Au Revoir, Paris (and Bonjour, Ella!)
Although we arrived back in Boston several days ago, we have not had a chance to update people on our last few days traveling in Paris. We were lucky to stay with Benny's relatives in a suburb south of Paris, a mere 15 minutes train ride from all the main attractions in the city.
But before we start talking about churches and museums, let's get to the best part: on Sunday, May 20 we were awoken with a phone call that our niece Ella was born. She is absolutely beautiful -- much like aunt and uncle (and parents, too!) -- with dark hair, and a face full of wonderful expressions (as you can see here). We can't wait to meet her in a few weeks.
By any measure, Paris met and exceeded all of our expectations. The grand and elegant boulevards, the seemingly infinite number of world class sights and attractions, the wonderful transportation, and the great food made this the perfect city to end our trip in.
As with many days on our travels, we spent our time wandering through Paris, and along the banks of the River Seine. We didn't see too many sights on the first day, but instead tried to enjoy the nice weather and spend as much time outside as possible.
Our second day we started visiting the city's famous museums, beginning with the Musée d'Orsay. Housed in a former train station, this museum is dedicated to pre-impressionist, impressionist, and post-impressionist paintings, as well as art nouveau decorative arts and sculptures. The collection is staggering -- and impressive. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously, although we both felt that the amount of art and the way it was displayed was quite overwhelming.
Later the day we visited what ended up being a highlight of our trip to Paris -- Musée l'Orangerie. Like the Orsay, on its lower floor this museum contains many impressionist paintings. However, we found both that both the size and presentation of the collection allowed us to enjoy the museum much more than the Orsay. The real treat at this museum, however, are the enormous Monet waterlilly paintings on the upper floor. Two oval shaped rooms surround you with his beautiful masterworks, and being immersed in their beauty was a special and memorable experience for both of us. In addition to several pictures of the waterlillies in our Paris album, the l'Orangerie website has a neat virtual view visit of this exhibit.
We ended our second day with a visit to the Conciergerie, formerly a part of the royal palace, and later a prison where Marie Antoinette spent her a last days. Although not especially beautiful, the Conciergerie is one of the best examples of secular Gothic architecture.
Our next day was equally busy with museum hopping. In the morning we went to Centre Pompidou, which on its upper floors contains a large collection of modern and contemporary art. Like the Orsay, the collection itself was impressive -- and overwhelming. It is a great place to visit, and a "must see" on any visitor's list, but in reality to see everything demands a full day.
Next was the museum of museums -- the Louvre. We knew we couldn't see the whole thing -- heck, we couldn't see a whole wingPicture_2607 had been recommended to us by Benny's aunt and uncle, in particular the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Iranian collections. We also took a quick peek at some of the renaissance collection, including, of course, the Mona Lisa. -- in one day, let alone an afternoon. So we picked areas that
Perhaps most excitingly, we had our second celebrity sighting of our travels, when we saw French actress Audrey Tautou walking down the street with her boyfriend. We tried to be subtle and take a picture of her, but after following her for a block we only managed to capture her in this photo from behind. Note how Audrey is crossing the street -- perhaps an attempt to avoid a certain loud, bumbling, backpacking, celebrity-watching American couple? Nah....
Our next day was less museum heavy -- we visited the hilltop neighborhood of Montmartre and its Sacre Coeur Cathedral. We followed this up with a visit to Napoleon's tomb -- an incredibly impressive, immaculately maintained sight -- and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
And finally -- our last full day traveling. We spent our last day visiting the Rodin Museum, the Arc de Triomphe, and walking (did we say walking?) all over the city, including the Latin Quarter. Picture_2666Of course, with so much to see in Paris we didn't even mention other sights we visited, like the modern La Defense neighborhood....and the Grand Palais and Petit Palais....and churches....and sewers....
Paris was a marvelous way to wrap up our travels. We know we keep on promising a Best (and Worst) Of list, and we promise it's coming soon.
But before we go -- the last thing we saw in Paris (besides the airport, of course). Our last night, we visited the Eiffel Tower, which once an hour twinkles with thousands of small lights. It is magical, and this video is a much inferior glimpse of the experience. Thanks for reading, and we'll be back.
