Paris Day 3 (11/16)

Day 3 Paris, Thursday. After breakfast, we all walked back towards the Louvre. Nancy and Pascal split off to take care of some things they needed to do. Tai and I were headed for the Musée d’Orsay. This museum was recommended by every one we talked to who had ever been to Paris. They were absolutely correct. It contained incredible works of art! Far more than I could absorb but still worth the visit.

After we got in, Tai and I split up. I wanted to start with the Pre-impressionism. Tai had seen enough of this era. She was far more interested in the Impressionist. We agreed to get together in the museum café for lunch. We ran into each other at one point and agreed that we were not ready for lunch and we postponed it for another hour. I hind sight, I think Tai may have been right. The Impressionism and Post-Impressionism works were much more interesting and very different. I should have spent more time with them. However, I did stumble into an exhibit of Maurice Denis. It apparently was an extra cost exhibit but I just walked in. The woman who was checking tickets was busy and I didn’t realize that I needed a special ticket. This was a marvelous exhibit tracing Denis’ career from the late 1800’s through the 1940’s. Through several rooms, I could see his growth and evolution as a painter representing a very active and innovative period. I learned a lot about art appreciation.

Then it was time for lunch. Not a great lunch but a chance to sit down and share notes. Tai felt that I should definitely spend more time checking out Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse and other Impressionist. So I skipped most of the Art Nouveau era. It’s clear that I could have spent another couple of days in this museum. I barely touched it. But after more than three hours, my mind was going blank.

At 3pm, we left the museum and met up with Nancy and Pascal. By now, it had started to drizzle. This was the first real rain we have encountered on this entire trip. There was a little in Venice. In spite of the rain, we decided to take the boat tour on the Seine. There were maybe only ten other people on this large boat so we had it to ourselves. There was a young woman who provided a commentary in both French and English. She did ok but didn’t get into real detail about what we were passing. Just the highlights. Still, it was interesting. By the time we got back to the dock, it was dark. Dinner was the next item on the agenda. After some discussion, we decided to go to a bistro near Notre Dame where Nancy and Pascal had spent time while Tai and I were climbing the steps of Notre Dame. The food was only ok. On the way back, we decided to look for a stationary store that a friend had asked us to try and find. The directions were somewhat vague but we did search the indicated area while it was raining. Unfortunately, we did not find the shop. After a while, we gave up and hopped the Metro back to the Marais and home.