TALE OF TWO CITIES DAY 3

I know it has been at least a week since I last posted but to my credit, it was a busy week what with a trip to see the grandkids and 3 1/2 days of golf.  Whew!  Day 3 began with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel.  They bring out fresh squeezed orange juice, lovely croissants and breads and a really good yogurt that is wonderful with a drizzle of honey.  With another couple, we then hot-footed to the Musee d'Orsay.    The Orsay is in the old Gare d'Orsay (railroad station).  It is a gorgeous building and is fantastic as an art museum.  It is very easy to navigate around and is by far my most favorite museum.  The art in the Orsay begins in time where the Louvre ends.  The 5th floor houses the impressionist and that is where we headed first.  There were a few waterlily paintings from Monet although many have been moved to the Musee d'Orangerie.  There are sculptures there also.  The second floor has rooms of artists most notably Van Gogh.  We spent about 3 hours there and had a delightful lunch in a restaurant on the 5th floor.  I had a wonderful quiche.  As you look at the pictures see if you can find something that seems out of whack.

After lunch we went to the Musee Rodin.  We could not get in right away as that pesky President of Singapore was inside.  We then had to wait until his motorcade passes by with the French Police at full attention.  They were definitely on guard against anything nefarious as there were also police in full riot gear present.  Unfortunately, the main building of the museum is undergoing renovation.  I went through a small temporary exhibit and then we all went outside and walked around the gardens.  His famous sculpture "The Thinker" is located in the gardens.

Two of the couples spent the day in the Loire Valley and we met up with everyone for dinner.

TALE OF TWO CITIES DAY 2 AFTERNOON

After spending the morning driving throughout the city, we dropped off the Waco Texas couple at the docks for their river cruise.  We then talked our driver into dropping us off at the Louvre instead of our hotel.  We had started later than expected (the driver's fault not ours) and did not want to waste time going to the hotel and then navigating the Metro to come back to the Louvre.  He agreed and so began our mad, wild, whirlwind tour of the Louvre.  IT WAS PACKED with not only tourists but tour groups.  Many of them and large numbers.  The Louvre contains 3 basic wings:  Denon Wing, Sully Wing and Richelieu Wing.  The three main attractions are in the Denon Wing.  I had wanted to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, the Venus de Milo (100-130 BC) and the Winged Victory of Samothrace (190 BC marble sculpture).  So off we went in search of these 3 items.  I had directions but it was not so simple.  We spent about 2.5 hours navigating the halls of the Denon Wing of the Louvre.  We found what we wanted to see and saw plenty in between.  Our lunch experience was less than satisfactory however.  Since we went in search of our targets prior to lunch, we found we were both famished and parched by 2:30 in the afternoon.  We tried to eat at a small cafeteria within the Denon Wing but the line and wait was too long.  We ended up getting Take Away (aka carryout in the US) and it was ok.  Definitely not the French experience I had wanted.

Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Winged Victory and JR in front of the Louvre and the glass pyramid by I.M. Pei.

That night we all ate together at a small restaurant Le Moustache.  It was very good.  The only picture that I took was the entree (starter), a pork terrine.  It looked far better in person than in the picture.  I have also included a picture of the whole group.  Oddly enough, it is the only picture of all of us during the entire trip.

TALE OF TWO CITIES DAY 2

Day two started at 8 in the morning when we were picked up by the tour guide for our 1/2 city tour.  There were 6 of us in the van, one of the other couples we were traveling with and a couple from Waco Texas.  We began with a stop at Notre Dame on the Ile De Le Cite.  To be honest, it was somewhat of a disappointment.  The outside was magnificent and the flying buttresses were impressive.  Notre Dame was one of the first buildings to use them.  The rose stained glass windows were beautiful and it is amazing that it can hold up to 6000 parishioners.

 

Next we visited the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur in the Montmartre area. It is high on a hill and offers wonderful vistas of Paris. It was built in 1873 to atone for the Franco-Prussian war.  It was not consecrated until after WWI in 1919.  We were not permitted to take pictures inside.

 

After Sacre-Coeur we viewed La Tour Eiffel and then on to the Champs-Elysees where we saw the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde.

 

The Arc de Triomphe was built in 1836 to honor Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz (he commissioned it himself).  To me it became an ionic symbol during WWII as Allied Troops road into Paris through it.  It does hold the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI.

Next up will be our afternoon trip to the Louvre.

TALE OF TWO CITIES DAY 1 plus

Day 1 +

After a tiring day sightseeing, we both took naps before heading out to dinner.  We had spotted a place right around the corner and met there at 7:30.  French restaurants do not open until 7:30 or 8:00.  That took a bit of getting used to since I usually like to no later than 7:00.  The restaurant was La Rotunde and turned out to be a great restaurant.  I ordered one of the prix fix meals.  I had what was basically fried goat cheese as the entree or first course.  I don't remember what my main course was but the dessert was the best at the table.  It was a rhum baba.  Essentially a sponge cake soaked with rum and a sauce.  They even put a bottle of rum on the table in case you wanted more (we did not).  I have included pictures of the entree and dessert.