VIFF -- Review: A Girl Unknown

The film traces the lives of girls and women in China

A Girl Unknown (2026)

The film opens showing a shy six-year-old girl sitting on a rock as she watches other children play in the water. Lin Juan (Cao Ruofan) is a tomboy who doesn't like wearing dresses or following the expectations of how a girl should behave.

But her father doesn't seem to mind, and makes her a kite out of bamboo and paper. However, when he dies suddenly, her mother soon finds another partner and is pregnant in a rural village. 

Lin Juan is played by Cao Ruofan

She takes Juan to an auntie in the city, perhaps Guangzhou, for what the girl is initially told a few months. But the reality is that her mother is not coming back, and thus begins Juan living a new identity, and trying to adapt to her new surroundings.

The auntie is kind, sophisticated, but her husband dislikes to the girl. Ten years later Juan (now played by Li Gengxi) is a teenager in the mid-1980s who loves dancing, listening to Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and hanging out with her friends. But does she really belong?

Throughout A Girl Unknown we see how girls and women are treated in Chinese society, and how Juan tries to navigate the system on her own terms. At one point she gets a job in a textile factory, and viewers get a glimpse of what life is like, and how workers try to survive being cogs in a big, never-ending wheel.

Li Gengxi is the older Ruan in the film

Juan lives a difficult life, psychologically, trying to understand how her life came to be this way, and the audience is too. 

It is a reminder that women in China are theoretically supposed to be "holding up half the sky" according to Mao Zedong, but in reality they are expected to do that and more without much appreciation or respect.

A Girl Unknown is first-time director Zou Jing's subtle but devastating critique of women's lives in China, both rich and poor, and her two leading actresses playing Juan at six and 17 are excellent. Not only do they look very similar, but they each retain that tomboyishness and rebellious streak.

While the pace of the film may seem slow at times, a lot of things happen, and the motif of water recurs over and over again to great effect.

This is Zou's debut film

A Girl Unknown

Directed by Zou Jing

128 mins

Fact of the Day: HK's Birthrate Falls Below 30K

Babies are a scarce resource in Hong Kong

A quick news flash from Hong Kong that isn't good for the city's future.

It is well-known the birthrate is low, but the latest figures are definitely concerning.

There were only 2,376 births in August, the lowest total for an August since monthly records began, and 112 fewer than last year.

This means Hong Kong is expected to have 28,818 births for 2026, the first time below 30,000 since World War II.

That was when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong from December 1941-August 1945 (three years and eight months). During that period the Japanese colonisers routinely executed Chinese residents, took over and controlled the police, hyperinflation led to financial hardships for locals, and there was a shortage of fuel and food.

For comparison, only 10 years ago (2016), there were 60,856 births in Hong Kong...

What further measures will the Hong Kong government take to boost the birthrate? Does it even care?

Review: I Deliver Parcels in Beijing

Hu's first-person account as a courier

I lived in Beijing just before the appearance of smartphones, WeChat and T-Mall, which resulted in the explosion of Chinese people buying clothes and food online and having them delivered to their homes and offices.

Practically overnight people's lives changed -- there was no need to go to the store or restaurant in person, someone did this for you, saving lots of time and effort.

But for those people providing that service, the delivery workers, it was and still is hard work.

We never knew what that experience was like, until Hu Anyan, a budding writer, published his first-hand accounts during the Covid lockdowns.

He worked a string of several low-paying jobs

His descriptions of what it was like to work for delivery companies as well as a string of other lowly jobs were compiled into a book, called I Deliver Parcels in Beijing in 2023 which became a hit and sold 2 million copies, and then was translated into English by Jack Hargreaves.

Hu is not a particularly ambitious person, but likes to do his job well, whatever it may be. He writes mostly about what it's like to be a delivery driver on a trike, and earning less than 2 yuan per package is hard to fathom, considering he had to pick up the parcels from a central warehouse, go to the addresses, go up elevators or stairs to deliver the packages or contact the people to collect them.

That's a lot of work. 

And if the items in the package are damaged or spoiled, he has to compensate out of his own pocket. These drivers also have the stress of people complaining their packages haven't arrived, as well as worrying about getting into an accident on the road.

Readers can't help but sympathise for Hu, and then there is the additional issue of having to deal with his colleagues and managers, many of whom are not collegial or professional, which he recounts in various incidents.

