And it’s another great day in Paris… the weather so far has been superb! Not a raindrop (which is beyond as we’ve been outside except for sleeping)! We’ve been pounding out the steps in this very walkable city. We hit the pavement around 9:00 AM after an excellent breakfast at home, and arrived back at 6:00 PM. The apartment has helped us with mornings, and we aren’t struggling to be ready for the day when we walk out the door!
First stop… Musée d’Orsay! An art museum almost entirely focused on the movement of Impressionism. Monet, Manet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat, Degas… It’s an embarrassment of riches! The physical space is wonderful, as D’Orsay is a repurposed railway station in the heart of the city on the Seine. I love this type of art… Perhaps because it’s so accessible! No art or history degree required, you just need to look and enjoy.
Both Peter and Monica were familiar with the names, and we tracked down the “greatest hits” of the movement. Pausing in front of Starry Night, or Van Gogh’s self portrait can find one clicking his heels. Beyond painting, sculptures abound on all floors. I particularly liked Degas’ “Ballerine” and Monet’s series of “Rouen” paintings. It’s worth noting that for Peter and Monica entrance was free, as it is for most of the art museums for those under 18. We spent a solid two hours on multiple floors taking in glimpses of the museum’s offerings.
Then walkabout to Place Vendôme, a little bit of glitz on the right bank. This whole area smells of Euro! The Ritz, Rolex, all manner of clothing, you name it… and multiply by 10! Wonderful statue at the centre, and even more wonderful window shopping. All we could afford was a picture of the fancy statue in the middle, but pretty neat to walk through!
La Madeleine was just a couple of streets away. This baby looks like it’s straight out of Ancient Greece but is actually a working church. To our amazement, it was almost entirely empty. We got a nice chance to look around out of the crowds and check out the gloomy interior. On our first visit here Janie and I found ourselves amidst a set up for what must have been a concert. Looked more like a church this time around… And free to come and go (as most of the Parisian Churches are)!
We had unfinished business at Palais Garnier, Paris’ home to the Opera (and where the legend of the Phantom began). On our first trip we were unable to actually see inside due to a rehearsal. It seemed like this would hold, as we got closer with a room open only to find all lights out. We moved on and checked out the staircase, balconies, chandeliers, and wall length mirrors. Low and behold, the lights were on when we doubled back! Great look inside, and Monica got a nice shot of the ceiling from the visitors box… Beautiful room.
Tucked neatly behind the Opera is Galeries LaFayette, full on Paris shopping Centre/department store. She’s a dilly… 6 full floors of expensive merchandise. My main goal was to get to the roof, which has been set up as an observatory with a pretty darn nice view back towards the city. Peter and I got there while the ladies browsed the aisles… It definitely wasn’t the bargain basement! The girls searched a bit for some swimming attire for Monica, but wouldn’t part with that many Euros to make it happen.
When on the road with the kids we’ll often try and tailor the food choice (to keep everyone onside). Thus we had an early 4:00 PM lunch at Hard Rock Cafe – Paris! Nice stop, and kind of easy when everything is so predictable for an hour or so. Lots of instruments and tunes belching out of the walls in all direction and a solid meal when the troops were starting to sag.
After supper we hit the metro once again down to Oberkampf Station. Here for one thing only… to just take a moment to stop by the Bataclan, site of the November 2015 shootings. Although the flowers and makeshift memorials have now been removed, a barricade remains in front of the concert hall. There was an eerie, awkward calm as we stood for a few minutes and collected our thoughts. Our group was quiet for a bit afterwards.
Then homeward… Another big 27,000 step day! Gotta say that I was foot sore after our first couple of days in Paris. While the kids settled in to the “Dauphine” and connected with the iGear, we trekked into the market to forage for some supplies. Upon our return, and seeing all was good, we returned to Rue de Buci and settled in for some classic, street side sit and drink. We had a couple of very nice 1664 Parisian Ales. People watching is one of our favorite pastimes during our vacations, and Rue de Buci was no exception. Excellent way to end another great day in Paris.