Ah, Paris. Here we are again, revisiting your many wonders, and seeing what we failed to pack into our already stacked up schedule the last time. What new things could you offer us? What wondrous sights will you show us?
Paris Metro: Palais Royal - Musee du Louvre
October 16-19, 2009 — Far more different to my last time in Paris (which, I am aware I failed to post on my travel blog, because there is simply far too much to add to it!), the air was chilly and there were sunny periods with patches of cloud in the sky. This resulted in a cold, random downpour of rain every couple hours. It was difficult to predict and a bit miserable.
Still, I was able to catch some sights and enjoy the city far more than I did last time. Something about not hauling everything you own on your back from point to point, and boiling in the heat makes a trip far more enjoyable.
After work, L-Dawg and I literally finished up all of our packing, bolted the flat, and took the Eurostar from London to Paris. Let me just say that they weren’t lying when they go on about how stress-free the Eurostar is, getting between the two cities. It really is. It took barely any time at all to get there, and when we did get there, it simply felt like a slightly extended London Underground ride and nothing more. Brilliant!
We arrived at our hostel – one we knew well from our last stay in Paris – and settled down for the night.
In the morning, an hour-and-a-half metro ride completed what would ordinarily be a seven-minute journey due to a bunch of closures from our point of exit to the Moulin Rouge, which was our first touristy destination. It was infuriating, to be sure, and somehow the wait wasn’t as valuable as it could have been. The Moulin Rouge building is a nice one, but it really is what it is: a cabaret theatre, full of nudity and a flavour of skeeziness. Still, I took some pictures.
The Moulin Rouge, Paris France
On our way to our next destination, we both paused by the corner of a street looking fairly lost, trying to plot our way from map to reality. We probably did take on the look of tourists, because a moment into our debating which street led where and what direction we were going, an old French woman approached us.
“Do you need some help?” she asked in French. Both of us have pretty shoddy French skills (though, admittedly, L-Dawg is far better than I am at French – thanks, Mr. Cann and your grade 10 French classes!) but we managed to garner what she was telling us.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
We told her, and she began to describe the streets, where they led, and which was the quickest direction we ought to take to get there.
Glad, we thanked her (in French, no less!) and then I turned to look in the direction we were going. When I glanced back, I swear, she disappeared as if she’d never been there at all. I called her Cecily LaRue after the ghost in Kit Pearson’s Awake & Dreaming, while ‘La Rue’ is French for ‘the street’. She was seriously like a ghost. Of course, L-Dawg burst my bubble and told me, “She probably disappeared around the corner, that’s all” in response to my exclamations of “She was totally a ghost!”
(She was a ghost.)
Anyway.
I finished off my Parisian excursion by spending my early-afternoon/late afternoon at the Musee d’Orsay the following day, while L-Dawg went ahead and had fun at the Musee l’Armee.
The Musee d'Orsay. Paris, France.
Oh, man. I loved the Musee d’Orsay. I can honestly say that it is one of my favourite museums of all time. I even enjoyed it far more than I did the Louvre –
The Louvre, Paris France. New, modern architecture ...
... combined with the old. (The Louvre, Paris France.)
where I also went to for the second time to see the Mona Lisa (because L-Dawg hadn’t seen it yet), the Venus di Milo (again, because L-Dawg hadn’t seen it yet!) and finally to see the special Venetian Painters exhibit, featuring the amazing collection by painters such as Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, etc. Amazing.
da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. Louvre, Paris.
Milos. Venus de Milo. Louvre Paris.
Revival of Venice: Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese. Louvre, Paris.
But, getting back to the Musee d’Orsay, the building is a former railway station (the Gare d’Orsay) built between 1898-1900 and styled in the Beaux-Arts style. It is the home of paintings, sculpture, furniture, drawings and photography (mostly French) between 1848-1915, which includes impressionism and post-impressionism. Artists featured in this museum are (and there are a lot of them): Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gaugin, Eugene Delacroix, Ingres, Gustave Courbet, Jean-Francois Millet, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, etc. All of the famous paintings can be seen here in the flesh (so to speak), and are displayed in clean, easy to maneuver rooms. Truly, it’s amazing.
The Musee d'Orsay, above view. Paris, France.
The Musee d'Orsay Clock. Paris, France.
The Musee d'Orsay, detail. Paris, France.
The 'Gare' bits of the Musee d'Orsay. Paris, France.
One of the beautiful ballrooms in the Musee d'Orsay. Paris, France.
Musee d'Orsay ballroom, detail. Paris, France.
And it is by the Seine River as well, so the view out the windows is quite beautiful.
The view from the window, Musee d'Orsay. Paris, France.
And we spent our last hours in Paris sitting under the Eiffel Tower once again, relaxing and enjoying the feeling of being in Paris. There’s nothing quite like it. I even whipped out my sketchbook and had a go at sketching, like a true artisan. While my scribbles aren’t any good, it was certainly cool to be part of that world for a little while.
I love the Musee D’Orsay too, its just such a beautiful and light building. Oh I want to go back to Europe.
Beautiful photos. I love how your voice echoes in old buildings, too.
And I’m glad you took up my suggestion of sketching! I need to find a bench someday in Toronto before it starts snowing.
damn you for going to all those museums…………..!!!!
when I go, I am gonna spend all day from opening to closing. for the whole time i am staying there!!!!
Kate – Ahh. It’s one of the most amazing museums ever. I love it! I’d go back again and spend another day there.
Kevin – Thanks, Kev!
And yes! I love that too.
I need to do some more sketching before I leave, but man. I just haven’t had the time or motivation to do so. I always end up preferring to bring my camera around instead …
Kat – LOL. You SO should. They’re absolutely more than worth it. Such great experiences!