We first meet Hu working in a logistics depot sorting items, re-packing them, and then putting address labels on them. He thinks he can earn more money by working the night shift, but it's physically demanding and also difficult for the body to adjust. 

Delivering parcels is a tedious task for low wages

He describes not only what it's like on the job, but also what he does after work. When he is off work in the early mornings, his mind is still buzzing from working that it takes a few hours to calm down and sleep; he resorts to wandering grocery stores to tired out his body, even though it's already exhausted.

Later in the book he describes working at a convenience store, a bicycle shop, magazine and comic book publishers, and even trying to start his own business selling knock-off trendy clothes and a snack shop.

Hu also works in different cities, from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, to Foshan, Nanning, Dali, and Xiaguan, and even flies to Hanoi, Vietnam to see if he can be an entrepreneur there.

All these jobs with meagre salaries in different cities shows Hu's attempts to try to keep his living costs low, but then salaries are lower in the smaller municipalities; it's a no-win situation when working in a gig economy. 

He also bounces from job to job every six months or a year, probably because he realises he won't be making much more money, or feels he should be doing something else.

Interestingly he says his parents don't push him to work harder or get better jobs, and he does move back with them for a few years. The jobs have also taken a toll on Hu's mental health, making him lose interest in interacting with people, isolating himself. 

It seems that writing has helped him understand his experiences better and how they have shaped him as a person.

There are millions of people doing these jobs for very little pay in China. Is it any wonder they don't make enough money to buy an apartment, let alone save enough to have any safety net? It's a side of China that is rarely talked about, but exists, according to Hu.

VIFF -- Review: We Are All Strangers

One of two wedding scenes in We Are All Strangers

We Are All Strangers (2026)

This film with seven Golden Horse nominations is the third in the trilogy by director Anthony Chen who also wrote and produced this drama about a father and son and how divergent their lives are despite living in the same social housing flat in Singapore.

Father Boon Kiat (Andi Lim) is a hardworking, humble cook who makes bowls of noodles at his hawker stall. His wife died 10 years ago, while his wayward son Junyang (Koh Jia Ler) doesn't know what he's going to do after completing mandatory military service, and refuses to help his father out, believing it is too lowly a job for him.

Tensions between Bee Hwa and Junyang

Instead Junyang romances an academically-minded girl called Lydia (Regene Lim) in senior high school, whose mother is a teacher and expects her to go to university. However, things go awry when Lydia gets pregnant and wants to keep the baby...

Meanwhile Boon Kiat has his eyes on Bee Hwa (Yeo Yann Yann), a "beer auntie" who sells beers to customers at the hawker centre. She is desperate to find a place to live after her boyfriend ran off with her savings which results in her having to stay with her younger brother's family.

The relationship between Junyang and Lydia is fast and intense, whereas Bee Hwa slowly develops a fondness for Boon Kiat, who has wanted to be with her for a long time, but is patient and kind, which she reciprocates.

Early on Bee Hwa remarks Singapore is so wealthy, but she isn't. It's a theme played throughout in We Are All Strangers, a fictional snapshot of characters near the bottom of society struggling to stay afloat.

Seven Golden Horse nods

The only character that isn't fully developed is Lydia, which is a pity because viewers may find it hard to understand what she sees in Junyang, and how she sees her life now that it has gone from privilege to struggle because of him.

Nevertheless director Chen's We Are All Strangers is a kind of winding morality play over two and a half hours: what happens when you don't work hard, don't know what you want to do with your life, or the consequences of not listening to your father's advice. 

We Are All Strangers

Directed by Anthony Chen

157 minutes

VIFF -- Review: Iron Boy

Clichy draws from his childhood in his first feature, Iron Boy

Iron Boy (2026)

Iron Boy is a lovely, funny, endearing animation feature debut by Louis Clichy, who has worked at Pixar on Wall-E and Up, and has directed two Asterix animation films.

Making its North American premiere at TIFF and then Vancouver at VIFF, Iron Boy won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes last spring.

The family lives on a farm in France

It's about Christophe, a 10-year-old boy whose family has a farm, and he is keen to learn how to drive the tractor, but he starts leaning sideways, which causes an accident and he must wear a torturous metal back brace to hold his head up 24 hours a day, even while sleeping.

But Christophe discovers the beauty of the sounds the organ makes in the church, and thanks to an encouraging teacher, the boy shows talent in playing the magnificent instrument, which soon becomes his passion, much to the chagrin of his father who is desperately trying to make ends meet and resents his son's inability to physically help out on the farm.

