Orangerie . . next best thing to being at Giverny

Sarah claims I look like Mary Poppins!

Loving this hotel . . . . we went down the spiral stairs to the basement for breakfast.  Had delicious brie & croissants surrounded by the sounds of people speaking French & Portuguese (we think).  The staircase to the basement reminded me of one my favorite restaurants, a neighborhood place where Sarah and I had dinner when she was living here during college.  We walked down into what appeared to be the basement of a home, but was an intimate restaurant.  The food & wine were excellent as we listened to Edith Piaf, then everyone broke out in song.  What a sense of the French community.






After we enjoyed our lovely breakfast (although no one was singing at this hour of the morning), we took a walk to the cathedrals.

First we went through Sainte-Chapelle.  This is a small cathedral built to house relics from the passion of the Christ including the crown of thorns.  While those are no longer in the cathedral, the more than 1000 stained glass windows depicting Bible scenes from Genesis through the resurrection make it worth a visit.

Next on our plan (you know how Sarah likes her schedule) was Notre Dame.  Simply breathtaking as we approached the cathedral.  Now, it was breathtaking for two reasons:
 1) The massive structure created 850 years ago.
2) Sarah kept reminding me that we were going to be walking up to see the bell tower while pointing to the very top of the cathedral and saying “look we get to walk across that ledge.”

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t excite me, it scares me to death!  Still not sure how I ever went in the glider in Finland. Sarah: still not entirely convinced that she did.  Charles if you’re still reading I’d like some proof :)

We toured the main part of the Cathedral which was beautiful and even more so with the Christmas decorations.  The rose window is simply massive and so amazing with the sunshine coming through.  After touring the ground level, we walked back outside for a second look at the height we would be ascending to... fortunately for me, the line was too long (woo hoo).  Sarah here, I’m not entirely certain the line, which was a third the length of the one we stood in later in the day, was the reason we didn’t go see the bell towers, but let’s be nice and use that as our excuse.

Read these next 2 paragraphs at your own risk:

We stopped for a bite to eat, Sarah had a Nutella crepe and I ordered a more “healthy” option of a veggie crepe.  The bathrooms are a little different here in France, this one happened to be unisex. The men’s section had petite saloon doors “strategically” placed while at least the women had a door with a latch.  Now there was no toilet seat so I warned Sarah.

It was so nice of Mom to warn me about the lack of a seat, but I really wish she had warned me about the men’s section. When I went downstairs, these elusive saloon doors were nowhere to be seen, but unfortunately the man behind them was! (No photos here)

Orangerie

We decided to go to the Orangerie Museum because neither of us had been previously.  We waited in very long line, as our feet and hands became numb.  As I was attempting to shake some feeling back into my legs I wondered if this museum would be worth the wait, was it ever!  It’s probably one of my favorites in Paris.  



The Orangerie has a small but impressive collection of mostly impressionist and post-impressionist art.  As we edged nearer to the entrance, we learned this museum was hosting the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit.  That kept us pedaling for warmth in line for the last 20 minutes. 

As you descend the stairs you see a huge portrait of Frida Kahlo at the entrance to the exhibition.  The exhibition was incredible and very well done. The museum did a great job of telling the story of the two artists/lovers through words and their art.  What a wonderful surprise to find this!

The permanent collection was most impressive as well.  Mom was immediately, and not surprisingly, drawn to Renoir’s portrait of girls at the piano.  The collection houses Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, Derain and more. 

We finished looking at the main collection in the basement and headed upstairs and through a hallway that opened up into a room in the shape of an ellipse with huge skylights.  To our shock, the room engulfed you with four panoramic panels of Monet’s waterlilies.  It’s almost impossible to describe this room, it feels like being in Monet’s gardens in the middle of Paris.  Even more incredibly there was a second room!

Marie Laurencin

We ended the day with a little shopping and a nice walk down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.    More photos of our day below . . . . Bonne Nuit

With the Louvre as our backdrop

Tour Eiffel 

The flying buttresses of Notre Dame (this one's for you Dave)

Arc de Triomphe

Walk along the Seine

Crazy, crowded metro

A rest in the Tuileries

Tuileries