Parisian museum nirvana - times two!

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This comes from the corner boulangerie at 10.30am Friday - decided to type by "hand" so to speak to ensure that the blog about yesterday is relatively short, and the pictures long, so to speak.

Yesterday started sunny, so much so that I finally left the hotel in shorts - and sandals. A decision which was reversed about 100m. down the street when it strated to rain. Although I had a roll up nylon parka in the camera bag decided that I did not want to spend the day slopping aorund in sandals and wet feeet if this was going to keep up - which it did! So back to the hotel for more sensible attire. Then the Metro to Varenne which is the closest to the Musee Rodin. Fortunately no big queue to get in or anything - and I could use my Visa card to buy a direct ticket from the machine. This card did not work thus at the cinema multiplex the other night, possibly as it does not have a chip on it, simply a holographic Visa symbol. Anyway the Musee Rodin was absolutely stunning! - and I am going to say this twice about museums today - Mr Mink finally gets the regular Parissien tourisme thing rolling at last. Its in an 18th century chateau called Hotel ?? (Rough Guide does not say). Some major works outside in the front garden - Le Penseur of course, the Gates of Hell etc, the Burghers of Calais - not sure what this is about? roped up etc?? Inside the painted white paneled walls and the chandeliers of the somewhat faded grandeur of the chateau work in wonderful synergy with the luminous white marble, and the plster models for many of the works, which are generally in glass cases. There are a number of mirrored surfaces on the walls which allow one to see the back of a work at the same time as admiring the front. This also gives the chance to take some interesting photographs - in total I took 140 so you get some idea what a rich experience it was! (not all attached, obviously). The Rough Guide describes the Kiss moment of Paol and Francesca before they are discovered and murdered by her husband. Apparently Rodin referred to it as "a large sculpted knick-knack following the usual formula" - far too modest August! I did take a picture of Paolo's "ecstatically crunched up toe"!

Left there at almost 5pm and then walked along the front of the Musee de l'Armee in the general direction of the Eiffel and with a view to definitely make a booking so that I could go to the restaurant Au Bon Acceuil which was "fully booked" on Tuesday. Did so then around the corner more or less to the Musee du Quai Branly for museum explosion no.2.
The concept is stunning before you even get inside. The quai is fronted by a huge curving glass wall about 20 or so feet high. Inside that is a wild garden of reeds and so on, with curving paths which lead up to the large structure which is suspended on large stilts so to speak. I decided that this was more or less to represent the contents as an ark or storehouse of the ethnographic contents, which cover virtually all of the continents, but with a particular emphasis on Africa. Africa runs down one side, running into Northern Africa and the art of the Mahgreb etc coming into Asia and Australia, while the other side of the elipse starts at the top with North American Indian/indigenous stuff, and then flows down thru central and southern America. Must admit it is fascinating seeing such a collection of sort of similar purpose ceremonial etc objects and seeing how differently they have been realised in different cultures. First time I have actually seen N Am. Indian Wampum belts for instance and how they came to be - largely belts beaded with a Christian message about the Virgin Mary etc! and painted hide cloaks of the American Indians. The whole concept is broadly very dark down here as the dark red curving walkways run between mounded earthen coloured dividers, with various little sort of side chapels if you like of separate displays of other material.

I went upstairs to the mezzanine first as there was a special section devoted to the Congo River which largely covered work from the Congo(s) and Gabon which were both French colonies at various stages. This work was much better lit in smaller glass cases so I was able to get some really good shots there - about 130 in all in the museum! I had to wind it up a bit, partly becuase I had been there almost 3 hrs but also because I had my duinner booking at Bon Acceuil. Although I had my showerproof jacket it was raining quite heavily so I decided to wait for about 10 mins for it to ease off a little.

Au Non Acceuil - in Rue de Montessuy - quite a few restaurants there and it is quite close - 5 mins walk - from the Eiffel. The menu du jour was 31E all up with choice of 4 of each course. So pour moi, terrine de lapin (rabbit) to start. Now they used to do terrine when I was working in restaurants in the late 70's but it would be rarely sighted these days in Syndey unless you went to a trad. French restaurant. This was a suitably chunky creation. After that roasted Brest chicken - a thigh piece rolled and stuffed with a bit of leg bone which was somewhat strangely encased in a sort of grey skin like fish - not sure what that was about. Dessert was a soupe de fruits - a fruit puree with some chunks of yellow plum as I recall floating in it, along with some (rather icy) vanilla icecream. With two glasses of white 2008 Chateau des Tours, Don Reynaud at 6E each (at least they had 3 choices of red/white wine by the glass here). No way I was having a straight cafe after last night - so cafe au lait (so definitely not french having that after midday!).

Home via the Metro on the other side of the Eiffel - called Bir Hakeim - where did an Arab name like that creep in??

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Photos

that Kiss thing
his toes go just wrinkly thinking of it

Rodin Musee
in the garden w a bit of Eiffel

Rodin musee
how they use mirrors

Rodin - Vertumne and Pomone
dont ask me which is which

Rodin - baby Penseur
an early version?

Hands par Rodin
when done well can be wonderful

Musee Branly Africana
the patterned glass behind is an interesting backdrop

Branly figure
this actually has old knives etc stuck thru it if you can see

Branly - mama and baba
the more recent naif style Nigerian policemen figures etc echo this in style somewhat

Branly mask types - north Canada?
I think these were from Inuit or some such

Branly - Canadian Indian
I remember this style from BC and a calendar I bought in Vancouver

Branly - a sort of pot
this became such a blur so can't pick origin - South Asian I think maybe?

Branly - African beading
this was quite different from the rest...

Branly - a ceremonial drum
from Asia I think?

Parisian real estate what else?!
almost as obsessed as Sydney - @ up to 10,000E per sq.m., but London gets the gong as worst inside the paper

Comments

[phil]

paree
well done M glad you are enjoying - saw a thing on tv called la perouse a club/resto which is apparently one of the oldest in Paris ?? jealous i think i am

[Huddo]

super shots!
Hi Mike, Phew! what a time you have had in Paree. Superb descriptions of not only the Museum, but also the superb photo's you always attach. Hands par Rodin was just one of the beautys there, baby pensuer another, great work Mike. Love Huddo and girls.