#it was neat to see a paris location other than the eiffel tower!

[britishchick09]

pere lachaise cemetery- family guy vs. irl! :D

bonus:

[algernoninwonderland]

Miraculous’s Paris feels quite impersonal and its geography is incomprehensible most of the time, which makes it difficult to care about it whenever it’s in danger

TL;DR: Paris in Miraculous has a weird geography, and unfortunately, the show doesn’t hide it all that well, which makes it hard to believe in the city as a coherent and cohesive space. Bad lighting and poor texturing makes scenes set outdoors during the day look real bad, and while some of the famous buildings in Miraculous are pretty close to the real thing, they don’t mean much to the viewers emotionally speaking, they don’t elicit a reaction other than “huh, that’s neat”. If your heroes’ mission is to protect a city that’s just “neat”, well it’s pretty hard to care about said mission. 

When you aren’t French and you want to make a show or a film with a scene set in Paris and you want to sell it to an international audience, you put the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and cafés everywhere. And that’s fine! It’s just a backdrop, you’re not supposed to care about it all that much, because you’re going to spend 2 hours there at most and what’s more, more often than not, Paris is just a decor, not the whole conceit of the film/show.

Miraculous’s version of Paris follows that same logic, weirdly enough, even though it’s made by French people, and initially intended for a French audience. The Eiffel Tower is in a whole lot of shots, we spend a lot of time at the Louvre and near some other touristic landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Grand Palais, the Place des Vosges and the Place du Châtelet alongside the occasional metro station, they’re all decently made, at least they’re recognisable. Good job, you guys! (I’m sincere about that bit of praise, too)

It uses referential elements, i.e. things from the real-life Paris… And mashes them together in a bizarre way. Monuments are way too close to one another, or they are places they shouldn’t be. That, in and as of itself, would be fine. Paris is big. You can’t model every single Parisian street in existence, you have to make choices to stay within your budget. And with Miraculous, it kind of works…? If you don’t think about it too much, that is.

This, for instance (that’s from Animan) doesn’t make any damn sense. The Eiffel Tower should be on the other side of the Seine, not here, and the Place des Vosges isn’t that close to the water. Still, it sort of works, if you haven’t lived in Paris yourself. Which will be the case for most people watching Miraculous. It’s a show about a girl who uses a magical yoyo, so I can excuse that sort of weird stylistic choice due to budget constraints.

So, basically, Miraculous has pretty good individual sets, especially indoors sets,Marinette’s house, Agreste mansion, the school, these cool touristic locations, the Grévin museum, even, but they either feel too close to one another or like they belong to different, disjointed spaces. It’s hard to tell where each location is meant to be in relation with one another, even when our characters travel from one place to another.

And how do they travel? Well, they jump from rooftop to rooftop and the landscape stretches endlessly. Rooftops that all look the same. It’s the exact same "set” every time. That isn’t a bad stylistic choice per say, if the point you want to make is that Paris is really really big and there are lots and lots of houses that all kind of look the same, it’d work really well. It’d make the city feel a little oppressive. But you want Paris to be a space the audience cares about, right? So maybe don’t do that?

The way travelling works in Miraculous is, you jump onto a rooftop, you run you run you run and then you land and you’ve reached your destination. Each trip works the same. Doesn’t help make the various sets feel connected, no, sir. Plus, the Eiffel Tower teleports all over the place.

Can you tell me where Alya’s flat is supposed to be? No, really, can you? It’s a nice art déco building, someone probably went through lots of references to model it and it shows! Nice job, really, I mean it. But where is it?  

Well, it’s in an Autodesk Maya file in a database somewhere, but other than that… You’ll tell me if you ever figure that out, I sure wasn’t able to!

So it’s hard to believe in Paris as a kind of non-fragmented space, even more so when wide shots look like this 

and that tells you everything that can go wrong with Miraculous’s outdoors scenes. (also that shot composition isn’t bad at all but it’s weird for a scene like that)

Copy and paste your assets, benches, trees and houses, and don’t modify them one bit. The thing it, that’s fine in shots in which the camera moves a lot, it works well with certain angles, which is the reason why there are lots of chase scenes that go too fast for you to notice that there aren’t all that many “regular house” models, some with an alternate “café” ground floor which features awnings with three different colours. That’s a trick cartoons like Scooby-Doo already used in the 60s to simulate speed. That’s good when things move!

Only, sometimes you see two awnings with the exact same colour in the same, very still shot that lets you see the street in which the house models alternate in a pattern that is easy to detect. You become truly aware that this is a set created by people that feels very artificial. 