The scenes are beautifully hand painted with watercolours that look simple, and yet convey so much emotion and nuance, that viewers can easily relate to Christophe and his coming-of-age story, the financial pressures on the family, and tensions in familial relationships.

Christophe is keen to drive the tractor

The scenes along with the dialogue are both funny and heartbreaking, and the audience couldn't help but cheer at the end of the film.

It turns out Iron Boy was inspired by Clichy's own childhood, as he grew up on a farm in the Beauce region in north-central France until he was 10 years old and wore a back brace. His son Gary is the voice of Christophe, while the other voices are from non-actors, giving it a more realistic effect.

In French, the name is Le Corset, not Iron Boy, but possibly to avoid any misinterpretations, the English title is different. Nevertheless, hopefully Iron Boy will have a greater release, as it has universal themes of growing up, finding one's passions and standing up for oneself.

Iron Boy

Directed by Louis Clichy

90 minutes

VIFF -- Review: Farruquito: A Flamenco Dynasty

A scene shows Farruquito's brilliance as a dancer (centre) 

As I was writing my posts about Paris (finally finished!), I attended the 45th Vancouver International Film Festival and saw 12 films, a mixture of dramas, documentaries and animation.

For 11 days I had quite the schedule, in many instances seeing two films per day! It almost felt like a job, having to wake up early to take public transit downtown and get there at least 30 minutes before the screening to queue up in order to get a good seat in the movie theatre!

In some cases there was already a long line half an hour before. To pass the time I either chatted up someone in front of me in the queue, or read a book -- the most reading I've done in 11 days.

Some screenings included interviews with the filmmakers which just added a greater appreciation for their work.

Here are my brief reviews in the order in which I saw the films:

Farruquito: a Flamenco Dynasty (2025)

I've always found flamenco dancing fascinating because of its raw emotion and intense endurance, which is why I picked this documentary. Farruquito is the stage name of Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, the third generation to dance in his family.

It was his grandfather Farruco who was a legend for creating his own steps that were inspired by nature, like horses' hooves as they run on the grasslands. He had one son who was destined to be great -- Farruquito -- but he died at the age of 18 in a car accident.

But when the young Montoya showed talent in dancing, he inherited his uncle's stage name and learned dancing from his grandfather, and music from his guitar-playing father. The budding Farrquito became quite the celebrity in Spain.

The documentary is filled with a treasure trove of old videos of the grandfather, and of Farruquito as a child -- watching them gives viewers an insight into how he learned from his master, and also the family dynamics. At the same time the film doesn't hold back on confronting Farruquito's demons and how he must reconcile them to move forward.

There is already a fourth generation coming up -- Farruquito's son, who is a teenager and beginning to develop his own style of dancing, which Farruquito is more than encouraging. 

Some of the present-day scenes are staged, but for the most part viewers get to know most of the key family members and their own take on what it's like to be part of this flamenco dynasty.

Farruquito: a Flamenco Dynasty

Directed by Santi Aguado Reuben Atlas

90 minutes

Paris - Revolution Fomented in the French Capital

Our tour ended at The Pantheon, where martyrs are buried

We did a walking tour of Paris' Latin Quarter, which is located on the Left Bank, near Sorbonne, the university area. The tour focused on the French Revolution which lasted 10 years, 1789 to 1799. 

For most of us who studied the French Revolution in high school, we only know about July 14, 1789 with the storming of the Bastille and the execution of Marie Antoinette, but those events were only small parts of the revolution.

A quiet neighbourhood where activists met

It turns out most of the discussion around creating democracy and liberty, the rights of man, were mostly held in the Latin Quarter where activists met.

Our guide explained that the aristocracy and the clergy were basically the ruling elite, while everyone else, including professionals and intellectuals as well as the peasants did not own land and so they didn't have much political power.

At the same time King Louis XVI spent a lot of money fighting in the Anglo-French War (1778-1783), creating a lot of debt and forcing fiscal reforms which included the abolition of feudalism, separation of the church and state, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.

Danton was known for his rousing speeches

The educated class who were not part of the ruling elite discussed the above issues in secret societies, and our guide took us to these specific areas, from a quiet neighbourhood that now houses a flower shop and Manuel Canovas, a French fabric brand, and a small alleyway where the likes of French activist turned statesman Maximilian Robespierre and Benjamin Franklin (US ambassador to France) hung out.

