Advertisement
Published: November 3rd 2012
Edit Blog Post
A return to Musee d'Orsay, a great afternoon in l'Orangerie (which had been on my short list since our first trip to Paris), and two surprising art collections at Chantilly were highlights of the recent trip. Only the art gallery in Chantilly allowed photos - I took tons of photos at d'Orsay previously so there must have been a policy change. If you are at d'Orsay and the costume collection is still up do it first. We did it last and ran out of time. It's fab with mannequins dressed in period costumes (mostly lush dresses) mirroring how women (and in a few cases men and children) were dressed in classic painting by the masters.
At the Chantilly Estate we all loved the Ra[hael's. The photos give you an idea of how one Bourbon Prince spent his money (other than on horses). An immense library, lovely grounds and gardens and horse "spectacular" (truth be told "spectacular" it wasn't) highlighted our visit. We were steered away from the "house tour" by the wonderful travel writer Rick Steves. In his Paris book he deemed it boring and only in French. Actually the horse show commentary was only in French also - we
tried to pick our words like "dome" (the stable had a magnificent dome), canter, trot and gallop. My command of French is so limited as to be an embarrassment. More about the Chateau at Chantilly, especially the gardens in a subsequent post.
It was on Ellen and my walk back through the town of Chantilly to the train station ( 8 Euros each way from Gare Nord) that we happened upon a sweet tea shop (oddly named Le Boudoir) with a light menu and an attractive tea related inventory of items made in Europe if not France (we are working hard to keep our purchases at least European made if not local). It was a Monday and shops (including very attractive antique stores and porcelain shops) and restaurants were closed. So this tea room with couches near the storefront window, nice food and an appealing inventory was a very lucky find.
I had already been to Giverney so skipped out for shopping while some of the girl relatives took the train to Monet's home and garden. I would definitely have gone with them had I not been there already. The gardens were said to still be
bright with color even this late in October. The train connection was said to be seamless.
About the gardens, we walked westward on Champs-Elysee from the Grande and Petite Palais on our first full day in Paris. The stroll was nicely broken up by a stop at a cooking school and attached restaurant, bar and gift shop. French cooking schools are taught in French, of course. Just another reason to get a handle on the language. The Musee L'Orangerie is at the head of the Jardin Tuileries near Place Concorde. The giant format Monet Willows and Water Lilly paintings were magnificent as was the rest of the art collection. Very nice gift shop/book store. Amy bought a book about our Montmartre neighborhood and we all wished we had scooped it up too! No photos allowed.
We continued our LONG walk through the Jardin Tuileries and eventually to the IM Pei Pyramid entry to the Louvre. It was Friday and the museum is open late. We got as far as the ticket desk and decided that since only part of the group wanted to take the tour, we were exhausted, it was raining, and we
were hungry that we might better set the actual Louvre visit aside for another day. An indoor shopping arcade lead directly to the Metro without having to brave the elements (and those darn little Eiffle Tower souveniers who are said to be pickpockets) as dusk approached. We did get to see the pyramid at night from bus 69 and Anne and Patti got back to see Winged Victory and Mona Lisa.
Hints:
#1 put an over the door hook in when you pack. So many hotels (not the 5 stars, of course) don't have adequate towel bars and hooks - you need to keep your clothes and towel dry. While you're at it, remember that many hotels don't provide wash cloths or face cloths so packing a few can't hurt.
#2 if your want to go to the theatre, get your tickets as soon as you book your flight. The Marriage of Figaro was at the stunning Opera House, which appeared to be totally sold out - of course we could get tix for 300 E from scalpers! Didn't go down that road.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.455s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 28; qc: 118; dbt: 0.1504s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
Robin
non-member comment
the sky
Not the purpose fortaking the photos, I'm sure, but the sky in many of the Paris photos is appropriately painterly- beautiful!