Textures in Miraculous are great when it comes to the character models. For the rest not so much. The really ugly pavement texture you see here…

… looks fine when shot from above but looks like dogshit when the camera is closer to the ground, if I may be so blunt. Everything looks worse in the daytime, because daylight is rendered rather poorly most of the time, and the textures either haven’t loaded properly or aren’t high-res enough. That pavement feels real flat, like a texture, not like pavement. Which isn’t very good. Trees often feel like plastic, dirt doesn’t look like dirt at all, more like sand. Miraculous isn’t going for a photorealistic vibe, nor should it be, but these textures just don’t work very well to represent what they are meant to represent. They seem a little off, just enough for you to notice.

Often, everything looks squeaky clean too. Norman Reynolds of Star Wars fame understood that squeaky clean props and sets and costumes aren’t very convincing and tend to feel cheap, so you need to apply a bit of weathering. And Paris isn’t exactly clean. In Miraculous, most buildings are spotless. They don’t feel like they’ve existed for long despite their 19th century architecture. Are you supposed to feel like this is a story set in a giant dollhouse starring action figures? I’m not sure that was the intended effect, there’s an episode with alive toys and the toy world looks even plasticky-er

(Nighttime scenes, on the other hand, can be really gorgeous. Sapotis’s outdoors scenes are truly magical, it’s a really nice-looking handful of scenes because you get to have a better control on the way your scene is lit. Likewise, most scenes set indoors tend to look quite good because there’s greater control over the lighting sources).

Some spaces feel familiar and friendly, homely, even, namely Marinette’s house, the houseboat to a lesser extent, these are all places you’d hate to see get destroyed, and you get a sense of where they are. Sort of. Ish. But outside of that… There aren’t any memorable streets, most monuments are just that, monumental, important imposing buildings don’t feel personal. There are no charming details about them for the camera to zoom on either. 

Miraculous’s outdoors Paris is a series of more-or-less well-made sets that are loosely connected to one another in a way the audience can’t properly process. You aren’t made to feel attached to most of these sets. Technical issues and a limited budget alongside creative choices to feature iconic touristic landmark rather than having streets that feel more intimate, unique and lived-in means that you can’t really care all that much about Miraculous’s Paris as a place.

And it’s a shame. If these two heroes are fighting to protect a city the audience isn’t made to care about, the stakes are much lower all of a sudden. 

The scene in the New-York special with that helicopter shot of all the destruction caused by Mayura’s amok didn’t feel nearly as impactful as it should have. You really ought to wonder why.

[hystericalrogertaylor]

A Royal Mess

Pairing: Prince!Ben Hardy X Princess!Reader

Word Count: 2519

Prompt: “I can’t walk away from something that wasn’t supposed to end!”

Warnings: Angst? That should be it

A/N: Heyyyy! This is for @bensroger ’s writing challenge! And we’re going to pretend it’s completely historically accurate! I tried to make the location of reader’s kingdom as obscure as possible so anyone can read it. Enjoy!

My master list is in my profile description!

