopped on a Bus to go to Montmartre to see the Funicular railway and the superb Sacre Coeur Basilica. No real problem, the 67 bus got me to the Pigale and I climbed the streets/steps to the Basilica. Impressive. I then found the Funicular station and rode the “rack & pinion tram” back down, finding the return 67 bus stop along the way. I suspect the whole railway has been upgraded because it was much smoother than I thought it would be. 

Back in plenty of time to get to the MNHM by 2.00 pm and start on the Lesueur and Petit Atlas of the Baudin voyage. As noted in the Bonnemains et al book, Petit’s finished ethnographic artwork is there and is quite distinct from Lesueur’s work (and style).  This means I have sighted Petit’s original work and can happily refer to both Bonnemains et. al., 1998 and E.T. Hamy 1891. An unusual feature was that the initial visit to Timor is also described in the Atlas.

The J Goy 1995 book, on the Jelly Fish described by Peron and Lesueur, was more difficult. Entirely in French it obviously collated all of the Paris MNHM Library information on "Medusae" with that from the Le Havre Natural History Museum, which makes it invaluable. However I need to get it translated into English, or at least major passages from the important chapters. Goy appears to have followed Lesueur’s later cataloguing by genus. She works through each genus using the available images, but without ordering according to geography or chronology, although she gives notes and a map on where and when each collection/image was made.  An excellent find but it is really a taxonomic text and I am not quite sure how I can use it, apart from as a collated source of finished images from Lesueur’s hand. A pity it was not the fish species/taxonomy that interested Goy.

At this point I have successfully completed the major research tasks I set up, and now need to go back a to my research plan to see how best to use my time. Given the images from both Lesueur and now Petit that I have accessed at the MNHM and through Bonnemains publications are representative, then a further trip to La Havre Natural History Museum would not be productive or at least not cost effective. [Given the falling A$ exchange rate]. I have proved to myself the Bonnemains et. al., 1998 book is my best source of images of the artwork of both Lesueur and Petit. I have seen the originals and supplemented this work with my own photographs of Lesueur’s post-card sized manuscript illustrations, but in reality have simply validated Bonnemains et al 1998 accuracy in terms of the major paintings.  

24-8-2015 Paris

24-8-2015 Paris

Raining heavily and my raincoat is not really up to it. Managed to get supplies during a break in the storms but it is pretty miserable. The Cite Cafe my refuge, was packed with lost souls waiting for a break in the weather. I headed off to the bus stop and the Museum in the rain and got off the other end in the rain. The MNHM was fairly empty, I was the only researcher and the staff seemed thin on the ground. I went through MS1738 as the next in the sequence from 1737, which had been so successful but there was no chronological connection. There were few if any textural or notation references to Australis or New Holland.

I discussed the problem with the MNHM librarians and asked if they had the Peron and Lesueur book on Jelly Fish. They located a book written by one of the Museum curators on this study of "Medusae", which had colour photographs. I did not get to see the original study but they had a copy of the review of it and all of the history surrounding it. When we got it from the (recent) archives it was obviously based on MS1737 and used a number of the plates that I had photographed, but it also used the images held in the Le Havre archive that I had not seen. Written in French, a limited edition with a low circulation, I was not going to find it on an Australian library shelf so I will go through it carefully tomorrow.

The old adage regarding research; "you never work in a vacuum".

I ordered the Peron Report Atlas (with drawings/etchings by Lesueur and Petit) for tomorrow as well. Again this was mentioned in the Bonnemains et al book.

House keeping note. My planned grand birthday dinner was swamped in the rain. I got off the bus into a downpour so made for a local shop were I killed time and bought a cheap bottle of wine. When the rain slowed I headed for a little restaurant I had chosen but they were closed on a Monday. I then headed for the Cite' as the rain was getting heavier. I was soaked by the time I got to my room so dried-off and changed clothes but the rain had not eased. My grand dinner turned out to be a micro-wave and a glass of cheap red in the communal kitchen, then go down and watch TV in French.

