I Get The Impression That...

The much anticipated Musee D'Orsay was on the docket today. I love impressionist paintings
and this was my chance to see them since the Louvre refused to have any on their walls. The
museum is housed in an old train station which has been restored quite nicely. The
unfortunate part was that a large portion of the museum was being renovated (I think
everything in Europe is being renovated right now) and I may have missed some of their
displays as they tried to cram an entire floor's worth of artwork into the main foyer. What I
was able to see was quite spectacular however. Works by Degas, Monet, Manet, Cezanne,
Cassatt, Van Gogh, Renoir, etc. Putting them together in one area helped you see the variety
of styles from very fuzzy impressions to stippled effects to pastel drawings and even
sculpture by the same artists. I was most content despite the hordes of people swarming
through the museum like bees darting back and forth.

Upstairs was a mixture of more paintings, sculpture and decorative arts (tables/chairs,
fabric, glass, etc.). After such a wonderful selection downstairs, they had to put the less
exciting pieces somewhere right? The paintings were 95% blah with a few exciting pieces here
and there. The decorative art pieces were very original. Some displays had bedroom or dining
room settings with intricate wood work or creative metal fixtures. There were more than a few
times where you'd look at a setting and think "What in the world would that have been used for
in this room? Oh wait...it's art--meant to look pretty and not necessarily be functional."
Finally I had walked through all the rooms and seen everything they had on display. I'd grown
quite hungry and decided to grab a sandwich at a cafe I saw on the way to the museum. I
chowed down on a huge tuna baguette that must have contained 1.5 cans of tuna on it. The only
down side was the lack of dressing on the sandwich like say mayo or mustard.

I opted to pass through the quaint shops Manuel had directed me to the other day where we ate
the strawberries. I found Rue Moufftard relatively easily, but decided I should continue on
to the Jardin des Plantes before it closed for the day. The trip there was also a nice walk
past a mosque and some wonderful architecture. I was preparing to see lots of plants--at
least more than I had found in Paris parks up to this point. Yet again I was disappointed by
French horticulture. Is it really too much to ask to add a few spots of color here and there? Even if you go all green, how about some leafy texture or shrubbery? There certainly was more colorful flowers in this park, but the overall design and shaping of the garden was once again wide paths with the classic white gravel dust and always flat spots of grass with the occasional grouping of blooming flowers. If you ever visit Paris, do yourself a favor and
don't waste your time at the gardens unless you prefer minimalist/reserved scenery.

Being so close to the train station where I first arrived, I thought I would stop in and see
if my bag had made its way to the lost luggage office. After some very typically French
confusing directions and maps, I managed to find the office which had closed some 20 minutes
earlier at 5pm. Worth a shot at checking.

Yesterday I had planned to visit the Eiffel Tower, but when my camera battery died I figured
there was no point in going if you couldn't take pictures. Today, armed with a fully charged
battery, I navigated the metro to the Trocadero stop. This leaves you off at a large building
you must walk around to even see the tower. When you come around the end and finally see it
perched in the distance, the sight is quite lovely. Nothings so clearly trademarks and says
"Paris" like the Eiffel Tower. From the NW corner of the building the tower was framed by the
green park grass around it and a slight haze of pollution--just enough to give a softened look
to the hard metal forming the tower. It truly does grow in majesty the closer you get and the
taller it becomes. By the time you walk up to it you feel like a dwarfed ant as you pass
underneath the monstrously large metal legs. I'm not one for city skylines where you can't
quite make out what you're actually looking at and thus didn't spend the E12 to take the ride
up to the 2nd floor. Photographs and staring at it from the park was satisfying enough for
me. Besides, I had already seen the skyline for free from the Sacre Cour cathedral.

Not wanting to walk far for dinner and trying not to buy any more metro tickets, I went a few
blocks away from the Eiffel Tower figuring there must be tons of places to eat nearby.
Surprisingly there were very few. Along the street I was taking toward the next metro stop I
would use to get back to the hostel, I found a decent looking place with a good menu outside.
I went with the meal plan where I could pick an appetizer, main dish and desert. I selected
Muscadet white wine, pate, rotisserie chicken, zucchini au gratin and a slice of peach tarte
for dessert. The only flaw in my plan was that I think the pate was also chicken. Nothing
like adding extra protein to your diet. All was very tasty and most filling. I looked
forward to the .5 hour long metro ride to settle my food a bit.