(I’d add a “read more” line, but I’m publishing this on my phone. Sorry! Also, I apologize if the spacing looks a little funny.)

~~~

You met Ben at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris, France. Many monarchs had come from all over the world, and you, the princess and heir to the throne in your country, were chosen to represent your small nation. Your father had decided it wasn’t his cup of tea since the event in New York wasn’t as exciting as he would have liked, but he wanted someone there to represent him. And that was you, his only child.

Ben was there because his parents, the king and queen of a different small nation, had dragged him along. He found these things unspeakably boring; he enjoyed bossing people around and hanging out with his rich friends, who were the children of his father’s friends. These fairly fancy events were not his scene.

You met when he, quite literally, ran into you. He was clowning around with another prince who was forced to come, throwing a ball back and forth in a desperate attempt to relieve boredom. The other prince, his name was Rami, accidentally threw the ball over Ben’s head. Ben turned around to run after it, not noticing you standing a few feet behind him. He slammed into you, and the ball went bouncing down the aisle, never to be seen again.

“Sorry!” Ben almost had to shout over the volume in the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean--” He stopped mid-sentence, finally able to look his victim in the face. She was gorgeous. For the first time in his life, Prince Benjamin had no idea what to say.

You brushed off your dress, smoothing out the wrinkles. It was a floor-length, draped dress made of soft, baby blue fabric. You were royalty, but you didn’t want to attract attention. “It’s quite all right,” you said. “No harm done.”

Ben was blushing, he was so embarrassed. He knew he should’ve been watching where he was going, but instead he had to smash right into the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

You blinked. “Are you all right? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

Ben shook his head violently. “Yes! I-I’m great! Just, uh, enjoying my time in Germany!”

Rami appeared over his shoulder. “We’re not in Germany,” he whispered.

“France!” Ben corrected himself loudly. “France. We’re not in Germany, I knew that.”

You giggled. “And where might you be from?”

Ben stuttered again, trying to form coherent words. “Um, j-just a little nation, you’ve probably never heard of it. A-And you?”

“Similar circumstances.” You turned to the machine next to you, gazing at it. “Isn’t it fascinating?”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, it looks really...neat.” He shifted uncomfortably. “That’s why I’m here, to look at interesting machines.”

“You told me--” Ben slapped a hand over Rami’s mouth, shooting a death glare his way. Rami backed up, disappearing behind some large machine.

Ben gave you a cheesy smile, recovering a little bit of his confidence. “So, how about we find something to eat? Just the two of us?”

You returned his smile. “I’d love that.”

---

The two of you were able to find a cute little cafe away from the exhibits of the World’s Fair. You were able to sit outside, eating little sandwiches and chatting. You were an expert in body language, and from watching Ben, you were able to tell he fancied you. What you were unintentionally neglecting was you own body, showing the same signs he was. You found Ben quite attractive, but your logical side was trying to ignore those feelings. Your emotional side really, really wanted to kiss him.

“I’m heir to the throne, but I don’t think I’m mature enough for the crown,” Ben admitted. “I’ve been trained all my life for the day I’ll finally be king, but it seems like a dream, not something I’ll actually have to deal with someday.”

“I as well.” You took a sip of the tea you had. “Queen is a hefty title, and I’m not sure I can live up to all my father’s done.”

“I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful ruler.” Ben smiled at you, his eyes showing a kindness you’d never known from anyone else.

You smiled down at your plate of half-eaten sandwiches. “I’m sure you’ll be an even more magnificent king.”

“Thank you.” Ben took a sip of his tea, a large smile plastered across his face. You were easier to talk to than any of the people back in his kingdom.

You set down your teacup, standing up and smoothing out your dress again. “Well, it’s getting dark. We could either go look at more exhibits, which I could tell you hated, or we could go look at the Eiffel Tower at night. Up close.”

Ben gulped. “Yeah, that sounds great.” He didn’t want to let on how much he hated that damn eye sore. His opinions ran along with those of the native French, while yours seemed to align with those of most of the other visitors.

You stood up, beckoning him in the direction of the tower. “Let’s go then, before it gets crowded.”

He rose from his chair, pushed it in, and followed you. He could see said tower in the distance, and it was only half lit. He felt bad for the poor saps who had to light each of the gas lamps.

It took the two of you long enough to walk to the Eiffel Tower that all the lamps were lit once you reached it. The tower glowed, almost sparkling in the dark of the evening. Ben was actually awe-struck; he couldn’t think anything could be done to the wrought-iron structure to make it actually viewable. Several other attendees of the World’s Fair were milling around, looking up at the tower, some even kissing. Ben thought it strange that some people would be willing to kiss in public like that. Oh well, he thought. This is a different country, after all.

You slowly meandered until you stood directly under the tower. You both craned your necks to look upward. It was a different kind of stunning from this angle.