[Actually this was not a bad idea as the A$ had dropped in overnight trading, because of the international share-market crash. Euros are now very expensive relative to the start of my journey. I have all my major costs pre-paid and I still have a couple of hundred dollars spending money in Euros on my cashcard so I will make it through the next 3-4 weeks without a major budget blow-out. A bit more expensive than planned but two thirds of the research is complete. ]  

23-8-2015 Paris

23-8-2015 Paris

Predictably it was raining cats and dogs, however I set off for the Bus 67 Stade and did an hour and a half  round trip by bus that took in the Pigalle where I located the Montmartre Funicular tramway, a walking route to the Pompidor Museum, the Louvre, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. All on the route or within walking distance of a stop on the route. It was raining really heavily so stayed on the bus but I will try again on a less wet day. 

I managed another multi-lingual task and that was to recharge my TraveGo transport pass. It cost 21 EU but its convenience makes up for the cost. The recharge machine at the RER station had trouble with my notes and with my Credit card so I went to the ticket office for "assistance". (Not always a pleasant experience with Railway officals). Thankfully it was the machine's fault (someone had been trying to jemmy it??). We used the office machine and my Credit card worked.   Good for another week of local travel.

The D'Orsy museum seems to be best accessed by the RER tain, so I may do a combined exploration of the Charles de Gaul airport/Aeroflot departures  and the Museum on the same day. I do not leave until the 5th September but I like to be prepared, and I have never been to the Charles de Gaulle so a little exploration may be a good thing. 

I had a late lunch back at the Cite and waited for the rain to stop.  A couple of sunny periods so I walked in the adjacent Park, and visited the RER station to check on trains going to Gharles de Gaule Airport. RER Line B second platform looks good as the train stops at both Terminal 1&2 and 3.  I need Terminal 2C. A quick look around, find out the Aeroflot desk, then back to the D'Orsy Museum, hopefully a plan. 

It went cold and dark again, no Supermarkets on Sunday so I jogged back to my room. A bit more laundry (by hand) and run my stuff through the tumble dryer to try to get the wrinkles out. 

22-8-2015 Paris

22-8-2015 Paris

Up about the same time although it is Saturday and no MNHM. I did my washing/laundry after buying what I thought was a small pack of detergent at the supermarket. Traps for new players it was on the right shelf (and at the right price) but it was actually manual pre-soaker, not meant for a machine. Result; soapy residue through all my shirts-underwear-socks. Had had to re-rinse a lot just to get something to wear. Unlike in London everything came out of the dryer stiff and creased. Something definitely got lost in the translation.

Apart from that minor disaster I spent my time photographing some of the building of the Cite and finding bus stops (Stades) so I can do some sight-seeing tomorrow. A fairly lazy day with a little tidying up of photo database and my journal

21/8/2015 Paris

21/8/2015 Paris

The MNHM is closed to researchers today (Friday) so I took the chance to sort and put captions on my photographs. Particularly those from MS 1737. Given the importance as my only real source of the Petit contribution I will need to get formal permission to use the Nicolas-Martin Petit artwork reproductions in Bonnemains et al (1988) for my thesis.

I found " Ill-Starred Captains: Flinders and Baudin"   by Anthony J. Brown, and Tim  Flannery,Fremantle Press, (2004)  528 pages, which may give some more background to the Voyages. Their bibliography is excellent. 

On the "house-keeping" front I managed to negotiate a haircut in broken-french and sign language. It was over 6 weeks sine my last trim and I needed to look "professional" at the MNHM Central Library. After that minor triumph (no mean feat) I used the  free sight-seeing bus I had discovered at the MNHM Gardens, and went to see the Eiffel Tower. I also saw a lot of the major Paris "sights" on the way there and back so it was worth while. A slight problem with up-till-now reliable Sony camera. It simply stopped working; I had to take out the battery and put it back in to reset the operating system so it would turn on and off. A worry but I had transferred all my MNHM images across to the computer in the morning so only my sightseeing shots are "at risk". I suspect it was simply the heat.