Another activist was Georges Danton, a French lawyer and politician who was one of the leaders of the French Revolution for overthrowing the monarchy. However, he was later arrested by paranoid revolutionary activists and was tried on charges of conspiracy and venality. He was then executed by guillotine in 1794. We saw his statue on the street, looking as if he was giving one of his many rousing speeches.

Le Refectoire des Cordeliers

We also visited an area where the Faculty of Health at the University of Paris is located, where there was a church-like building where revolutionaries like Danton, Jean-Paul Marat, and Camille Desmoulins met up called Le Refectoire des Cordeliers.

Our final stop was the Pantheon, a building that pays tribute to Greek architecture and later became a mausoleum for martyrs, and well known personalities. People like Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Marat, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (a philosopher whose work influenced the French Revolution), and Emile Zola.

The two-hour tour revealed how little we knew about the French Revolution, that it actually lasted a decade, and there was so much discussion about how they wanted the French republic to function, in that everyone had rights to life and liberty, and freedom of the press and speech.

Franklin and Robespierre met here

The French seem to hold these values very closely even today, which shows their understanding of where they have come from, and how critical it is to fight for democracy, that it is not to be taken for granted.

Paris - Gelato Treat

My dark chocolate and raspberry gelato cone

We didn't see many gelato shops in Paris, but we managed to find one place that had a queue forming outside, which is a good sign.

Another good sign was that the gelato flavours were in sunken tubs covered by metal lids to protect them from light, air and temperature changes.

The shops that have gelato piled up high reveal they use chemical stabilisers to be able to stand up, as good gelato is soft. 

So the gelato shop we found is called La Crema par Roberta Costa, near the Pantheon.

As we waited in line (and light showers started to sprinkle), we tried to find out what the flavours were and decide what to have.

Luckily the line went quickly and soon enough we found ourselves inside in front of the staff member ready to scoop gelato for us.

I settled on raspberry and dark chocolate (6 euros for two flavours), and he used a flat ladle to scoop out the gelato -- not round like most places. Then he asked if I wanted whipped cream, to which I said no, and then he put a small edible spoon on top of the cone.

This combination of dark chocolate and raspberry worked well, though I wished he had given me two scoops of the raspberry instead of chocolate, which was quite rich. My cousin got a scoop of hazelnut and it was very creamy, while mango sorbet was bright and refreshing.

By the time we came out of the gelato shop to eat our sweet treats, the rain had stopped and we savoured every bite in front of the store as a steady stream of customers continued flowing in and out.

La Crema Gelato

19 Rue Sufflot

75005 Paris 5

 

Paris - Dan Dan Noodles Parisien Style

We satisfied our hunger pangs here with dan dan noodles

When we were in Paris we mostly at Asian food, like ramen, soup noodles and dumplings, because those eateries were either still open after the lunch rush, or they happened to be located near where we were, or were good value.

If the place offered Chinese food, they usually had a storefront window where people could see the various dishes laid out like a mini Panda Express to be scooped into takeaway boxes, which was how many non-Chinese ate the food. 

The funky mural drew us into the eatery

Many were owned by mainland Chinese who have lived in Paris for many years. 

After our walking tour around the Latin Quarter, we came upon a Chinese restaurant that had a funky interior inside. Called Tran Tran Zai, one of the walls had a mural with mahjong tiles, bowls of noodles, chili peppers and dumplings, while the ceiling had paper umbrellas hanging upside down.

The small eatery was packed with people, mostly students as it was located near some universities.

We ordered some pork dumplings that were quite large, arranged in a circle with coriander leaves in the middle and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was definitely hearty and the wrappers were surprisingly thin.

Pork dumplings enveloped in thin wrappers

The bowls of noodles seemed to have the common denominator of having a dan dan peanut spicy sauce in different variations. We had the dan dan noodles with a handful of minced pork on top, then one vegetarian, same flavoured soup base, with cabbage and carrots; tofu would have been nice!

We were also surprised to discover our food was prepared by African immigrants! They seemed very experienced, while the boss was a Chinese guy, and the waitress seemed to be working on her first day in kitten heels navigating her way around the dining space.

Later on I discovered there isn't just one Tran Tran Zai, but five spread around the French capital. The food is pretty good, fills you up and definitely a step up from those takeaway shops.

Dan dan noodles with mild spice level

Tran Tran Zai Pantheon

3 Rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique

75005 Paris

Paris - Notre Dame's Beauty Post Fire

Notre Dame was cleaned as it was restored

Back to writing about Paris as I've so many more things to say about my trip!