“An architectural wonder,” you whispered, completely in awe. Ben looked over at you, impressed by the superior intellect you’d shown throughout the day. He could safely say that he’d never met someone like you, and it was amazing.

You looked at him, stepping closer. “What are you thinking about?” you asked quietly.

Ben hesitated. “I don’t know, I would just really like to kiss you.”

You cocked your head. “And what’s stopping you?”

“We’re in public…” Ben said slowly. “It would be awkward.”

You pressed your body against his, grabbing the collar of his crisp dress shirt. “Well, I think I’d rather like to kiss you, Benjamin.” You ran a finger lightly across his jaw. You lowered your voice even more. “And I don’t give two damns who’s watching.”

Ben’s hands grabbed at your waist, pulling you closer as he slammed his lips into yours. You angled your head, kissing him passionately. Neither of you had ever kissed someone before, and doing so in public, without any promise of courtship or marriage, was extremely scandalous. You could hear the gasps of a few people walking by, watching two members of different royal families locking lips under the Eiffel Tower. It was a sight to behold, but you two only cared about each other.

You both pulled apart what felt like hours later. Ben’s lips were swollen, and you could feel that yours were too as you smirked in satisfaction. Ben, frankly, looked shocked. He’d just kissed a girl? In public? On the day he’d met her?

“Why did we do that?” he asked.

You shrugged. “On ne vit qu’une fois.”

Ben’s fingers lightly touched your face. “Can we do that again?” he whispered.

“I don’t see why not.” You tilted your head back up into his.

---

You and Ben spent as much time together as you could. You tried not to kiss again, but it was difficult when there was blatant physical chemistry. You loved Ben’s cocky yet kind attitude, and he loved how confident you were in your own skin. And, somewhere along the line, you had both attached onto false hope that maybe this could all work out. Two heirs to two separate thrones could court and marry each other. The only two who didn’t see the logic were you and Ben.

On the final day of the World’s Fair, you parted ways. Ben kissed the back of your hand, and you boarded your respective ships. You stood on the deck of the ship, head in your hands, watching Ben’s ship disappear until you could see it no longer.

As soon as you arrived back in your country, you sat down in your chamber and wrote Ben a letter. Despite being many miles apart, you were still interested in keeping in touch with him. Once you’d stuffed the finished letter in an envelope and sealed it, you handed it to your maid, who knew what to do with it. You lay down in your bed with a book, trying to ignore your loneliness.

Ben had done the same thing. He’d written you a quick, sweet letter, and had sent it on its way. He sat out in the palace garden, tapping his foot and staring at some flowers that reminded him of you. Your time together had been short, but he was enamored by you. He was determined to meet you again and see what grew from the little soil that was there.

---

“You what?” you exclaimed, staring at your father, the king, in disbelief.

“Darling, he’s perfect for you. You can rule as queen, he’ll be your prince consort, and it will bring the two kingdoms together for better trade and economics.” He had just told you about a prince from a different kingdom who you were to be married to. You had met him when you were a child, and you two had completely despised each other.

“No!” you shouted. “I won’t do it!”

You father rose from the chair he was in. He stood at least a foot and a half over you, which he’d never used to intimidate you until now. “Young lady, this is not a matter you have a say in. You couldn’t possibly know all of what is necessary to rule a country. No one marries for love, they marry for bloodlines and money.”

You sputtered; everything you thought you’d known about your parents crumbled in that very moment. “But...you love my mother, don’t you?”

“Only because I’ve been forced to spend every day of the past twenty five years with her.” He sighed as he noticed some tears fall down your face. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. But this is what’s going to be best for the country that you’ll eventually have to rule.”

“You’re mad.” You slowly backed up towards the door. “This whole system is mad.”

“Your emotions will get in the way of you being a good queen!” your father exclaimed. “You cannot rule with your heart!”

You slammed the door, dashing down the hall to God knows where.

---

You wrote a letter to Ben, explaining the situation. Through these letters, over the course of several months, you and Ben had fallen in love, though you were unable to communicate in person. You knew you’d have to try to forget about him, but you didn’t want to desert him without any explanation.

Ben read your most recent letter, a smile plastered across his face. Your writings were one of the very few things he looked forward to. However, the smile quickly fell when he realized what you were talking about. An arranged marriage. To someone that wasn’t him.

He knew he didn’t want to lose you, not in this way. He immediately hopped on a ship, despite his parents’ attempts to stop him, and sailed to your nation. His ship got into one of your harbors, and there was visible confusion; no one was expecting him. He ran down the ramp, heading straight for the castle. He was as tired as he’d ever been, due to the lack of sleep on the ship, but he tried to ignore it. He needed to talk to you.

