JOURNAL ENTRY 31--Le Musée d'Orsay, Les Invalides, Le Musée Rodin--Nov. 14, 1014 (Day 11 in Paris)
Yes, today would be the day.
When I looked at the Independent Paris itinerary online back before the tours, this day in Paris had looked exciting. Seeing the museums listed would be the fulfillment of long pent-up desires, but I had seen Les Invalides with the Schullers last week, so that visit had been done, and today dawned cold and rainy. It would stay that way, and for a variety of reasons, this Friday would not quite live up to expectations. Nevertheless, this was Paris, we were all seeing wonderful things, and days of this tour could not possibly be equal anyway.
I had wanted to dine at one of the oldest, Left-Bank restaurants, Le Procope, but ran out of time for making reservations as I was leaving for Survey of France. So I asked the Robinsons to do it, and they had. We planned to go to the Procope after we finished today's touring, but with reservations for 8:00, we were not sure that the time dovetailed well enough with this afternoon's schedule.
The Procope was one of the oldest coffee houses in the world. It had evolved into a restaurant, and Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Munroe had been regulars there when they were our ambassadors to France. Going there was something Laron, Jana, and I definitely wanted to do.
After breakfast and a brief morning meeting, Thomas Randall and Jenny took us to our customary, neighborhood Metro station to board Line 1. On it, we traveled to the Tuileries Station just beyond the Louvre. From there, we walked quite a distance through the Jardin des Tuileries, across the bridge, and to the Musée d'Orsay beyond. Jenny walked us inside, showed us the rest rooms and the place to check in bags. After a brief time both places and with tickets now in hand, we entered the
gigantic Impressionist museum.
From across the Seine in the Jardin des Tuileries, we could see the Musée d'Orsay. Later in the morning, we would be looking out from the clock window on the left end of the building.
Views of the back of the Louvre from the Jardin des Tuileries
(The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay face each other across the Seine.)
French "square-cut" trees flank the sidewalk ahead.
We cross the Seine to the Musée d'Orsay.
Here's what it looks like on a clear day from the same bridge.
A popular notion about Paris museums is that the Louvre is overwhelming but that the Musée d'Orsay is less so and contains more popular art than the Louvre. Therefore, more tourists prefer the d'Orsay. The truth is that both museums are overwhelming, and we found that a mere morning visit to the d'Orsay was not nearly enough. I like the art in both and the collections complement each other nicely. They cover different periods and are both wonderful.The d'Orsay did not allow photography, even without a flash, so I found it more restrictive than the Louvre in that sense. A few of us still managed to shoot a few, but very few. Jenny took us on what I considered a pretty dull tour of sculpture on the first floor, and I would have preferred her to spend more time with us on the upper floors among the Impressionist paintings.
From the entrance area looking to the rear
The Musée d'Orsay has mainly French art dating from 1848-1915.
From the rear of the first floor looking back toward the entrance
I did find some of my favorite Impressionist art, but only on my own. Something that did please us was the connection Jenny drew with the movie Hugo. The d'Orsay Museum is the brilliant conversion of a former sky-lit train station, the Gare d'Orsay into a museum for Impressionist Era art.So elements of the station that survive, especially the clocks, were used in the film Hugo as Hugo himself lived in the station and often gazed down upon Paris from inside the clock. Computer-enhanced scenes were sometimes shot right here in the museum.
The clock at the d'Orsay was used in filming Hugo.
Some of statues on the first floor appealed to me, e. g., the plaster of Rodin's Balzac, and I was able, on my own, to find Van Gogh's self-portrait and Room at Arles, and I found Moulin de la Galette by Renoir, so I scratched many itches, but leaving here after lunch and going to two more important places was packing too much into too little time. I could have easily spent the rest of the day at the Musée d'Orsay and then some.
As we ascended to clock level, I sneaked these shots from above.
Balzac on the second level
Jenny shows us Paris through Hugo's clock window.
After the group moved on, I walked up to the spot where Jenny had stood and shot pictures of Paris through the window. It was not every day that I could enjoy Hugo's view and try to preserve it!
View of the Palais Garnier from the Musée d'Orsay clock window
Monmartre viewed through the clock
In the distance, Sacré Coeur tops the hill of Monmartre.