After we visited Musee d'Orsay, we went to Notre Dame. Unfortunately traffic was a mess because of road construction, so our Uber inched around the block like a snail. For us the benefit was being able to have a short nap in a 20-minute ride that should have taken five minutes.

The cathedral was crawling with tourists

When we arrived, there was a massive line in front of the basilica, but because we had timed tickets, we pretty much walked in. The tickets are free, but can only be booked at most a day in advance. Visitors are also warned not to wear shorts above the knee and shoulders should not be bare.

However, depending on the security guard, some sleeveless tourists were able to go through, while others were given temporary shawls to cover themselves. Shorts of all lengths seemed to have no problem getting in.

Once we were inside, the place was crawling with tourists, and every few minutes a pre-recorded male voice on a loop would make a shhhh sound and plead for silence; it mostly went unheeded.

We were really interested in visiting the Notre Dame following the horrific fire in April 2019 that destroyed the cathedral's wooden spire and most of the wooden roof which caused extensive damage inside. While the three rose windows were undamaged, some lead joints in some 19th century stained glass windows melted.

The rose windows were undamaged

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a five-year timeline to complete the restoration of the Notre Dame (in time for the Paris Olympics), with donors pledging over 840 million euros. The cathedral was re-opened in December 2024, with restorers still working on a few stained glass windows (which were temporarily covered up).

After the fire there was discussion of whether to restore Notre Dame to what it looked like before or to modernise it, but because the building is a Unesco World Heritage site, the cathedral had to be reconstruct it like before.

It gave restorers an assignment of doing trades from centuries before, of which only a few experts have experience. Nevertheless it was still a beautiful experience to be in the cathedral; if the scaffolding in some parts were not there, you would not have known it had suffered damage. In fact the restorers took advantage of Notre Dame's closure to clean it, and so it looks brighter than it was before.

AnnaLena Awarded Two Michelin Stars in Vancouver Guide

AnnaLena is the first restaurant with two Michelin stars

Breaking news! The Michelin Guide revealed its 2026 restaurant selection for Vancouver was unveiled today and AnnaLena became the first to be honoured with two stars. It totally caught chef-owner Mike Robbins by surprise, though it's been no secret that he and his team have been gunning for a second star in the past year.

Meanwhile 10 restaurants retained their one-star rating, including Burdock & Co, Published on Main, St. Lawrence, Masayoshi, and Sushi Masuda.

Chef Kim of Five Sails missed out on a star

However, Barbara, a small restaurant located in Chinatown, lost its star after four years since the guide came out in 2022.

There was a lot of online chatter about Five Sails by Alex Kim not making the list, with local media wondering why the fine-dining restaurant helmed by a Masterchef Canada runner-up was overlooked.

However, he only became part owner of the restaurant at Canada Place in August, so perhaps Michelin was unaware or are going to see how he progresses this coming year?

In terms of Bib Gourmand, where the eatery offers good food at great value, Chef's Choice, a Cantonese restaurant on Broadway near Oak was added to the list, as well as contemporary Indian restaurant Kavita, which opened over a year ago. Chef's Choice had a revamp and uses more premium ingredients.

For Recommended Restaurants, four places made the list: modern Thai restaurant Jay Nok, Jeju which serves Korean dishes, farm-to-table Niwa, and Peya, with its French-Indian cuisine.

Contemporary Indian dishes at Kavita

Michelin also bestowed awards to up-and-coming people in the hospitality industry. Chris Enns of Peya was recognised for his outstanding cocktails; Bacchus' Mark Taylor won the sommelier award; the outstanding service award to Yash Shah at Kavita; and the young Michelin chef award went to chef Vish Mayekar.

This is the fifth year of the Michelin Guide in Vancouver, but celebrations were scaled down significantly and only a handful of media were invited. Michelin played down the downgrade, saying this was how the prestigious restaurant guide was going to move forward, but it's a pity not to include more media, since it is the food editors and writers who draw attention to these restaurants to Michelin in the first place.

Paris - Artistic Impressions at Musee d'Orsay

Sculptures displayed at Musee d'Orsay

The Louvre is an intimidating place to visit as it's so large and filled with masterpieces that it's an overwhelming experience.

A more approachable art museum that focuses more on the Impressionists is Musee d'Orsay, in a former train station still retains its original ceiling mouldings, but also a contemporary look.