He reached the gates, grabbing onto the bars and searching the courtyard. The only people milling around there were gardeners. “Hello!” he shouted. “I need to speak to Princess (Y/n)!”

One older gardener looked up, cocking an eyebrow. “Young man,” he began, “you can’t just run up here and expect for us to let you in so you can speak to our heir. Go home.”

“I’m Prince Benjamin!” Ben exclaimed. “She knows me! You can ask her!”

A different gardener eyed him suspiciously before heading into the castle. He returned a few minutes later, sending a thumbs up to Ben. The prince sighed, letting one of his hands fall from the bars of the gate.

A while later, he saw you sprinting towards him from the castle. Your dress dragged in the grass, no doubt leaving stains. But you couldn’t care less. Ben was here, and you couldn’t have been more happy and sad at the same time.

You flung open the gate, falling directly into his arms. Both of you were sweaty, neither of you looked very royal, but both of you only wanted to pay attention to the person in front of you.

“Why are you here?” you mumbled into his chest.

“I read your letter.” He held you tighter. “I didn’t want to believe it was true. I hoped I could come here and stop it.”

You suddenly remembered your resolve. You pushed him away, wiping a tear away. “Ben, we can’t. There’s no way to stop it. We can’t--”

“I can talk to your father!” Ben seemed very passionate about keeping you, and it was breaking your heart. “I can convince him that we’d be better together!”

“Ben, no.”

“Why not?” He was almost shouting in desperation. “Please! Just let me try!”

You sniffled. “Ben, you have to leave me.”

“I can’t walk away from something that wasn’t supposed to end!” He fell down to his knees, clasping his hands in a begging fashion. “It can work, just please let me talk to your father.”

You shook your head. “I can’t. As much as I’d love to marry you, we can’t. It’s not realistic.”

“Nothing about us is realistic.” He stood back up, holding your hands in his. “We met in Paris, kissed after just meeting, and were then violently pulled apart. We can survive.”

You wrenched away from him, turning your back. You went back through the gate, closing it on him. “Goodbye, Benjamin.” You turned, ignoring his voice as you went back to your castle to continue planning for you wedding.

Ben stumbled back to his ship, completely in a trance. The only woman who he’d ever loved was being ripped away from him, forever this time. He boarded his ship, it left the harbor, and it never went back to Ben’s home kingdom. Nul ne sait ce qui lui est arrivé.

[thesffcorner]

Men In Black: International

MiB: International is the fourth film in the MIB franchise, or possibly the first in a spin-off series, set in the same universe. No matter how you want to look at it, this film is directed by F Gary Gray, and stars Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth as Agent M and Agent H respectively.

Molly has been obsessed with space and aliens since she was a little girl, when she helped an alien escape from MiB agents. Now, as an adult she manages to get into the Agency, and gets sent on a probation mission to London, at the behest of her boss (Emma Thompson). There she runs into the supposed best Agent, H, who single-handedly saved the universe, 2 years prior. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the duo gets involved in an intergalactic conspiracy that may destroy the Earth once and for all.

I have a… difficult relationship with this series. I have never liked any of the films more than just average and passable; I didn’t think the first film was that good, and as such I was only mildly disappointed by 2, and mostly just indifferent to 3. I wasn’t even going to see this, but I kept hearing how bad everyone thought it was, so I got curious.

And you know what? It’s fine.

The base thing is, no one asked for this film. I will give the filmmakers props in that at least they try to expand the universe, and we do follow new characters, instead of just remaking the first film. This is even in continuity with the previous films, as signaled by a painting in Liam Neeson’s office. So as far as remakes go, things could be much much worse.

Let’s talk about the world-building first. This film suffers from exactly the same thing that all of these films do, and that is that the world-building is lackluster and doesn’t take advantage of the setting or the premise. I have never understood this; what exactly is the job of the MiB? Other than protecting Earth obviously. If there was a massive alien migration on Earth, how come there aren’t whole communities and hidden cities where it’s just aliens? At best we get a nightclub, which mind you also has humans in it, so like… if no humans are allowed to know that aliens exist, then who the hell are those guys?

This film involves traveling to a bunch of places like Paris, London, Morocco and Italy, but for the most part, the locations aren’t really cleverly used. I’ve already seen the idea that the Eiffel tower is some kind of space station before, and I’m honestly shocked that we didn’t go to the Pyramids and say the same.

There are a few set pieces in the film, but none are particularly engaging. I will say that the design of the two aliens who we spend most of the film fighting are really cool, and some of their powers are pretty neat; they can manipulate the states of matter, so scenes where they melt things and then re-solidify them in weapons were well done. But for the most part, the only fight I really enjoyed was the one in Riza’s mansion, and that’s entirely because Rebecca Ferguson, Thompson and Hemsworth are great in fight scenes. Seeing as these are the actors in the film, I expected more fight scenes, but this really is the only one, and even this one is pretty brutal considering how cartoonish the rest of the violence is in this film.

