The last two days in Paris have been twinged with gray and rain. Wednesday was mostly a light rain so I went to the Musee D'Orsay - which is probably my favorite museum in Paris - bar none. Some people love the Louvre. It is just too large for me. Others may really love the Centre Pompidou. Me, I love the Musee D'Orsay because it's the one museum where I find the art to just be so beautiful and moving that I can visit for longer than two hours - but I don't have to because in two hours you could do a thorough visit.
I'm an Impressionist girl, I love Van Gogh, Monet, Gaugin, Cezanne, Manet and even Lautrec - and they and many others (like Sisley, who I adore, but gets lost in the shuffle, I think) are all in one place. For the first time, I noticed that I could start to distinguish between the styles of some of the great ones. I'm definitely not an art history buff and I don't know a lot about art appreciation but it was surprising to me that I could start to recognize the different strokes and styles say between Van Gogh and Cezanne who painted for a time together. The museum itself is an old train station, all white inside with beautiful sculptures including those by Rodin and Degas. But despite it all, I can't tell the difference between Monet and Manet. I think they are the same person.
After visiting the museum I found myself walking around the 7th arrondissement, just window shopping. There are some great antique stores and high end shops in the neighborhood. I have been trying very hard not to shop for my niece - yet - I'm waiting until I have scoped more of it out. However, this doesn't stop me from going in some of the shops and looking at all of the cute baby stuff. I went into one shop - called Bon Point - and they had the most adorable shoes for kids - but so darn pricey! I decided it was worth sending a pic to my sister in law, Bhumika, so she could see them, since God knows that I'm going to turn my niece into as much of a shoe girl as I am (Bhum, you've been warned). However, this was a no-no. The shopkeeper reprimanded me for taking the picture - I had no idea that these shoes were state secrets!
Yesterday morning turned out to be more rain - this time hard rain, so I decided that perhaps it was a day to be spend in my apartment. I haven't really done that since I've been here. I feel a need to be out and about all the time. I don't want to squander this opportunity to be in Paris, but I also realize that I'm here for six more weeks so I don't have to run around all the time. It's hard for my type A personality to manage. I figure at some point I will settle in to the fact that I'm living here for the summer and not just on touring vacation.
As it turned out, the rain stopped and the sun came out and I set out to explore parts of the 5th arrondissement. I have these great Paris walks cards that I got from my friend Kristin and I've been enjoying using them as a benchmark to see some interesting places and things. They are split by the different districts so they are easy to use. Yesterday's walk took me by the Sorbonne - the oldest university in Paris - dating back to 1254, some old neighborhoods, the Musee de Sculpture en Plein Air - which is basically a walk along the Seine with an outdoor sculpture museum - I wish Baltimore would do that along its Harbor - more trees, more seating - it would make the harbor more welcoming - and I don't mean at the Inner Harbor - which is overcrowded and touristy - but at other points so that the Harbor becomes a place for neighbors to meet and sit.
I also went into Shakespeare and Company - a very cool english language bookstore where you can browse for hours or sit and read used books. Just beyond the Seine by the sculpture garden is the Jardin des Plantes - a wonderful large garden with various plants, flowers and museums including the zoo! I haven't been to a zoo in ages and it was fun traipsing through the monkey house, seeing the large cats, the wallaby, the kangaroos - who were lazing about, and I even went through the reptile house - although it makes me uneasy. Zoos make me feel like a kid again.
Today, despite weather reports of rain, looks to be a beautiful day. Happy Friday!
No comments:
Post a Comment