Monet's Poppies or The Promenade

We got timed tickets the night before and thankfully we did because the next morning when we arrived at 9.30am when it opened, there was a massive queue for those who didn't have tickets or timed tickets.

When I showed them our tickets, we were ushered into another entrance where we went through security and then were in.

The museum has expanded its gallery space to the fifth floor, the top floor where its Impressionist collection is. There's also a balcony area where we could go outside and across the Seine see the Louvre and the giant balloon (minus the fiery cauldron) parked in the Tuileries Gardens.

It's interesting to see the museum's collection of Impressionist works arranged by collectors who bequeathed their paintings to the French state.

The Starry Night by Van Gogh

There is a short introduction of the collector, how they got to know the artists and following their deaths, how their collections were donated to either the state or Musees Nationaux.

It's not often that we know about the collectors, and how they supported artists financially, and these short biographies give visitors a chance to get to know them, and appreciate the role they had in artists' careers.

We saw numerous works by Claude Monet, like Poppies, also known as The Promenade, with a woman and child walking through a field of red poppies, or Vincent Van Gogh's Portrait of the Artist, the Dutchman painting himself in a light blue suit with a wavy background, and his Bedroom in Arles.

But there were other paintings that caught my eye, like Van Gogh's The Starry Night -- not the one in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but the precursor to it that he painted in 1888. A few months later, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital, and that's where he painted the work we all know.

Caillebotte's The Floor Scrapers

There's also an artist by the name of Gustave Caillebotte, who had a knack for painting scenes of blue-collar workers, like The Floor Scrapers in 1875.

Three bare-chested men are on their knees on the floor of a Paris apartment where the are stripping away the wood on the floor. Some critics at the time felt the work was vulgar and how it focused on the working class.

However, that's what makes the painting so interesting for us today, seeing the work they did was back-breaking and very physical, working hard for the benefit of the rich.

Caillebotte has another interesting perspective of being in a rowboat sitting in front of a man in a top hat who has the oars. The angle is one we'd probably take today with our phone cameras, but at the time was considered "audacious immersive framing" according to the caption.

Polar Bear by Pompon

The ground floor of Musee d'Orsay is well known for its display of sculptures, and there was one of a polar bear by Francois Pompon from 1923 to 1933. Pompon worked with Rodin, but focused more on animals. His Polar Bear is so contemporary looking, it's surprising that it was made a century ago.

A pair of sculptures caught our eye -- Chinese Man and Chinese Woman by Charles Cordier in 1853, the busts of two real people, Chung Atai and his second wife, Yung Achoi. Perhaps the spelling should be Ah-tai and Ah-choi?

In any event, according to the caption, the couple were originally from Canton (now Guangzhou) and traveled to London for the 1851 Universal Exhibition before touring Europe.

The Chinese Man, Chung Atai

The busts are made of bronze and have a lot of detail, like Atai's long braid, the embroidery on his chest, and he holds an opium pipe, whereas Achoi has butterfly and floral hairpins in her hair, the intricate designs on her silk robes, and her long fingernails.

Paris - Cruising the Seine

The Eiffel Tower lit up before the glittering show

The Seine is a 777 kilometre long river in northern France and it flows through Paris. There are 37 bridges in the French capital so it's not surprising that a river cruise is a popular way to see the city.

There are a few companies that offer these cruises varying in price, and they are very expensive when they include a meal. 

Everyone taking photos of Musee d'Orsay

Chef and restaurateur Alain Ducasse has come up with a more environmentally friendly way to cruise the Seine with his electric boat that is described as "a floating restaurant," and the prices are jaw-dropping, but probably a good deal compared to dining in his restaurants on land?

In any event we opted for the cheapest cruise without food and Bateaux Mouches fit the bill at 17 euros per person. 

We were strategic about going at sunset so we could catch Paris at dusk and then evening within the one-hour cruise.

Getting to where the boat was docked was quite the hassle, as other companies have their boats docked in the same area. Some guests were dressed up obviously for the dinner cruises, whereas the rest of us queued up en masse and tried to catch the 7.30pm sailing.

Unfortunately we couldn't quite catch it with hordes of people in front of us, but instead we got on another one around 8pm and sat on the upper deck (like everyone else).

Catching the Paris sunset on the water

It was still pretty good timing, the sun was just setting so there was a warm pink hue in the sky when we set off. 

There is no commentary on what you're seeing, including the Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, the Grand Palais, and Les Invalides. Along the way we went under several bridges, each different in decor. By the Tuileries Gardens we saw the 2024 Olympic cauldron lit up with fire via a floating hot air balloon. We all caught that on our phones.

