Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th

Monday: May 24

Yesterday was Sunday and we went straight off (as much as we are able) to the Gare du Lyon, where we bought our rail passes and made our reservation for Switzerland and to Avignon as well. From there we traveled triumphantly to the Musee d’Orsay and the impressionists.

What a lovely collection. There was a special exhibit on Crime & Punishment that displayed paintings around that theme, including Jacques Louis David’s, The Death of Marat. It was quite impressive. There was another exhibit of Gaugin & Van Gogh which was very cool as well. Another collection of impressionists and post-impressionists gave us access to rosy-cheeked Renoirs and his pastel depictions, some lovely Cezannes and Degas, many others. We broke for lunch @ 3:30 but Katie made us go see first Millet’s The Gleaners because Mom had the reproduction hanging in the house in Sterling. After our late lunch we parted ways: Kate and Ange stayed til closing time at 6 pm. I took off walking toward Notre Dame to go to church, and they finished their day picking up a boat ride on the Seine that made several stops and allowed them to hop off to view several sights, including Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Musee d’Orsay. The Eiffel Tower was big and included a new sight for us: machine gun toting soldiers who patrol the tourist sites and train stations. Katie snapped a picture of a few at the Eiffel Tower. Meanwhile, I went home to a small supper of bread, cheese and pate. They got home at 930 and we were in bed by 11:00. Today, Monday, is a day off from art with a trip to Paris’ biggest Flea Market and some souvenir shopping.

Later: We saw less than 10% of the flea market but enough. In addition to the waves of t-shirts, shoes, hats, jeans, there was also antique furniture, fireplaces, and estate sale knick-knacks. We stopped for lunch mainly so we could use the toilette and enjoyed shared appetizers: nicoise salad, pickled herring, and pate of the country, and a big bottle of Evian water. There was a singer in the restaurant singing cabaret songs from the 1950s and had a joie de vivre combination of Mickie and Edith Piaf. After each set of songs, she roamed the restaurant and if you hadn’t given any donation yet, she plopped her basket on the table in front of you and waited. We sat next to some people from Latvia who were surprised that 3 Americans knew where Riga was (and that it was in Latvia). Guess we don’t have a world-wide reputation for global or geographic awareness. After the flea market, we journeyed to Sacre Coeur, the huge basilica on the top of Montmartre. It was enormously hot (but little humidity) and we spent the money to take the funicular tram to the top. Great views of Paris. Small narrow streets with cobblestones and little shops, very French looking. Finally home by 8:25 to make a big salad with some chicken we picked up at the Asian deli. After walking 4.5 miles, we had hearty appetites and sore knees, but happy hearts.

Today we plan to climb the towers of Notre Dame (or seek an elevator for Katie so she can come too), explore the island of Cite, as well as get ice cream at the famous ice cream place on the more peaceful island of St. Louis, sit by the river and eat ice cream, then trek across the river to take Ange to the restaurant high on the hill near the Pantheon, Les Fetes Gallantes, where we had such a wonderful meal. It looks like another hot day, but the city charms us with all this sunshine.