Looking out onto the roof of the Musée d'Orsay from the clock
The Ferris Wheel from the Jardin des Tuileries is in the distance. Clock pattern shows on the stone.
What follows is a group of shots from Google Images of things I saw as I wandered on my own. I saw so much that I have dreamed of seeing that the entire number would be very hard to replicate here. I only wish I had had much more time just to enjoy looking at the Impressionist paintings. Seeing so many Van Gogh's was wonderful beyond description and standing in front of Room at Arles was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. To have been in Arles earlier in the month and walked by the location of the house, to walk where Vincent and Paul walked was fine indeed!
Seeing Whistler's Mother was bloody amazing!
Moulin de la Galette by Renoir
Little did we realize that tomorrow, we would visit THIS EXACT LOCATION!
Degas, je crois.
Le paradis des peintures Van Goghs!
Tomorrow, we would stand before the building in Monmartre where he and Theo lived!
La Chambre à Arles par Vincent van Gogh
In Arles, we had walked right by this location!
The Siesta (after Millet)
Again, my main regret was not having as much time as I wanted to take this all in! Now, the Robinsons and I had our lunch break in the Musée d'Orsay Restaurant. It was a lovely place, the food was good, and I enjoyed Laron and Jana's company as we paused to enjoy a much-needed change of pace.
Restaurant in the Musée d'Orsay
Le décor était impressif!
Déjeuner au Musée d'Orsay avec Laron and Jana. Quelle belle idée!
Cette amie charmante a fait notre voyage!
After lunch, the Robinsons and I joined the tour group downstairs near the entrance, did our usual good-bye activities, and headed out into the cold, rainy afternoon to walk to the Invalides. Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it does not, and the pedestrian nature of this tour did not go well with mid-November Paris weather. Over to the Invalides we went, and I experienced the briefest of rushed visits to the place. Was I ever glad the Schullers and I had spent an entire morning here last week.
The autumn leaves along the Seine were still beautiful.
The Robinsons walk ahead of me as we approach the Invalides.
Most of these pics of the Invalides Museum were done by Charlie.
(Some guy comes straggling through the gate.)
For more detail about this museum, look at Journal Entry 24.
Les Invalides on a cloudy afternoon
Napoleon's tomb has no inscription. This was a condition made by the British for the return of his body from St. Helena.
Next, Jenny and Thomas led us to the Musée Rodin which I was anxious to see. The cold, wet afternoon did not go well with walking or viewing outdoor sculptures, but we made the most of it. The museum was established in 1919 in what was once called the Hôtel Biron, a building that served Rodin as his workshop. His residence, which is considered part of the museum, is farther out from the center of Paris.
We enjoyed seeing the inside of the building and learning of Rodin's strong interest in Dante and the inspiration he derived from The Divine Comedy. Yet my stronger interest was in the famous statues placed about the grounds; these we examined once we came outside. Again, the day did not lend itself well to this.
I used one Google Image to show the front yard of the Musée Rodin on a clear day. The walk over here from the Invalides may have been cold, but it was not long.
Nice yard
The lawn at the back looked very impressive, but time was short and weather was cold and damp, so we spent very little time here.
Le Penseur
The Burgers of Calais
The Gates of Hell
Jenny explains the figures on the doors.
Les Trois Ombres (The Three Shadows)
View from Rodin's front yard
By the time we finished looking at the statues in Rodin's front yard, darkness was falling; it must have been around 4:30 or 5:00. Laron, Jana, and I had reservations for dinner at the Procope, made weeks before on line and across the Atlantic, were for 8:00. Realizing that our timing was way off and tired from the day, we decided to go back to the hotel with Thomas. Most had plans to go other places on this our last unscheduled night in Paris, but some of us wanted to take advantage of Thomas Randall's faultless knowledge of the Metro. We could count on him to get us back where we needed to go.
Café Procope (founded in 1686)--We decided to skip our chance to eat where Ben Franklin dined.
L'inérieur du Café Procope
Sure enough, in less than twenty minutes, we were at Rouilly-Diderot Station and headed up the steps. As we did a final walk down Rue Claude Tiller, I spotted that little laundromat again and resolved to come back here after dinner.