The rest of the action is again, fine. There are a few chase scenes, some gadgets (the scene in the trailer with the car that’s all different weapons, being the standout), but the ending is really rushed and underwhelming. This is partly a self-inflicted problem; the Hive, the main enemies have a design that is near incomprehensible, so I don’t really see how one could go about fighting a creature like that. However, no one forced the filmmakers to chose that design especially if they didn’t know what to do with it.

Let’s talk about the story and the characters. The story is pretty straight forward and honestly kind of predictable; I really dislike films where the plot hinges on some kind of reveal or twist as to who the villain is, and the film has one well known actor who is playing some kind of benevolent mentor figure. Gee, I wonder who the bad guy will be?

In fairness, they do kind of try to throw in a wrench here, with Rafe Spall’s character, who is antagonistic towards Hemsworth. What ends up happening though, is that the relationship between him, Hemsworth and Neeson become the most interesting part of the film; I was wondering what the deal was, why Spall hated Hemsworth, if they had been friends, if they were rivals for Neeson’s affection and approval, or even if Spall was Neeson’s actual son, but Neeson preferred Hemsworth. I was surprised to see the route that they ended up taking with Spall’s character, clearly set up for a sequel, but I really liked it.

Kumail Nanjiani plays Pawny, the only alien in the crew, who gets attached to Molly after she manipulates him into not taking away his life. He was one of the funniest parts of the film, and the longer the film went on, the more I enjoyed his jokes.

Riza was another character that I felt was underused. I again, was interested in what kind of relationship she had with Hemsworth; he has a scene previously with Molly asking her if she’s ever been in love, and it’s implied that Riza might have been said love interest, but nothing ever comes of this.

Finally, we have Molly and H. Even though Molly is the lead character, and the film follows her arc, I found H infinitely more interesting. The issue with Molly is that she’s a blank slate; she has personality, and she was relatable, but she had no backstory, and was so narrowly motivated, that I had trouble caring about her. All she cares about is becoming part of the MiB; she even says she has no pets, no family, no lovers, only her determination to get into the Agency. Combined with her inexperience, and having to have all these pre-established explained to her, this made the first half of the film unbearably boring. The reason this worked so much better with Will Smith’s Agent J, was because J was allowed to have charisma, and things outside of his Agency ties. This is why H is a better character; he has a past, established relationships, he’s kind of a mess and makes a lot of mistakes and smartass comments.

The chemistry between these characters was mostly just awkward, which was so frustrating, because I have watched them TOGETHER in Ragnarok, where they played more or less the same type of character (just reversed) and they had excellent chemistry! But for whatever reason the pacing and writing of this film made their dynamic so awkward, for a very long time; they only started making sense as partners in the very last third of the film. What’s even more frustrating is that Hemsworth didn’t have that issue with the other characters; he had excellent chemistry with Neeson and Ferguson, and his banter and back and forth between him and Spall’s Agent C was not only funny, but also felt ad-libbed.

Overall, this film was fine. It’s not as bad as people claim it is; it’s about on par with MiB3, and if you like the series, you will probably enjoy this. If it makes enough money for a sequel I have no doubt it would be better, so maybe give it a watch and see for yourself.

[happysandwichparty-blog]

Japan - Day 3 (Akihabara)

Time to let out our inner weeaboos. We are going to Akihabara! If I was in Akihabara 5 years ago I probably would go more crazy than I will now, but I guess we will see!

We started early again today - woke up at 3:30AM. However seeing as most of Akihabara doesn’t open until 10:00AM we moved more slowly. We didn’t actually start getting ready until 6:00AM. I just spent my time browsing the internet, working on this blog, and moving video from the GoPro to the laptop; all while finishing up my milk tea from yesterday and chowing down on some melon bread we picked up at Lawson last night on our way back.

When I first woke up this morning and discovered that nothing opened until a bit later in the morning, I thought we could maybe go back to Ueno and around 9:00AM hit up the museum we missed and then head over to Akihabara. That plan was foiled as well, the museums are not open on Mondays. Damn.

In the end we decided to just get outside and start walking! I suggested we walk toward the Sky Tree, and so we did.

We made our way across the bridge and then through Sumida park. Once again it was super quiet, it was only about 7:00AM, we did find a small shine that had a great view of the Sky Tree though!

We eventually did make our way over to the Sky Tree. It opened at 8:00AM right when we arrived, however we decided not to go up, as there are other locations in Tokyo to get a great view of the city. And the sky tree was a bit expensive in my opinion. Having done the Eiffel Tower in Paris I know you pay a bunch of money and are up there for 20 minutes. So we opted out, but it was still really neat to see!

There is also an aquarium at the Sky Tree, which opens at 9:00AM and some shopping (including a Pokemon Center) which open at 10:00AM. Again we are cursed by being up so early, nothing is open. At this point we hopped on the train at Oshiage and head back to Asakusa.