My collating and labelling of the MNHM photographs taken so far is complete but the quality is very grey (the downside of the low lighting and no flash allowed in the Library) so I have experimented with the photo editing tools in the PMB software. I kept the original image and made copies to manipulate. It has worked amazingly well but I loose definition with every edit/compression.    

20/8/2015 Paris

20/8/2015 Paris

Broken sleep, up early. Reset computer clock to Paris summer time just to stop my confusion with the watch/bus timetable. Discovered a free sight-seeing bus at the MNHM Gardens, which I will try either today or tomorrow (Friday) while the Museum archives are closed to researchers.

Today's main task is to go through the information on Nicolas-Martin Petit (scant though it is). Secondary task is to check again in Manuscript 1737 for any reference/drawing from Terra Australes or Nouvelle Hollandia. I have seen some of the Medusa paintings in this chapter used in the front page in the official voyage account.

*Special Note 1: It was now obvious that in the latter part of his career Lesueur was collating his drawings and paintings into a taxonomic text-book based on fish genera/order, and the collections of his drawing/painting were donated to the respective museums in that format, not in the chronological or geographic sequence that they were originally produced. This makes actually identifying what artwork/drawings were done during the Baudin voyage very difficult unless Lesueur noted the date or location on the artwork itself, which he only did on relatively few of his works. JB painstakingly noted and catalogued these for the Le Havre collection. It seems from her catalogue that only about 20-30 drawings can be attributed with any certainty to the “landings” in the Baudin voyage. She also identified the drawings from the general “Terra Australes” section of Lesueur's archive (based on dates??), collated into four boxes, which I was able to go through in 2011 attempting to identify the “tropical species” and therefore where on the Australian voyage they were likely to have been produced. Given they did not penetrate very far into the GBR before returning to France most of the Tropical Fish would have come from the Western Australian Coastline. The numbering of drawings in the boxes, particularly in box 4, was higher than that recorded in the published catalogue, suggesting that a second volume must exist.

I have no indication from the Paris MNHM manuscript collection of any of the “Terra Australes” notation used by J. Bonnemains. Either I have not seen those records or the notations were not part of the collection. Going through the MNHM collection again in 2015 I hit the same problems where Leseuer has chronologically scrambled the drawing to fit his genera/order groupings for his text book. There is also very little to guide where each species/drawings was from geographically. Failing better information then the JB categorisation (i.e. Charles ROUX & Jacqueline BONNEMAINS, 1984 catalogue) is likely to be the best available.

*Special Note 2: “Baudin in Australian Waters: The artwork of the French Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands, 1800-1804”(1988)  Edited by Jacqueline Bonnemains, Elliot Forsyth, and Bernard Smith. 347 pages Melbourne Oxford University Press. This book contains a comprehensive colour pictorial catalogue of Lesueur’s and Petit’s existing artwork. (Apart from the "post-card" sized drawings and painting in Lesueur’s Manuscripts at the MNHM, which seem to have been missed). 

The Bonnemains et al book essentially describes the full collection of the Le Havre Natural History Museum.   Petit’s work is also documented but not pictorialy in “L’oeuvre ethnographique de Nicolas-Martin Petit per E.T. Hamy (L’Anthopologie – Semptembre Octobre 1891, no 5.) Sighted but not translated at the MNHM however the reference is included in the Bonnemains, Forsyth and Smith book.  (170 drawings/plates described). I cannot find any further manuscripts or drawings at the MNHM Central library. 

Given I have been through the drawings at Le Havre and the comprehensive catalogue edited by Bonnemains et al., as well as the Atlas by Lesueur and Petit (see references at end of this note),  then I have seen all the Nicolas-Martin Petit artwork from Australia that is likely to be available, without going to private collections.

