Advertisement
Published: August 6th 2007
The Musee d’Orsay and Our First Day in Rome
On our last full day in Paris we were determined to get to the Musee d’Orsay after having been rejected multiple times. The third time was going to be the charm no matter what it took. So, after breakfast, we headed directly to the museum on the ever familiar path via the metro and a few blocks walk.
When we arrived the crowd was bigger than usual since the museum was closed the day before, the weather was bad and all other major museums in the city were closed. Since my parents had purchased the museum pass for us, we were able to get into the shorter line which was only about a hundred people long. As we stood there, our line grew from a hundred to closer to five hundred. The non-museum pass line was more than a block long, so we were still pretty lucky.
One of the nastier parts of Europe in summer is the crowds of very impatient and often rude tourists. I would love to say that these people come from a particular country, or even part of the world, but sadly
they are from everywhere and are all ages and races. These are the people who complain and pester security hoping to get special treatment and in many cases sneak their way into lines.
As we stood patiently in line an older French couple came up and inserted themselves in line directly in front of us. I am quite indignant in moments like this due to a strong streak of what’s right and what’s wrong. I subsequently tapped the lady who just stepped in front of me on the shoulder and pointed to the end of the line. The response I got: “NO!” Kel tried to keep me from blowing my top by gently patting my arm. I subsequently spent the next twenty minutes glaring at the couple until finally I made eye contact with the gentleman and glared at him until he broke eye contact with me. He knew he was wrong and that was as much as I could ask given the situation.
A few minutes later we were ushered through security and into the museum. We spent the next two and a half to three hours enjoying Europe’s largest collection of Pre-Impressionism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism works.
This museum is a must do for anyone who loves this sort of work which Kel and I both do. We enjoyed the works by Manet, Monet, Van Gogh and many others.
I have to take a quick moment to rant, I know how you all love when I get on my soap-box! Throughout the museums we’ve been in, there has been a really disturbing trend of photography. In many cases you can stand and enjoy some of Europe’s most beautiful art while hordes of people around you take pictures of the painting you are enjoying. This absurd practice of taking pictures of pictures seems a must for travelers of every race, creed, religion, country and age group. I might understand the rare situation where you want your picture taken in front of one of these masterpieces as an, “I told you I was there,” souvenir but in almost every case people were indiscriminately shooting hundreds of pictures of any and all paintings and sculptures they could get a clear shot of. I refuse to follow this practice, so no pictures of paintings will be seen in this blog, sorry, and I respectfully request that when you go to
an art museum that you enjoy the art instead of trying to capture it on film. Enough ranting, you get the point.
Heading On To Our Next Destination The next day found us back in traveling mode. This is a common mode for Kel and I but not as common for my parents. It tends to cause them a lot more stress and is much more tiring for them. Thankfully we had an afternoon flight from Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris on to our next destination, Rome, Italy.
The flight was uneventful during its whole hour and forty-five minute duration. We arrived in Rome with no problems and then got to stand in the airport for an seemingly interminable amount for time waiting for our bags. Since Kel and I had been through Rome on an earlier trip in 2005 we knew that baggage took a long time to reach the baggage carousels. Even with this foreknowledge I got very nervous as people came and went long before our bags arrived. After having British Airways abscond with my last bag merely a week before, I was a bit paranoid that our bags would get
lost yet again. (Quick Sidebar: Leslie, Kel’s Mom, has been a true saint and has called British Airways everyday trying to ascertain the whereabouts of my long lost bag to almost no avail. The last she has heard is that all unclaimed bags in Europe are driven by truck to Milan where they sit until they are sorted out. Hopefully my bag has made it to Milan and will be found with, if nothing else, our hard drive intact with all the pictures on it. Keep your fingers crossed.)
Thankfully our bags arrived and were all in one piece. We got in the car that our hotel arranged for us and headed off into the heat of Rome. Rome is a bit of a departure from Paris in that it is older but much dirtier. While Paris has beauty around every corner, Rome has pockets of beauty that are surrounded by buildings which often are worn, somewhat dirty and in many cases graffiti ridden. After the beauty of Paris, my parents were not impressed. Kel and I always reserve our judgment for later knowing that every country and city is different. Every place has its good and bad points
which can’t truly be weighed until you had a chance to see and experience more.