This train ride was a treat as now we were in rush hour. Time to get comfortable with thousands of our new Japanese friends! I was so worried about falling over on someone, it was so packed I had one foot on the ground and nothing to hold on to! It was definitely an experience though, one I knew I’d have at some point, and probably will again over the next 2 weeks.

We decided to hang around our Air BnB for a little while to let things open up and then head over to Akihabara. I took this time to eat a second breakfast (what am I a hobbit?), I’ve been so hungry on this trip. Just a quick snack of some orange juice and another salmon onigiri, nothing too fancy.

Finally around 10:00AM we jumped on the Ginza line to Ueno and then switched to another line (Not sure what it was called, It wasn’t the JR Yamanote) for the quick ride down to Akihabara.

When we arrived our first stop had to be the Yodobashi store. There are (I believe) 9 floors of everything you can imagine! I specifically wanted to stop here to pick up film for my Instax Mini. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of hand checking twice on the way to Tokyo and I knew I could buy it was soon as we got to Akihabara.

I was content just picking up the film and then heading out, but the husband insisted I walk around every floor - I’m glad he made me. I didn’t end up buying anything because I was so overwhelmed, but I definitely saw some really neat items! And they really did have EVERYTHING.

Note this aisle of Gundam. There were 4 aisles just like this one. I never knew there were so many Gundam.

Tower Records is on the 8th floor, which I was excited to finally visit. High school me would be so proud! And the top floor was a food court, and let me tell you, it all smelled AMAZING. If we didn’t have other plans we would have eaten there.

After leaving the Yodobashi we head out in search of a maid cafe. I was specifically looking for @Home Cafe or Maidreamin. However I was leaning toward @Home Cafe, which we did find first.

I still think I may go back and try Maidreamin though, I’d like to see how the two differ.

Anyway!

We arrived at a good time, it got very busy right after we arrived. Everyone was definitely adorable! We both ordered set meals, which in hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have done. It was a lot of food. I ate all of mine, but the husband had a hard time finishing his. It was all well worth the experience though.

The set meal included a drink, meal, dessert and a picture with a maid of your choice. At first I felt bad because I didn’t pick the maid that seat us or took our order, but as our time there progressed the maids mingled with everyone so I didn’t feel quite as bad.

All of our food! Pink curry, beef curry, pancake dessert, cheesecake dessert and drinks (alcohol mixed drink & melon soda). The alcohol drink tasted blue, and you could not taste the alcohol. And I really mean that, I do not drink and can ALWAYS taste alcohol in drinks and even I took a small sip and couldn’t taste anything.

We received our pictures with the maids, and in the end a little loyalty card that looks like a credit card. You can rank up after so many visits.

After our visit to @Home Cafe (which I would definitely do again!) we finally ventured out into Akihabara and started to hit up all of the stores.

There were a few things I was specifically looking for - cute gachapon, neko atsume UFO machines, and a boob mouse pad for a friend.

I was only able to find the gachapon. But not to worry we only hit half the street and will go back a second day!

We did see so many neat things though, and I really wish that I could fluently read Japanese. 3 years of studying and then ignoring it for 3 years doesn’t do me much good. I digress, there was cute manga I wanted but I can’t read it so damn!

One really cool find, which I didn’t buy, but may go back and pick up - a Super Mario game for the Game Boy. I had it when I was a kid, it was one of my first games and unfortunately my sister lost my Game Boy on a trip one year and the game was in it. I’d never been able to find it again, until now!

After wandering around for a few hours up and down buildings we started to get tired and it started to rain - we decided to call it a day. We head back around 5:00PM.

Plans went awry again. We intended on going to dinner around 7:00PM. Jet lag caught up with me again and I fell asleep at 7:00PM. I must have been very tired because I slept through the night in my jeans. Oops.

I think one more day and i’ll be over the jet lag finally!

[wikitopx]

Posh, quiet and populated, Neuilly-sur-Seine is a suburb on the western border of Paris.

While the area itself remains low-key it is within walking distance or a swift Métro ride from sights, museums, and parks that the whole world knows and loves. The 17th, 16th and 8th borders of Neuilly-sur-Seine, where Arc de Triomphe, Musée Marmottan, Parc Monceau and more are at your fingertips. And when the day ends, and you've got your culture, food, and nightlife, you can retreat from the busy city and to your peaceful home from the Seine. Discover the best things to do in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

[toc]

1. Folie Saint James

A neat symbol of Ancien Régime excess exists on Rue de Longchamp, a path from the river.

The mansion and park are the roses of Claude Baudard de Saint James, treasurer of the French Navy during the reign of Louis XVI. They were planned by François-Joseph Bélanger in the late 1770s, and a guide from Saint James, an architect for his architect was “Do what you want provided it is expensive”!

