Monet, Manet, & Madeleine

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You've got to love those Impressionists, really sticking it to the Salon and its down-the-nose view of them. All that stuff in the Louvre has nothing on these guys. The Musee d'Orsay houses a collection of art from about 1850 to 1914 in a beautifully renovated train station. This was by far our favorite of the museums, and it was kind of nice to save the best for last. Rooms full of Renoir, Manet, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Pisarro, Sisley, Seurat... with a few other interesting exhibits sprinkled in, like a wonderful collection of Art Nouveau furniture and objects. Another delicieux rotisserie chicken with potatoes (from the Buci market just around the corner) for lunch, some wandering around the neighborhood for some final photo ops, and of course more window shopping (the French call it "licking the windows").

Tonight we went to a concert at la Madeleine, a Greek-architecture-style church up by the Opera. We'd originally planned to go another night, but the program was changed, so tonight it was. The Violins of France and/or the Trumpets of Versailles performed Pachelbel's Canon, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Albioni's Adagio, and more. Then a soprano came out and sang Ave Maria and a couple other songs. And then the violin soloist played Vivaldi's Four Seasons -- I swear so much faster than I've ever heard it - and just so that he could show off just how good he was. And he was really, really good. Holy cow. I'm not sure if it was inspiring or heart-breaking, if you know what I mean... We wish Maddie could have heard him play and watched his fingers fly!

Gearing up for the Alps, we checked the weather report from there. The website's English translation predicts the weather will be "sultry" the next few days -- we think this means "humid" ?? Or maybe there's something about the Alps that we don't know. 😊 We'll check back in and post a blog when we can. Again, thanks for your messages and comments - we miss everyone!

To the Alps!!

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Photos

Interior of Musee d'Orsay
Interior of the Musee d'Orsay.

Art Nouveau
Beautiful Art Nouveau bedroom set in the Musee d'Orsay.

Tuileries, Opera & Montmartre
The Tuileries Gardens, which stretch from the Louvre to the Champs-Elysees, in the foreground; Montmartre topped with Sacre Coeur on the right; the highly ornate Opera with the green roof on the left. Taken from a window in the Musee d'Orsay.

Knock, knock...
The glass and iron front door to our building, opened with a code.

Get your five servings here...
Typical fruit & vegetable store, this one also sells wine.

Le cafe du coin
The little corner cafe on our street.

The rooftops of Paris
Doesn't it just look like you could hop from one to another? Dan took this shot from the window at the top of our apartment building's staircase.

Going down?
Looking down the spiral staircase of our building from the 7th (and top) floor. Nearly all the staircases in this town are spiral because of lack of space.

Maddie - this one's for you!
Madeleine is not only worthy of a church, but also a Place and a Boulevard! What a gal!

Are we in Greece?
The Madeleine Church where we attended a very nice concert our last evening in Paris - obviously the building is modeled after Greek architecture.

Interior of la Madeleine
The interior of this church is not nearly as impressive as the gothic churches - no stained glass is the biggest strike against it, and the lack of any windows makes it very dark inside.

Yes, but can he fiddle?
The violin soloist -- zut alors! -- I'd like to hear this guy try 'the Devil Went Down to Georgia.'

Comments

[Maya]

oh - so that's what "relaxed in Paris" looks like
Our last summer's adventures in Paris w/ an 8 month old girly clearly were the wrong choice! :) You two look relaxed and happy! Glad you are enjoying! Thanks for the great jealousy-inducing updates!