Manuscript 1737. I went through this loose-leaf collection of notes and drawings as thoroughly as possible given that it is written in longhand script in both archaic French and in English and in both ink and later(?) in pencil.  It has been reworked a number of times, based on the layers of pencil notation, so the order of the pages is irrelevant chronologically.

However I did find a reference to Botany Bay and "Australis" in the text, and I found a small pencil sketch of a rowing boat with a man in the bow dip-netting for jelly fish. I the background there are a number of square rigged boats at anchor in what appears to be a substantial harbour. On the back was a (later?) pencil notation of Nouvelle Holland, therefore this could only have been Botany Bay. Leseuer and Peron published a text on jelly fish so possibly the artwork could be associated with that work.

The reference/illustration was the first concrete evidence in the MNHM Lesueur manuscripts of illustrations/art work from the Baudin voyage (plus the illustrations from the Reports and Atlas of the voyage; see below). The provenance of other paintings of fish in the Manuscripts will have to inferred from Bonnemains work at Le Havre.

Extra references sighted (published in French):

Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes: exécuté par ordre de Sa Majesté l'empereur et roi, sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendent les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804; [Historique] publié par dećret Impérial, sous le ministère de M. de Champagny et rédigé par M. F. Péron, ..., Volume 1 18## A Paris, De L'Imprimerie Royale

Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes: exécuté par ordre de Sa Majesté l'empereur et roi, sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendent les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804; [Historique: Tome second] par ordre de son excellence le Ministre Secretaire D'Etat de L'Interieur (redige en partie par feu M. F. Péron) par M.L.Freycinet, ..., Volume 2, 1816, A Paris, De L'Imprimerie Royale.

Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes: exécuté sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendent les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804; Sous le commandement du capitaine de vaisseau N. Buadin [Navigation et Geographie] Par M Louis Freycinet...., Volume 3, 1815, A Paris, De L'Imprimerie Royale

Atlas historique : du Voyage de decouvertes aux terres australes, by Charles Alexandre Lesueur and Nicolas-Martin Petit. Volume 1 (containing the landform profiles and zoological plates)

and Vol II. By M Louis Freycinet. Large-format Charts referred to in Freycinet's Vol on “Navigation et Geographie”

19/8/2015 Paris

19/8/2015 Paris

Up early and I went through my information on the second artist on Baudin’s voyage:

·         Nicolas-Martin Petit

·         Charles-Alexandre Lesueur

Nicolas-Martin Petit and Charles-Alexandre Lesueur both signed on as crew members of the Le Geographe because they were keen to travel to the undiscovered lands of New Holland. Without these two talented young men the expedition’s value would have been greatly lessened, as all three of the official artists resigned from the expedition before it even reached the southern continent. With the English artists, Petit and Lesueur were the first Europeans to portray the land, people, animals, plants and marine life of South Australia.

Nicolas-Martin Petit

Nicolas-Martin Petit was born in Paris in 1777. His family was artistic, and he also studied art. In 1800 he joined Baudin’s expedition and teamed up with the scientist Francois Peron and artist Lesueur to record the Aborigines and fauna of Terres Australes.
Petit’s sensitive paintings of the indigenous people of Van Diemen’s Land, Port Jackson and Western Australia were highly praised by scientists in France on his return to his homeland. His portraits of aboriginal communities are particularly valuable for their accuracy of representation rather than stylised images.
Tragically, Petit died in 1804 in an accident in the streets of Paris, shortly before his marriage was to take place.

