Sacre Bleu! A busy few days.....

Friday was our Day at the Musees. Thursday had been a late night so we did not head out until 12:30PM, hopped on the RER C, and one stop later we were at the Musee d'Orsay. The Orsay used to be a railroad station so it is much more open and airy than the other museums. Bertha and Sydney loved the ballroom with lights of glass flowers and the beautiful statues made of different types of marble. The bodice of one woman was made of red marble with white veining, carved so it appeared like a ball gown -- it looked like real fabric! My favorites were the impressionists on the 5th floor - Monet, Matisse, Renoir, and Sisley. Whistler's Mother was much larger than I thought it would be, as were the two works by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Afterwards we took a short walk across the Seine to the Musee de l'Orangerie in the Jardin des Tuileries to see my favorite -- Monet's Les Nympheas (The Water lilies). They are in two oval rooms, which are connected and form the symbol of infinity, which was Monet's intent when painting the water lillies. He wanted to give the viewer a sense of peace and timelessness by removing all land references (no pathways are visible). The series depicts the pond through the day. I'm fond of Water lillies in the Morning and Morning Waterlillies. The rooms are all white expect for the paintings and really bring out a sense of calm.

Downstairs is a collection of works by Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume. It included works by Cezanne, Renoir, Rousseau, Picasso, Matisse, and Derain. There was also a video depicting the installation of the Monet's. Dad was amazed that the paintings were each moved as a single piece. Crates were hung on the walls and when the panels were removed, there were the paintings.

We ended the day with another ride on the ferris wheel. In the evening, Tom and Kim when out for a late dinner while the rest of us dined in.

Saturday we headed out on the Metro and exited at Anvers. Walking a narrow, cobblestoned street, we eyeballed the souvenier shops and arrived at Sacre Couer. As we rested at the base of the mountain, Syd and I rode a small carousel that was there. We climbed the stairs admiring the view as we went along. Tom had been concerned that Syd would struggle with the steps. She was up them so fast, practically skipping the entire way; pausing briefly on occasion to taunt Tom "I'm ahead of you" and "You can’t catch me!"

Joining the steady stream of visitors, we walked through the church, admiring the architecture, gold works, and stained glass. Picture taking was not allowed and visitors were closely monitored. I managed to take a couple (I know.... tsk tsk tsk).

After another brief rest, we headed behind the church and toured the village of Montmartre, stopping for pizza and gelato. We admired the Lapin Agile, a cabaret where Toulouse-Lautrec and other artists were known to frequent. Winding through the streets, we ended our walk at Moulin Rouge, which brought big smiles to Bertha and Dad. Hopping on the Metro, we headed back to the apartment.

Dinner at the apartment then Tom, Kim and I headed out around 9PM to enjoy the nightlife in the Latin Quarter. We got in around 1:30AM; I felt like we were lightweights heading home to bed as there were so many people STILL out in the streets!

Sunday was an easy day as we did not leave until 2PM. We all slept in VERY late as Saturday we had walked so much and most of us were out late. We headed to Notre Dame -- it was PACKED!!! Many more people than last week. We headed to the crypt to see what the archeologists had dug up.

Afterwards we headed to the back of Notre Dame, admiring the flying buttresses along the way. There is a garden in the back where both Kim's mother and grandmother had their pictures taken. Tom and Kim have taken their picture on the same spot in their two previous trips here and now did it again with Sydney. Great family tradition!

The group split up around 4PM at the bridge that connects the two islands. Tom, Kim, and Syd headed to dinner with one of Tom's coworkers who resides in Maison-Laffitte. Dad, Bertha, and I walked Ile St. Louis a bit longer, checked out a couple of local churches (St. Louis and Saint Gervais) then headed back to the apartment to change for dinner.

We dined at le bar a huitres, poisson du restaurant; we were very pleased with the food. Dad and Bertha started with mixed salads, then Dad had steamed cod and Bertha enjoyed grilled sardines. I started with a seafood platter that consisted of oysters, mussels, escargot and winkles, and had filet of beaman on pasta as my main course.

We walked a bit more and took pictures of the back of Notre Dame at night. Continuing our late night stroll, we checked out the city hall where a large screen was set up for everyone and anyone to watch the Rugby World Cup. Despite the hour, there were lots of people (I think it was Ecuador vs. New Zealand).

Monday was another easy day. It was supposed to be a shopping day, but the heavy rain slowed us down and we took our time leaving the apartment. Dad and Bertha headed out first, the Tom, Kim, Syd and I jumped onto the Metro and shopped at Le Bon Marche.

Monday evening, Tom and Kim headed to their favorite restaurant to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary. Le Grand ve Four treated them VERY well, and they were seated at Victor Hugo's table. The chef, Guy Martin, met them at the door! They dined on the chef's classics of ravioli stuffed with fois gras, and creme brulee with artichokes! Yes...artichokes! It was different but delicious. Kim said to talk about the CHEESE course -- two huge platters of cheese, each platter a good 2-1/2 feet in diameter with at least 20 different varieties on each platter! One platter had the soft cheeses and the other the hard ones Now THAT's a lot of cheese!! They each sampled four different cheeses and said all were excellent!

Dad, Bertha, Syd and I headed into the Latin Quarter and dined at Baladin Rive Gauche located on rue St Severin. Our plan was to take an evening cruise on the Seine, but due to an obvious mix up on our meals at the restaurant, we were there for 2 and a half hours. By the time we finished it was 9:45PM. Getting very late for Syd. Dang, we were really looking forward to the boat ride. Hopefully we can squeeze it in tomorrow or Wednesday.

We kept things easy Sunday and Monday for two reasons. First, the anniversary; I’m sure Tom and Kim will make a full night of their celebration and probably will not return until around midnight. I hope they get in sooner because of the second reason. Tuesday is our trip to Versailles and we need to head out early! It will be a full day of walking so we all need to be well rested!

TTYL!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: One more week is all we ask..... (Tom, Kim, and Karen)