The highlight of course was seeing the Eiffel Tower in all it's glory. We could see it quite close up, and by the time we reached it, it was almost 9pm, when it would be pulsating with lights. 

We passengers had hoped the boat would slowdown at least so that we could see it at 9pm, but the captain didn't care and our cruise continued on, though we were able to catch a bit of the Eiffel Tower with its flashing light show as we craned our necks.

By the time we docked, it was dark, so we probably had the best opportunity to see Paris as night gradually fell over the city.

Paris - Montmartre's Colourful Past

Sacre Coeur is the famous landmark in Montmartre

From a tourist point of view Montmartre is a neighbourhood known for Sacre Coeur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on top of the hill. Visitors congregate on the white front steps to take in the panoramic view of the city.

But historically Montmartre has much more significance, as it became the place where artists thrived and for locals, where protest, rebellion and anarchy is respected.

Le Moulin de la Galette where Renoir painted

We did a walking tour of Montmartre and our guide was very informative. We started across the street from Moulin Rouge, famous for dancers who did the can-can, lifting up their skirts to give men some titillating entertainment.

In 1831 the population of Paris was 759,000 and by 1846 grew to more than 1 million, and it was overcrowded, dirty and lots of disease spreading. Emperor Napoleon III was disgusted by what he saw and called for the city to be revamped, with gardens, tree-lined avenues and a modern sewage system.

That's when Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann, an ambitious civil servant, took on the task and revamped most of Paris with his Haussmann limestone apartment buildings that ubiquitous in the city.

Van Gogh lived on the left, top floor

By gentrifying Paris, those who could not afford it had to move to Montmartre, just outside the city limits, and this was where many artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Vincent Van Gogh lived for a time. It also became one of the seedier areas, hence the Moulin Rouge, where Toulouse-Lautrec sketched and painted the famous dancer Louise Weber, known as La Goulue.

Originally Montmartre was where vineyards, and orchards growing peaches and cherries were. Later 13 windmills were built here to grind wheat, barley and rye; only two windmills survive today. One is at Le Moulin de la Galette, where Renoir painted Dance at the Moulin de la Galette.

Gypsum was mined here, and the windmills were also used to grind it up into powder to make plaster. 

We also saw the apartment building where Vincent Van Gogh lived for two years with his brother Theo; this was before Van Gogh found city life too much for him and retreated to Arles in the south of France in a mental hospital.

Michel and the anarchy symbol

Our guide took us to see a bust of a beautiful woman called Dalida, who was an Egyptian singer famous in the 1950s and 60s. People touch the statue's breasts in the hopes of good luck in romance, which is ironic, considering one of her lovers committed suicide in 1967 and two decades later she did too.

She was also known as French president Francois Mitterrand's mistress, and it was he who had architect I.M. Pei design the pyramid structure at the Louvre -- some say as a nod to Dalida's Egyptian roots. 

On walls in Montmartre you will see the letter "A" with a heart. It is the symbol of anarchy, relating back to Louise Michel, who was a teacher, a poet, writer, philosopher, feminist and anarchist.

In 1871 she actively participated in the Paris Commune, where a revolutionary government seized power in Paris and controlled parts of the city for two and a half months. The Commune promoted policies that were progressive and anti-religious, including the separation of church and state, self-policing, abolishing child labour and the rights of employees to take over the business if the owner deserted it.

A mini vineyard in Montmartre

Michel was punished for her role, deported to New Caledonia, and later returned to mainland France in 1880, where she continued to promote anarchist thought. She also promoted the concept of animal welfare and denounced animal cruelty.

Montmartre is literally translated as "martyr's hill." It refers to Denis, Bishop of Paris who was executed by the Romans in the 3rd century. He and two others were decapitated, and the legend goes that soon afterwards, Denis picked up his head, went to wash it, and then walked several miles while preaching about repentance.

There are statues of him holding his decapitated head. 

Towards the end of our tour, our guide showed us a tiny plot of land that is being used to grow grapes. Apparently that area was supposed to be redeveloped into a tall building, but the people in the neighbourhood protested and won; they decided to grow grapes and make wine with it. The wine produced is apparently the most expensive plonk because it is sold at auction every year, but it's not the taste, but the tradition of standing up for themselves. 

Approaching the basilica from behind

That made me think how Montmartre resonated with Hongkongers, defending their neighbourhoods, protesting against oppression, and Michel leading the way.

