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Published: September 23rd 2016
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After a really sound sleep we headed out to sightsee. We took the metro to the Place du Concorde and strolled to the Orangerie. This museum displays the private collection of Paul Guillaume, an art dealer and friend of Picasso, Modigliani, Derain and others. The main galleries, however, were built to display monumental works by Claude Monet. We walked right in, no lines
There are two oval rooms dedicated to Monet's Water Lillies. The gardens at Monet's home in Giverney included a water lily pond and these paintings are based on it. Each panel is 4 separate canvasses stitched together and spans 6'6" by 55'. There are eight panels in all. Each panel reveals the play of light on the pond and the reflection of the sky at different times of day. It took Monet 12 years to complete at a time when he was almost blind, but a successful operation near the end of his life allowed him to complete the work. The galleries were designed especially for these works but Monet did not live long enough to see them installed.
It was hard to leave these rooms but there was more to see.
The lower floor displays more of Guillaume's collection; Renoir's lovely women, Cezanne's still lives, Picasso blue period, cubist works and classical nudes, Matisse, Derain, Rousseau and others. We spent the morning admiring these masterpieces.
It was such a beautiful day we decided to walk to Sainte-Chapelle. We crossed to the left bank and walked along the Seine watching the boat traffic. An enormous tug-barge passed by and sailed right by the Lourve. We walked passed the Orsay Museum which is well worth a return visit but not today. The walk was longer than we expected so we stopped for a bite and to rest our legs and feet.
We passed a few kiosks displaying old books or posters and one had a great collection of memorabilia from the Tour de France. Linda and Ed had done a bike tour on a portion of the route and watched the finish on the Champs - Elysee.
Eventually we arrive at Ste. Chapelle and again walked right in, not like the last time where the wait in line was hours long. This church was built in the Gothic style for King Louis III to
house the supposed Crown of Thorns. We headed up the circular stone staircase, not meant for large folks, entered the upper level...and there was light. Words cannot describe the beauty of the stained glass. The fifteen panels of glass cover Christian history from Genesis to the Crucifixion of Christ, the rest show the Crown of Thorns came to France.
The only difficulty is that you need to look up in order to see the panels and soon I had a real pain in the neck. Seat were available but limited and yet we spent a goodly amount of time before heading down the thirty nine, count them, circular stone steps.
We decided that it was enough for one day so we took the metro home, napped for a while, and headed for a recommended restaurant, Clementine, for dinner. I followed Linda's lead for the main course and ordered quenelles, this is a fish dish, sort of like dumplings and as light as a feather with a lovely sauce. There was nothing left on our plates at the end. For appetizers Linda had tuna tartar with Apple, pronounced wonderful, and I had escargot rated the
same. We shared a lemon dessert, A+ and a lovely Chard. Best meal so far.
After we arrived home I found that day one we walked approximately 4 miles on Tuesday and 4.97 miles and climbed 12 floors on Wednesday. No wonder I'm sore.
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