After arriving at our hotel we decided to play the evening pretty cool. It was already pretty late in the afternoon so we rested a while and then got dinner in our hotel. Dinner was pretty good but, as is often the case, not as good as food you would have gotten at a small café around the corner. When dinner was done we all headed off to bed since we were pretty worn out from traveling. It’s always a pretty tiring experience no matter how much or little of it you’ve done.
Getting a Feel for Rome The next morning my parents were pretty tired due to a fitful night of sleep so we decided to part ways for the day. They went off shopping and got a lot of rest to be sure that they were in fighting shape for the days to come. Kel and I started at a decently early hour, got the free breakfast in the hotel and then set off for adventures.
Since we actually had a Rick Steves guide this time, we decided
to do a better prep job for the rest of our stay in sunny Rome. We first took the metro (not anywhere near as nice as Paris’s metro but still usable) to the main Termini Station hub and searched for a TI to buy a Roma pass for later sightseeing. After fumbling around for about half an hour we found the TI and bought passes for ourselves and my parents. With passes in our hands we proceeded to sit in the TI for the next ten to twenty minutes to plan out our next steps for the day.
Once our plans were pretty set, we set off for the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill. Using Rick’s recommendation we started at Palatine Hill to get tickets which covered both Palatine and the Colosseum. The really long lines at the Colosseum are for the tickets not actually getting in so, if you buy your ticket at Palatine Hill, you can skip the whole colossal line at the Colosseum when you head there later.
Palatine Hill overlooks both the Forum and the Colosseum and is covered with ruins of many important buildings from Rome’s past including the Huts of Romulus
and Remus, the Imperial Palace and what’s left of the Circus Maximus. Legend has it that Romulus founded Rome from this very hill after he killed his brother Remus. If this isn’t enough coolness (at least historically speaking) for you then you can check out the Circus Maximus. The CM, which is over 2k feet long, was much bigger than its more famous brother the Colosseum. While the Colosseum housed around 50k spectators for its gladiatorial fights, this demolition derby stadium housed around 250k spectators at a time. WOW!
As we headed down the hill from Palatine Hill we spent some time in the Forum. As anyone who’s studied history knows, the Forum was the business, political, religious and philosophical center of Rome. The most important temples (Julius Caesar, Vesta and Saturn) were located here at the forum as well as the most important houses of justice. Even some of the more famous emperors (Caligula) lived in the forum in grand palaces.
Overall this area has better ruins than Palatine Hill and the history here is second to none. We roamed around, took pictures and just soaked in the oldness while we dodged American students, Japanese tour groups
and other tourists who flock to these important sights. Even after all our travels we are still amazed by the sheer numbers of people who head to some of these sights. You are never alone during peak season in Rome!
The sun was taking the energy right out of us so we decided to head off the beaten path to find food. We always know that getting a few blocks away from the major sights is wise if you want to get good, cheap food. We, therefore, hoofed it a few blocks to a quiet restaurant in a back alley and settled in for a leisurely lunch. Our food was pretty cheap and very good, definitely better than our much more expensive dinner the night before.
With lunch in our tum-tums, we set out for the big daddy sight in the area, the Colosseum. As I said before, we dodged around the huge ticket line and immediately entered through the automated gate using our ticket from Palatine Hill. We then proceeded to wander the impressively old Colosseum for the next hour or so. Once again you have to do your best to dodge tour groups and other tourists,
Palatine Hill Pictures
That's St. Peter's in the distance.but this huge stadium is well worth the crowds if you are into architecture.
When we were done with the Colosseum it was time to head back to the hotel via the metro. We proceeded to rest an hour or two before dinner before heading out with my parents to get a really good dinner in a local restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. Later we crashed for the evening to rest up for a day at the Vatican.
Hope you’re all well at home!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.225s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 7; qc: 25; dbt: 0.1809s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Beth shadur
non-member comment
nice museum!
The Musee d'Orsay is one of my personal favorites! So nice.