We finally made it to the top of the hill to see the Sacre Coeur from the back. The guide told us the back of the basilica was very quiet, and we concurred, seeing locals lazing on the grass, reading or having a rest. It was a big contrast to the front, where all the tourists were.

Paris - Supersized Croissants

Care for a super-sized croissant with your cafe au lait?

Before going to Paris I had seen videos of influencers going to a French cafe and ordering a massive croissant with their (relatively tiny) cup of cafe au lait.

They gingerly held the super-sized pastry so that one of the horns could be dunked into the milky coffee. 

These XXL-sized croissants are 35 euros each

Was this for real?

It was, because we stepped into Galeries Lafayette Gourmet (a whole building just dedicated to food), and one of the stalls for pastry chef Philippe Conticni had these giant croissants priced at 35 euros. A regular sized one is 3 euros.

The XXL-sized croissant was sitting nonchalantly on the counter, though there were signs telling people not to touch it. And yes it was massive.

Behind the glass showcase were regular-sized pastries next to "big pain au chocolat" which was almost 15 euros, while the "big croissant" was almost 13 euros. They both said "big" in English so there was no mistake.

These weren't as large as the super-sized ones, but still three times the size of a regular pastry.

"Big" croissants and pain au chocolat for sale too

During our short visit to this stall there were more curious onlookers than buyers...

Paris - The Story Behind Pagoda Paris

Pagoda Paris is now a private gallery

Many of the apartment blocks in Paris were designed by Baron Georges Eugene Haussmann, who had a hand in gentrifying the city, building public works like water and sewers, train stations, and boulevards. The limestone apartment buildings are uniform in size and had standard layouts.

That makes this curious Chinese-style building near Parc Monceau stick out even more. 

The wooden gate and green tiled roof

Not only is it red in colour, but has a jade green tiled roof with mythical animals perched on top, and carved wooden window frames.

It's called Pagoda Paris and was the home and gallery of Chinese antiques dealer Ching Tsai Loo (1880-1957). The building was originally a townhouse and then Loo bought it in 1925 and had it refurbished.

It's now a private museum, and I contacted Pagoda Paris to see if we could arrange a time to visit, but were told it was closed for renovations.

While Loo is known for introducing western collectors to Chinese and Asian art, his reputation was later mired in controversy because of how he illegally obtained these items, some of which were considered state treasures.

Here's the quick bio: Loo is originally from Huzhou, 300km west of Shanghai. He was orphaned at the age of 10 and as a teenager went to Nanxun, where he worked for a successful merchant named Zhang Baoshan. Zhang's son, Zhang Renjie was appointed to the Chinese embassy in France and Loo followed him to Paris in 1902. Few Chinese were living there at the time.

Zhang's family had a Chinese goods import company, and he would obtain Chinese antiques to sell; he would later return to China and financially support Chiang Kai-shek.

Loo was a controversial collector and dealer

When Loo first arrived, he wore traditional Chinese robes and a queue, but soon transformed, wearing western clothes and short hair. He called himself Cheng Tsai Loo and opened his own antiques shop, and cultivated relationships with Caucasian sinologists.

The fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 led to weak supervision of antiquities which made it relatively easy for Loo to procure items. He developed a chain of middlemen who would help him find things he might buy, sourced from impoverished families, imperial tombs and monasteries. Loo soon developed a reputation for selling out China to Europeans and Americans for his own profit.

World War I stopped the flow of Chinese goods to Europe, but not to the United States, where collectors and museums were keen on Chinese art and antiques. Loo discovered Americans were interested in Chinese antiques when he went to New York and opened a gallery there in 1915. 

However, the boom ended with the stock market crash in 1929, but things began to ramp up again in 1941 as there were more experts in Chinese art and history. His clients included the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Freer Gallery, Fogg Museum, the Rockefellers, and Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical executive. 

He bought this building in 1925

But once the Communists took over China in 1949, Loo was cut off from his sources, and some of his associates were arrested, and his nephew, who was his agent in China, fled to Hong Kong. Eventually Loo had to liquidate his stock. He tried to salvage his integrity, by stating that if those objects were not removed from the country, they would have been destroyed. 

After Loo died at the age of 77 in 1957, Pagoda Paris fell into disrepair, and it wasn't until 2010 when a private French investor bought it and turned it into a gallery and events space. Loo was survived by his French wife and four daughters.