Ah oui Paris!

Back in London we were staying close to Euston Station and found ourselves spending a lot of time in the Wellcome Institute Museum and Library as they had a special weekend event entitled “Why Music: The Key to Memory”. It was also just across the road and had a great little café that we spent sometime in! The place was filled with music of all descriptions throughout the weekend and we also explored some of the medical displays.

It was a 10 minute walk to St Pancras and the Eurostar on Sunday for a three day sojourn to Paris. We remember doing the trip several times 12 years ago, but now it is much faster – 2¼ hours to Paris.

As we had been to Paris a couple of times before we had specific things we wanted to do – the first day was revisiting The Louvre, a place we found both confusing and exhausting! While it was great to be there and among all the artworks that we only ever hear about, the thousands of people and some issues with negotiating our way round made it also stressful. In contrast, today we have been to the Musee d’Orsay, a much easier and more pleasant experience!

We finished yesterday in the Tuileries Gardens adjacent to The Louvre. A warm autumn day of 24 degrees meant people were out and about, enjoying the gardens and occupying the chairs around the large fountain. We had a relaxing time soaking up the sun for an hour or so.

Tomorrow it is back to London then on to Yorkshire to explore some small villages and York itself – more to come!

Barbara

I believe The Louvre is designed to drive you insane in its configuration. In fact I’m sure I saw more than one person who looked like they had been there for days just trying to find the way out!

Looking inside The Louvre - belies how many people were there!

 

A painter interpreting a painting in The Louvre gallery

Trying to be serious at The Louvre

Dwarfed by the pictures

The painting is called The Hands - so of course one more wouldn't hurt! And no, I wasn't touching it

Maxims!! In the concourse on the way out (yes, we did eventually find the right “sortie” – way out -  for our purposes) was a Maxims shop.  Now Maxims is of course a very popular and well- known restaurant in Paris, which we could never afford to dine at but give us the opportunity to go into one of their food shops and we were in like Flynn. We moved slowly about eyeing up the possibilities for a “post Louvre pick me up”.  A delightful young assistant offered us a small freebie treat.  I engaged her in conversation.  She had just come back from California where she stayed with her grandfather, and she hopes to return there to study real estate as the money is not good for that here in Paris.  Her English was very good, she asked where we were from, and after buying a few wee goodies from her she threw in a very generous handful of more freebie chocolates.  Small things like that, when you have paid the proverbial arm and leg during the course of the day, just makes your day. 

Tuileries Gardens - Eiffel Tower and, more importantly, Maxim's goodies

The Louvre, Tuilieries, and a walk along The Seine – tres bein.

Lawn mowers - goats, Tuileries Gardens

Just lucky that we are able to be here

Strolling by the Seine

Musee D’Orsay was a dream today. An attractive amazing space (used to be a Railway station.) Less crowds & cheaper than Louvre. An amazing & attractive space to display paintings, statues, furniture, bronzes. 

Through one of the giant clock faces in Musee d'Orsay, looking out across Paris

A Degas dancer

Inside Musee d'Orsay

Leonetto Cappiello – pencil drawing

Pammy's effort!!! Must try harder

We sat next to a very pleasant older Italian couple from Roma at lunchtime, and at the end of our meal had exchanged addresses, as you do! I even tried my hand at drawing one of the masterpieces as it looked sooooo easy!! A bit of fun though.

It’s been a long time between visits to Paris – 12 yrs or so, and so I don’t feel I know Paris well at all.  It is a city that has to work hard to charm me, for some reason, and yet needless to say, it has done that quite nicely, with small moments of joy, warm weather, a shabby- chic hotel (as only the Parisians can do), tempting food, and of course a loving, patient travelling companion to share it all with.  Merci Beaucoup Paris

Pam

Lounge room at our Hotel France Louvre

Colourful meringues