A little medicine, a touch of wine, a closed window and we both had a good night's sleep. We awoke both ready and primed for a full day with some catching up to do. After getting ready, we took advantage of the washing machine to clean our used Paris hiking fatigues.
And then we were off! We caught a Metro to our first stop, the Rodin museum.
This was the house where Auguste Rodin lived (amongst other artists, his wife, his muses, and lovers) and sculpted some of the most proliferous works in Paris and beyond. Having read Rick Steves' intro, there were certain works Chris was seeking to see (Mer got hot inside and relaxed in the garden until Chris' exit). First was The Man with the Broken Nose.
Around there was the Hand of God.
His protege, muse, and sometime lover, Camille Claudel also displayed her Maturity.
Then it was to the garden to see his work of The Gates of Hell.
And, Rodin's most famous, The Thinker.
From Rodin's hot museum, we shot over to nearby Rue Cler for lunch. After strolling up and down the straight lane, we settled on a Greek cafe. Only after we were reading through Rick Steves did we find this shop used to sell horse meat.
Thankfully, the meat choices were more contemporary and delicious.
From there we routed back to the Army Museum beginning with Napoleon's tomb.
From the golden dome outside, to the giant casket (in a casket, in a casket) is apparently the way to go. Napoleon's brothers and best generals were laid to rest nearby too.
We then went into the war museum that had pretty good layout of WWI and WWII, with many things in English. We were crunched for time and both Mer and I are pretty well read on the histories of these two wars. So we raced through.
We also raced because we had a date with a certain Tower.
There was a line just to get underneath the Tower, and then another to go up the elevator. But the scenes were picturesque all around.
Finally, it was our turn on the elevator. It was cool to see the city as we climbed higher. We went past the first level onto the second.
And then, voila! Picturesque Paris below. We found the gold dome of the military museum.
There was the Arc de Triomphe.
Even a few great ones of the both of us.
Going up just one level (where an elevator to the summit awaited) was a less intrusive fence with all the wonderful views.
We then walked down a great many stairs to get to the first level of the Tower. There, we saw a great many displays on the history of the Tower and its comparison to others around the world. There was a kids' play area with a nod to the 2024 Olympics. And a crazy glass floor to able to see the ground below.
We then continued our stair climb to the bottom and took a few pictures from below.
So far, our day was zipping along, so we decided to fit in a nearby museum, and the Orsay fit the bill.
Formerly a train station (Gare d'Orsay) it was saved from bulldozing when it was decided to put scattered art post-Louvre in one spot. Thus it housed a great many pre-Impressionist artists leading into and beyond that era. Thus we saw a lot of Manet.
There was Renoir
And, of course, Monet.
With some Van Gogh.
And more of the same sculptures from the morning's Rodin.
After this, our tiredness from the day's frantic travel was setting in. It was time to eat. So we set back toward Rue Cler, but found an affordable Chinese place on the way.
We also found a Carrefour to buy the details for our evening wine picnic with our friends before their own summit of the Eiffel Tower. (And thanks for the wifi at the closed Starbucks to communicate with Austin and Ashley as to where to meet us!)
We found an open spot on the Champ du Mars. It was chilly as the sun descended, but our blanket was there for wrapping. And the views couldn't be beat!
We had our wine as the sun set on a glorious evening. Before too long, we walked them up to the base of the Tower and departed them to await security. Mer and I made our way back to the Metro and our familiar red windmill.
No comments:
Post a Comment