Thursday, October 26
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| Interior of the d'Orsay Museum |
We got up at a reasonable time on Thursday. With everyone's phones on different time zones, the clock didn't seem to have the importance it does in everyday life.
Now, there are a couple of downsides that I haven't mentioned yet: one, Kittie and I were catching a low-grade cold which reared its head around this time and, two, the apartment next door was being remodeled with a plethora of power tools, most of them being applied to the adjoining walls. This being so, we needed no alarms, as they started up at 9 a.m. sharp.
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| The station clock |
The construction work next door went on all day, stopping around 5:30 each evening. Each of us was driven mad by the noise at least once during our stay.
So Kittie put together breakfast from the food they had brought back the night before. Afterwards, with the workers busy making noise next door, we headed off to find a taxi. We walked down rue Beaubourg toward the Pompidou and ran into "those women."
I had warned Kittie and David about them. They hang out in groups of three to six women. When Steve and I visited, they were handing out handwritten notes about being destitute and asking for money for their children, etc., etc.
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| Statue of Zeus |
This time around, they had clipboards with a petition on it about blind and deaf people. They were merely asking for signatures. Knowing their scam, I was firm about not getting involved, but while I was fending off one, the others were cornering Kittie and David.
David, good soul that he is, had signed the petition before he realized what was happening, and when they asked for a donation, he asked if they could change €20. The woman simply took the bill and walked off. He did have the presence of mind to sign a phony name and e-mail address.
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| Pan pan pan |
We caught a taxi nearby and headed to the d'Orsay. When we arrived there, another group of women with the same petitions were there. We were waiting to cross the street and they came up, starting to hassle us to sign the petitions. We were all firmly saying no, then one woman pushed Kittie just a bit too much. Kittie turned and barked, "NO!" at the woman, who got terribly offended by that. They did leave us alone, though.
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| Art Nouveau bedroom set. |
This museum was originally a train station, one right in the heart of Paris. When new stations were built, the d'Orsay was eventually converted to a museum to house impressionist paintings. The overall form of the station has been preserved while providing large and compelling display spaces
in the building.
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| Lunch at the d'Orsay |
Again, we decided to split up and meet later for lunch. My back was in pretty good shape, as there were no long lines for security and we had our museum passes, so I decided to walk to the top of the station and work my way down. I probably got through about half of the museum before lunch.
I got to see quite a bit, and there was a fair amount that I just passed by, having seen it before or being distracted by expanded exhibits and whole new collections since I had last been there. I did come away with the knowledge that I'm just not as in love with impressionism as I used to be. But the other 20th century forms on display were very intriguing.
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| The lunch room at the d'Orsay |
The two areas of the museum that I found the most interesting were the Art Nouveau exhibits (with furniture, glass and ceramic creations), and an impressive collection of early 20th century sculpture. on the main level of the museum.
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| A painting |
When lunchtime rolled around it was now Kittie who we couldn't find. After some confusion (because the museum really is a labyrinth), we all met up and had lunch in the museum restaurant.
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| Pewter bas relief |
I had a French version of chicken pot pie, with puff pastry and a wonderful light sauce. Kittie had salmon, I believe. David, as is his habit, pointed to something on the menu and had that. I was glad that we didn't take a break and go out to find a café for lunch. It was pricey, yes, but a very nice experience and the perfect punctuation for the day.
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| Another painting |
After our lovely lunch, I checked out the impressionist paintings, all of which have been moved to interior rooms to preserve them from the sunlight that streams into the station.
It was the shank of the afternoon, and my back was wearing out, so I went out to the courtyard to stretch and have a cigarette. After, I went back into the gift store and bought what I thought would be my refrigerator magnet for this trip (this is how I memorialize my vacations; the next day would prove me wrong and create another gift to bring home with me).
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| Small grotesque statues |
We all met outside and got a taxi back home. In the rush hour, of course. Later that evening, Kittie and David went down to check out the Pompidou Center, which was open late on Thursday evenings. What they didn't explain was that the building was open until 11, but the museum closed at 9.
Meanwhile, I decided to get out and stretch the legs. I went up to the grocery store and picked up some snacks. The woman was very nice, even giving me a canvas tote bag free instead of charging me for a paper one (another souvenir).
We all collapsed around 11 o'clock. No need to set the alarm, as the workers would be back next door first thing in the morning.
David's Slideshow
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