Internet sites

Charles-Alexandre Lesueur
Natural History Museum, Le Havre: Lesueur Collection: summarised biographies
Natural History: Voyage of a painter [Charles-Alexander Lesueur]
PictureAustralia

Further sources

Baudin in Australian waters: the artwork of the French voyage of discovery to the southern lands 1800-1804 / edited by Jacqueline Bonnemains, Elliott Forsyth and Bernard Smith. Melbourne: Oxford University Press in association with the Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1988
The Encounter 1802: art of the Flinders and Baudin voyages / [compiled by] Sarah Thomas Adelaide: Art Gallery of South Australia, 2002
Lesueur, Charles Alexandre. Les velins de Charles-Alexandre Lesueur (Museum d’Histoire Naturelle du Havre): exposition du 4 mai au 2 juin 1996. Le Havre, France: The Museum, 1996
Petit, Nicolas-Martin. Oeuvres de Nicolas-Martin Petit, artiste du voyage aux Terres Australes (1800-1804): exposition du 1er juin au 31 décembre 1997. Le Havre: Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Havre, Collection Lesueur, 1997
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch vol. 66, 1964-65. Mander-Jones, Phyllis. ‘The artists who sailed with Baudin and Flinders.’
Terre Napoléon, Australia through French eyes, 1800-1804, Susan Hunt, Paul Carter, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales & Horden House, Museum of Sydney, 27 February – 30 May 1999, Sydney, 1999.
Le voyage aux Terres Australes 1800-1804, Ville de Honfleur, Musée Eugène Boudin, 4 Mai-24 Juin, 1996 /conçu par Anne-Marie Bergeret.Honfleur: Musée Eugène Boudin, 1996

I will try to find any more documentation in the MNHM for Petit artworks. The Le Havre Museum had very little that was directly attributed to him in their collection (or so I was told). The curator considered that most had been (incorrectly) attributed to Lesueur over time.  

Again I started at the MNHM at 2.00 pm but this time I was allowed to bring my Camera. The manuscripts I worked on yesterday were there and I took about 98 photos in all as I worked my way back through them. A selection of "tropical fish" with Lesueur's nomenclature and any geographical notes that there was on the drawings. There are at least two and sometimes three layers of annotation in pencil, which look like Lesueur's hand. The latest ones are in English, the rest are archaic French.
Lesueur appears to have reworked the drawings a number of times over the years.

My literature/archive search for Nicolas-Martin Petit turned up very little (in comparison to the Leseuer collection). I have ordered two books for tomorrow, and will see where that takes me. 

I finished just before 6.00 pm and made my way by crowded bus back to the Cite and dinner.

18-8-2015 Paris

18-8-2015

I was not due to start at the MNHM until 2.00 pm so used the morning to get EURO's at a Bank ATM via my Qantas Cashcard and to look for a shop selling simple cutlery/cooking utensils.

The Bank was relatively easy although a surprising distance from the Cite (when it is open there are ATM's in the main Cite administration building). No luck with the utensils. At the moment I am using disposable plastic spoons/forks from the microwave TV dinners.

I had one win, I called past the on-campus Cafe, in the basement of one of the Maisons, and it was open! I think there was a major conference being held somewhere in the Cite and it was worth their while to open early. Had my first coffee since leaving London. Reduced hours, breakfast and lunch. only but it is open.

Grabbed a TESCO equivalent sandwich, for about the same nominal cost, from a local Supermarket. My favourite market is closed for renovations so I have had to "venture out" a bit. That was lunch "on the go" as I hopped on the 67 Bus and headed for the MNHM.

I got there at about 2.00 pm and was let in to the archive section. There two manuscript boxes waiting for me so I hooked up my laptop and got to work. To my surprise the lady opposite was using a camera so I asked had the rules changed and yes they had. I can photograph the drawings/paintings that I am interested in. Excellent news.I ordered the same manuscripts for tomorrow but I will bring the camera.

After working my way through the two manuscripts I was struck (again)  with how difficult it was to place the drawing in any one time and place. I reviewed my notes from 2011 (feasibility tour) and it was now obvious that towards the end of his career Lesueur was collating his drawings and paintings into a taxonomic text-book based on fish genera/order. The drawing/painting collections were donated to the respective museums in that format, not in the chronological or geographic sequence that they were originally produced.