Arriving back at the Patio St. Antoine, we went to our rooms but agreed to meet for dinner. This time, I decided to bring my copy of The Most Beautiful Walk in the World to read that humorous part about ladies from Amarillo in Paris. The night before, we'd had the restaurant almost to ourselves, and I thought of this then.
Tonight, we decided to return to the Extra Old Café right down the street. It was convenient, and the food on Monday night had been very good. When we arrived, the place was hopping with young Parisians enjoying a Friday evening. Every table on the sidewalk was taken, but we did not want to sit there anyway; the host seated us at an inside table at the back corner next to the window.
Next to us, a young man and woman sat at a table for two, and they were talking ninety-to-nothing. I looked at the menu and decided on "un hamburger" again since it was so good on Monday. I started to read a passage from my book, but the din around us was so constant, that I soon gave up on that idea. Laron and Jana could barely hear me.
I suppose we were lucky to have gotten a table at all, but the clamor of this bustling young crowd was almost too much for us "old folks." The couple next to us spoke with such rapidity that I wished for a meter to measure words-per-second. The speed with which French can be spoken knows no equivalent in English, but that couple seemed to be going for a conversational record--in length and speed!
Laron and I discussed transportation plans for getting to the airport on Sunday. I had already reserved us a van as he had asked me to do. I had set it up through the clerk at the front desk--while there was still time to do it. I had to pay a deposit to secure the service. Of course, we would split it, and it was nice to know we could count on the van to get us to Charles de Gaulle EARLY IN THE MORNING ON SUNDAY.
Caroline planned to go over to the Gare de Lyon and take the train to the airport, but I could not imagine how hard it would be to do such a thing with all our luggage, not that we had an excess, but there were three of us, and the van we'd used last Sunday could barely fit it all in. Nearly everyone else on our tour had lined up vans, too.
The Extra Old Café seemed named for us on Friday night.
The food at the Extra Old was good once again, and we did not rush through it, but even so, when we had paid our bill and got up to leave, the young couple that had been sitting there talking when we arrived was still at it--nonstop. I was able to pick up a few words now and then, but the speed of this conversation surpassed anything in classroom experience. Whatever they were discussing must have been ALL-ENGROSSING!
We returned to the hotel, and they settled in for the evening while I went to my room and gathered up socks, underwear, etc., for a trip to the laundry. Tomorrow, after visiting the Orangerie Museum and then going to Monmartre for lunch and touring all afternoon, we would eat dinner together on our last night in Paris. There would be no time for laundry then, so this was my last chance à faire le lessive.
Returning to the tiny coin-op on Claude Tillier, I was disappointed to see how very small and busy it was. All the machines were running, but I had brought some reading, so I waited semi-patiently. The young people using the machines simply loaded or restarted them and left. No one seemed worried about having laundry stolen.
This laundry may not look like much, but it came in handy.
Finally, when washer was emptied, I rose to use it, and the couple there at the time gave me a few pointers. They were very helpful. Soon my clothes were in the washer, and all was well. Later when I used the dryers, they stopped every ten minutes, and I kept having to put Euro coins in them and restart them, but after a while, the load was done, and I headed back to the Patio St. Antoine. My apprehension about walking in a large, foreign city at night went by the wayside. Everything was just fine.
Now, I turned in for our next-to-last night in Paris. We would soon bring this adventure to a close, yet nothing concerned me like negotiating the airports and getting home with my luggage. That most serious challenge still remained.
Hors d'Oeuvres:
1. After proofreading this, I realize that it has a negative tone that is stronger than I realized when I was writing it. That day, the weather had not been great, and I felt rushed because too much had been scheduled for too short a time. Nevertheless, on that Friday, we did see great things. Throughout most of my stay in France, the weather had been remarkably good, and scheduling had gone well, so today was an exception.
2. For me, tours are helpful and important for several reasons, not the least of which are the expert guides, the meals, and the health and accident insurance that Roadscholar provides. I think the ideal plan is to book a tour but to come early and/or stay late and schedule days on one's own outside the tour. Tourists should have some opportunity to go where they want to go and spend as much time there as they like.
3. Independent Paris was a one-week tour that was far less expensive than Survey of France, which lasted three weeks. Nevertheless, I found the pace of Survey of France and its incredible meals and wine more to my liking. As for weather, we had lucked out on that first tour, but I notice that for this year and next, Survey of France so late in the year is no longer offered.
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