Last week was packed full of adventures, so I'm splitting them into three blogs up by regions: Paris, Spain, Amsterdam. Saturday before I left, I decided to spend the day in Paris when some plans for a weekend trip fell through. I was already on the train to Paris when we decided to cancel our weekend trip, so I rode in with my big backpack and all. I wanted to get to know the city a little bit by myself... So here is what I found!
I arrived in Paris at 8 AM, and my only plan for the day was to see Musee d'Orsay, famous for its impressionist & post-impressionist paintings. The museum doesn't open until 9, so I decided to take the metro to Notre Dame and walk along the Seine. The city is remarkably quiet at 8, without a soul on the street. There was a handfull of tourists when I got to the Notre Dame. The day was cloudy (the Notre Dame is impressive but less picturesque without a blue sky behind it), so I was glad to be spending the majority of my day in a museum.
I set off down the Seine -- in the wrong direction. Notre Dame sits on an island, Ile de la Cité, but I didn't realize this. With the river on two sides of me, I got a little turned around. I passed two bridges (the way of gauging distance along the Seine) before turning around, but I came spotted some destinations for another day. The grounds around Notre Dame and the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation are among them, but these places don't open until 9 or 10.
I continued in the correct direction toward the museum. I passed the Louvre (a destination to be spread out over several days -- there is too much to see), Palais de Justice, and mysterious green, metal boxes lining the river. When I reached the museum, there was already a line of about 50 people waiting -- it was now around 10 am. The wait was quick, and with my student visa I was able to enter for free!
The museum is breathtaking. The building was constructed as a gare (rail station) for the 1900 World's Fair (as opposed to the 1889 World's Fair, also in Paris, for which the Eiffel Tower was constructed). As many of the gares in Paris, it is a remarkable sight. On the fifth floor, there is a place for looking across the hall from above -- a view little seen in most gares here in France.
The museum houses primarily collections from 1848 to 1914. I had read that many tourists completely miss the first floor and head straight to the fifth floor, the gallery of the impressionists. If I only had an hour, I would do the same. Fortunately, I had plenty of time to wade through the plethora of masterpieces. I started on the ground level, studying the Symbolism works that I'd never heard of, as well as a whole room dedicated to Toulouse Lautrec: the life of a Parisian. On this level, you can walk through the center, passing by the beautiful sculptures from the period. Off the center aisle there are rooms, each with a theme, which house works including early Degas, Monet, and Renoir among other things. I captured several photographs before staff caught me and informed me of terrible news -- you can't use cameras or cell phones in the museum! Oops...
By the time I climbed the stairs to the fifth level (the impressionist floor), I knew I was too tired to fully appreciate the massive collection of impressionist works ahead of me. Thinking I would just have a quick cup of coffee, I quickly walked to the end of the exhibit to find the cafe. What a marvelous place! Looking at the menu, I decided to treat myself to a nice museum lunch; the place reminded me somehow of the cafe in Nordstrom that I would go to with Aunt Colette.
I chose a very typical dish with the second cheapest glass of wine. The "croque-monsieur" is a type of french sandwich with ham and cheese inside and cheese melted on top. D'Orsay served it with a little salad on the side and a bowl of bread to enjoy while I waited for it to come out. My waiter found me very funny; we spoke in French, but he would switch to English for a word when I couldn't understand him. He was very patient and cheerful, something that is not always common in waiters when you don't speak their language well.
This was the strength I needed. I walked back to the beginning of the exhibit, and spent an hour and a half with Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Pissaro and Sisley. I paid the five euro for an audio guide, and learned interesting facts and was given different suggestions of ways to look at the different paintings. It was marvelous to be within feet of the ballerinas, the lily pads, the poppies, and so much more. I loved every minute, and spent another twenty minutes in the store deciding on the perfect souvenir. I eventually chose a book on understanding the paintings of the d'Orsay. It is hardback (and will survive the trip home), it is full of beautiful pictures, and it is the French version (so I can learn to say more interesting things than "la peinture est jolie").
Again, I found myself utterly exhausted. It was early afternoon! I couldn't go home. I dreaded getting my massive backpack from coat-check, but I couldn't imagine looking at another painting. On my climb down a back staircase, I saw a conveniently located nook - another small stairs that led to a closed area. No one would be using these stairs... So I decided to sit and evaluate a plan. Sitting and evaluating my plan led to leaning against the wall- which led to me falling asleep, clutching my purse (didn't want to be robbed in my sleep). Occasionally people passed by and were a little surprised by my presence, but no one disturbed me. I had a pleasant, 15 minute power nap. It was enough to fire me through two or three post-impressionist rooms (I wanted to see some Seurat, Matisse, Cézanne, and Van Gogh), before I went down to collect my things.
At coat check, they once again laughed at my accent. After laughing at my accent, they took my number and grabbed my bag. They then laughed at my bag (it is quite large) -- "Vous êtes très forte". After that, they were teasing me, but I didn't understand. They kept saying "Où est ton cheval??" -- I could not figure out why they would be talking about a horse, so I thought I misunderstood. Finally, they said "Quel pays?". This, I could answer - I told them "États-Unis" -- the United States. They laughed again. One of the guys then asked, Where is your horse? I finally got the joke. They thought my tall riding boots were very funny, so I told them I'd lost my horse and would be happy to take one of theirs.
Next, I was to meet a friend again at Notre Dame. From there we ventured to the Pantheon - that of Paris, not of Rome.
Of course, this building was beautiful, but it's history is a little more interesting...
The building was commissioned in the 1750s by XV as a church to honor the patron saint of Paris, St. Genevieve. It took a very long time to finish, due to funding problems- it was completed in 1791, in the beginning of the revolution. It was therefore decided that it would not be a church; instead it would house the remains of great Frenchmen. Today, it is used as a secular mausoleum: home to several French revolutionaries, Marie & Pierre Curie (Marie was the first woman to be buried there), and Voltaire, among others. Upstairs, there is a Foucault Pendulum -- In the 1850s, Léon Foucault had conducted his studies of the Earth's rotation in the Pantheon.
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| Hers was the only with flowers and candles -- the French really love Marie Curie (as they should!) |
More to come -- Krista adventures! Madrid, Amsterdam, & Krista-Comes-To-Paris
Love & bisous~