This makes identifying what artwork/drawings were done during the Baudin voyage very difficult unless Lesueur noted the date or location on the artwork itself, which he only did on relatively few of his works. Jacqueline Bonnemains, the previous curator of the Lesueur collection at Le Havre, painstakingly noted and catalogued these for the Australian voyage. It seems from her catalogue that only about 20-30 drawings can be attributed with any certainty to the “landings” in the Baudin voyage. She also identified the drawings from the general “Terra Australes” section of Lesueur's archive (based on dates??), collated into four boxes, which I was able to go through last time, attempting to identify the “tropical species” and therefore where on the Australian voyage they were likely to have been produced.

I have no indication from the Paris MNHM collection of any of the “Terra Australes” notation used by Ms Bonnemains. Either I have not seen those records or they were not part of this collection. Going through the MNHM collection again in 2015 I hit the same problems where Leseuer has chronologically scrambled the drawing to fit his genera/order groupings for his text book. There is also very little to guide where each species/drawings was from geographically. Failing better information then the Le Havre categorisation (i.e. Charles ROUX & Jacqueline BONNEMAINS, 1984 catalogue) is likely to be the best available. 

Working from the Le Havre drawing to the small paintings in Lesueur's manuscripts allows at least some of the "Terra Austrles" species to be identified.

17-8-2015 Paris

17-8-2015 Paris

Good sleep and I have a true "en suite" so did not have to search the corridors in the middle of the night for the shared loo. I "moved in" in a more permanent way than at Pembridge Hall, possibly because I had more space. Unpacked the suitcase, hung-up my shirts, and spread-out across the useful sized desk..

Up early and caught the office staff at 9.0 am when they opened; formally identified myself, signed all the appropriate forms, and got the much needed photo ID card and Internet user name & password.

I then made my way to the Paris NHM via the number 67 bus. Usual difficulty in finding the building, but I had Google Map'ed it so had the right search image. I got to the security officer then reception desk before they found my paperwork and I was "inducted". They checked my University credentials mainly, then issued my readers pass for the next month.

The archives are only open to researchers from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm and all manuscripts must be ordered a day in advance, so I booked two volumes of Lesueur's manuscripts for tomorrow and headed back to the Cite.

At this point it had been highly productive and successful. While on a roll I tried the Supermarket for a "Universel Adaptateur" recommended by the Cite office to connect into their power points; logistically the last link I needed to be fully functional. While there I got basic supplies, a couple of TV dinners, breakfast cereal and milk, and some fruit. I also bought lunch; a half baguette, filled with cheese.

I got a jolt when I found that all the food-outlets on campus would not open again until September, just as I will be leaving. I will need to get some basic cooking utensils to survive. I made another run to the supermarket at the next shopping corner but it was the same chain and same alternatives. Picked up shampoo and fruit juice, no plates, cups, or cooking stuff. After that I napped in my room for a bit and wrote the blog.

16-8-2015 London-Paris

16/8/2015 London-Paris

Little sleep the night before my Eurostar journey, but was already packed and had all maps/routes sorted. Up at 5.00 am, shifted my bags downstairs and had breakfast. I gave away my London maps, timetables, etc but packed a spare microwave dinner into my suitcase, just in case nothing was open at the Cite when I got there. The reception showed-up at about 6.00 am so I handed in my keys and headed off to the Bus 390 stand. I was early so had to wait a bit but was on my way around 7.00 am. The Bus took a while to get to St Pancras due to roadwork's/diversion; not a major delay and I had tons of time, so it was not a worry.

St Pancras was a case of "hurry up and wait"! I got through passport, security, boarding OK but then had to sit and wait for the train. We were finally called for boarding and the crush headed up the “travelator”, a moving inclined walkway. Because of the pack I tipped backwards onto the crowd behind, which was embarrassing to say the least. I scurried away to my seat, throwing the suitcase into the overhead rack and “sitting” on my backpack. As it turned out that was a very good tactic given the problems other groups had trying to find space for their luggage. [They had not realised their luggage would go with them rather than going into a cargo hold, as on an aircraft].

