Today's agenda was the Tjibaou cultural centre, built by the French, designed by Renzo Piano. The drive was quite pleasant, past the suburbs of Motor Pool (you heard me..) and Magenta and its small airport. We parked, and went to the ticket counter. Being over a certain age and with grey hair, we paid no entry fee. The walk in was lovely, peaceful, lush vegetation. The entry hall was large and open, but there seemed very few people. We walked up and down, admiring the unusual buildings. They really are beautiful structures - like pods arranged along a central spine. Inspired by a collection of huts in a village? The soaring exteriors are skeletal grey weathered wood.
We looked at the shop but were not inspired to buy. We looked at the art exhibitions which were quite interesting with some lovely carvings. We watched an arty movie/presentation in the cinema, showing Kanak culture. I took lots of pictures, including a shot of one of the local fashionistas in the latest Noumean fashion statement, seen everywhere - a floral muu-muu and woolly scarf. Then temperature is below 30, so a scarf is de rigeur.
There are some terrific sculptures in the gardens,
and a very amusing cow made of corned beef tins:
Alas, my sunglasses decided they liked it there, so they hid from me when it was time to go. Cést la vie. We sampled Orangina at the cafe (Martin's favourite orange drink), then set out for home and lunch.
We had not planned to go to the supermarket again, but the car had other ideas. A few wrong turnings saw us heading back to the Geant Sainte Marie, so we yielded, and there we were again, putting stuff into our shopping basket. More icecream, chocolate, salmon for dinner. There was a whole shelf full of all sizes of Orangina. Then as I turned around I saw a shelf full of Chateau Martin. Hmm. I wonder which he would prefer?
Home for lunch, a sit down, and then..... wait for it.... a swim! Mum and I togged up, gathered mask and snorkel, and crossed the road. We found a spot to sit in, left our stuff there, and went into the water. A bit cool, but not too cold. A nice sandy bottom for standing on. Mum's mask filled with water so had to be adjusted. Gosh I hope I am still snorkelling when I am 87. I swam out and around the pontoon, and then over to the side where there were grasses and corals and beautiful coloured fish. Divine. Then we sat in the sun and dried off, and came home for showers and a cup of coffee. Still finishing off the robusta.
Mum and I played Malice and Spite and I won, again. It will be her turn next. Maybe.
Before dinner we all three went on a stroll around the restaurant strip nearby. We'd seen it earlier, and investigated more closely with a view to eating there tomorrow night. As we were out, a pair of black pants fell into my hands and I had to buy them. A girl can never have too many black pants, as my regular readers will know. Mum bought a shell ring. We looked at menus, and there is one place offering one of Mum's favourites, osso bucco. Guess where we will be eating tomorrow?
And now to settle in for the salmon de dieu which Michael is cooking, and maybe some tv and knitting. Aaah.
Martin says he'd prefer the Orangina wall any day!
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