There’s a fine Palladian mansion fronting a park with a Doric under a man-made grotto. The house and its park have recently come through a two-year revamp, restoring them to their 18th-century splendor.

2. Local Sights

Although Neuilly-sur-Seine is a great place to live for low crime, fashion boutiques, dining, and upmarket atmosphere, there are still plenty of tourists immersed in it. But on a casual walk around the area, you’ll find enough to keep you enthused for a while if you’re interested in its past.

Château de Neuilly was Louis-Philippe I's favorite residence during the July monarchy but was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1848 and the vast land was divided into seven boulevards and nine streets.

At 52 Boulevard dArgenson is the last remaining wing, integrated into a monastery in 1907.

3. Arc de Triomphe

If the weather is good, you can easily walk east of Neuilly-sur-Seine along the Boulevard de la Grande Armée to one of the iconic landmarks of the world. The Arc de Triomphe, if you don’t already know, is a titanic triumphal arch modeled on the Arch of Titus in Rome.

It was begun in 1806 and finally inaugurated 30 years later to honor the French people who died in the Revolutionary War and Napoleon’s various campaigns. Get up close to view the reliefs of the battles, check out the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and go to the roof to gaze down each of the 12 radiating avenues.

4. Musée Marmottan

Under ten minutes by taxi through Bois de Boulogne, Musée Marmottan is a paradise for Monet lovers. It started as an exhibition of furniture and art from the First Empire, and all of these items from the time of Napoleon Ioi are wonderful.

But in the 1960s, son Claude Monet, Michel donated his father's collection of paintings and overnight, the museum has more works of this artist than any other attraction in the world. Following later donations, there are now over 300 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings to dazzle you, by luminaries like Renoir, Gauguin, and Sisley.

5. Trocadéro

Another world-famous scene is close by, and you will feel regret for not going down Trocadéro on the right bank of the Seine. Here on the terrace of the Palais du Chaillot, you will get what most agree is the final view of the Eiffel Tower.

Day or night it’s a superlative place to be, but don’t be surprised if you have to wait or jostle for a decent photo opportunity.

The building you’re standing on, together with its gardens below, was completed for the Exposition Internationale in 1937: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted at this time in 1948, and there are also four different museums to look at inside.

6. Louvre

Around 15 minutes door-to-door on the Métro Line 1 is a titan of world culture. The second-most visited museum in the world is a fortress-turned-royal residence that is absolutely replete with art and artifacts from any number of periods and parts of the world.

If there’s a specific civilization or movement that holds your interest, you will find something relevant and fascinating to study here. But there are two specific works that you can’t leave without seeing: Delacroix’s stirring Liberty Leading the People and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

7. Champs-Élysées

One of the essentials for beginners in Paris, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées runs diagonally from Place de la Concorde and Place de Charles de Gaulle. Like a scene etched in people's imagination, the appeal of Champs-Élysées is simply there and capturing the picture.

The avenue is enriched by shops for leading luxury brands, but for most people, the setting of the Arc de Triomphe, the ending line of the Tour de France and the memory of parades and events of historical importance will win hearts and imagination.

8. Parc Monceau

Up there with the most beautiful parks in the city, an English-style park and winding roads and rolling lawns instead of a French geometric building. The park is set for a cousin of Louis XVI, who was slashed during the Terrorist Dynasty.

In the end, it was in the hands of the city and became the first public park created by Baron Haussmann. There are lots of glimpses from an earlier time though. At the northern entrance is a building dating from 1787, which used to be a toll gate as part of the Wall of the Farmer's General.

And inside there’s a classical colonnade and a pyramid-shaped ice house built for the original owner.

9. La Défense

  The city's future commercial district is located on the other side of the Seine and was planned in the 1960s as a way to keep modern architecture out of central Paris. You are so close that you can jump over a bridge in an hour or two.

And, standing on Charles de Gaulle Boulevard, as well as the unmistakable Arc de Triomphe to the east, to the west you will be able to see the Grande Arche, which has been here since 1989.

It’s the work of Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen and is a 110-meter-high rectangular frame made from reinforced concrete but clad with glass and Italian Carrara marble.

10. Musée Jacquemart-André

Édouard André and his wife Nélie Jacquemart were prolific art collectors in the 19th century. Funded by a huge bank inheritance, the couple made annual trips to Italy and shortly before gathered one of the richest Italian art collections in France.

And all are located in their magnificent mansion built to order in 1875 by architect Henri Parent.

The Italian Museum inside has paintings of Canaletto, Botticini, Donatello, Uccello, and Botticini, but you can also poke around couples of public apartments, private apartments, and winter gardens.

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Nancy

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-neuilly-sur-seine-709282.html