Three hours went by very quickly but I had time to walk three carriages back to the “dinning car” to buy a single trip ticket for the RER to take me from Gare du Nord to Cite Universitaire. So far so good. Gare du Nord however was another story. I had virtual “walked” the station using the Internet so had a basic idea of directions and landmarks, but it is big and very busy. I managed to follow the signs down two floors to the RER in the basement. I knew it was Line B I had to take (and not the platform saying "towards the airports"). I jumped on a train that seemed to be going in the right direction (along with half a million other passengers) and quickly checked the route map over the door. I had been right and the Cite was one of the intermediate stops on this line. Duly reached Cite stop, standing all the way, and exited the train station right opposite the entrance of the Cite International Universitaire. 15 minutes later I was signing in with security (no office staff) and getting my room key at the Maison des Provinces de France. Very nice big room but not air-conditioned. 

I had brought a towel (needed), but not cooking implements nor cutlery (also needed). There is a communal kitchen but you have to bring everything with you. I went looking for a supermarket but on a Sunday afternoon it was a forlorn hope. I had my microwave curry for lunch and a take-away taco for late dinner. I did manage to negotiate my TRAVIGO bus/metro/train pass at the RER station. This means for a week I have unlimited local travel

After dinner I searched my computer files (no Internet yet) for Paris bus information and decided a 67 bus should take me to the Paris NHM.  

15-8-2015 London

15-8-2015 London

Up early for a quick breakfast. Started reviewing the data/report from my last visit to the Paris NHM to find the gaps. I had to move to the kitchen because my room was due to be cleaned, so I did my full laundry while I waited.

An “almost” fine day. I got my washing done  and had breakfast while it dried. I gave away a half-box of washing detergent and started packing my suitcase with clean clothes. There are free irons in the laundry so I ironed shirt collars and the worst of the creases. (Not overly domestic!)

I got an email back from Paris saying that the security officer of the Maison de Provinces de France would have my room key when I arrive on Sunday. I can book-in after 3 pm according to my paperwork.  I sorted all my Cite de International Universitaire paperwork into one folder in my backpack ready for Paris. I also loaded my journal and London NHM photos onto an external hard drive for back-up. The blog is up to date but I have not loaded images (because of intellectual property concerns). I stated in the forms I filled out and signed at NHM that the purpose of the photographs was for research and the publication would be in my thesis/exegesis.  

I reviewed the files/manuscripts that I had gone through last time I visited the French Natural History Museum, Central Library, to provide an initial list of manuscripts that I will need to request. There will be no photographs allowed, only photocopies by the Museum staff at cost(?).  Things may have changed so I will need to be flexible. It was a “nostalgic interlude” but I will need to check what else they have on file/archive for Lesueur.

Easy lunch, eating up my spare supplies. Grabbed a shower/shave and put on a clean shirt for a walk in the park.

I walked through to the NHM and "donated" all my small change prior to going to France. I walked back through the Imperial College faculty/department building for old-times-sake. It is a good place to stay and to work.

In the late afternoon I packed my suitcase and my backpack. I also walked to Tescos for a pastry and triple checked my Bus stop for tomorrow morning. I checked the Internet for directions through the Gare du Nord from the Eurostar platform to the RER platform for the Cite. 

"Re: Access to RER B towards Cite' Universitaire at Gare Du Nord

The RER station is under the rail station, 2 levels down. Every RER B going south (Robinson or St. Rémy) will stop at Cité Universitaire. And if you really want to be clever, you will get on at the front of the train, because the exit is at the front at Cité Universitaire, and it is equipped with both an escalator and an elevator (but it is almost at street level anyway).

Your stop might be Cite Universitaire, but the train line end-point ("Direction") will be Robinson/St Remy les Chevreuse - - this is how the signage reads in the tunnels so you go to the correct side of the platform. (the wrong direction is to Mitry-Claye/Aeroport Charles de Gaulle)."