Paris: Day 3

August 3, 2009

On this day we planned to tackle the Orangerie Museum and the Louvre, but first, we had our same omelet and café au lait breakfast at Café de l’Ecritoire. The Orangerie was a former storage space for orange trees of the Tuileries Garden. Monet painted wall-sized canvases of water lilies, scenes from his garden pond in Giverny, France. The canvases completely surround you as you sit in the middle of the room. I especially enjoyed the ones with clouds and trees within the reflection.

We passed through the Tuileries Garden on our way to the Louvre. There were several fountains and benches for relaxing. A mother duck and her three babies were entertaining to watch as they floated around in a pond.

We paused for a café outside of The Louvre before tackling the inside. We had our caffeine fix and sat back to take in the exterior - the pyramid and palace wings.

Once inside, it was a madhouse! I expected craziness but we were overwhelmed with the actual number of people. We hit the highlights including Mona. She was of course smaller than everyone expects, but we were prepared for this. It was still neat to actually see her in person. I really enjoyed the French Neoclassicism and French Romanticism. We’ve seen plenty of Italian medieval and renaissance art so these were new to us. Here are examples.

Neoclassicism:
La Grande Odalisque

The Coronation of Napoleon

Romanticism:

The Raft of the Medusa
Liberty Leading the People

About now I wished I had taken a formal art appreciation course in college, though I am gaining a better appreciation with live viewing and travel. Sometimes I wish I knew more background, history, technique, etc. while looking at all the masterpieces...


We had a quick lunch at a place that reminded me of Panera, but much better! Then we headed over to the Montmartre area to visit Sacré Cœur (Sacred Heart) Basilica. The church's exterior is made of gypsum, giving it a bright white glow. The church sits on the highest point in Paris and the views of the city are extraordinary!

A few streets away from the church we found Bohemia Montmartre at Place du Tertre. The square is lined with cafés and the center is filled with Parisian artists. We gawked at all the original art, circling the square several times, looking for that special souvenir piece. There were hundreds of Eiffel Towers, café and shop window scenes, Moulin Rouge and the infamous Chat Noir. We contemplated what to add to our collection, struck with “Analysis Paralysis”. We mulled over the Eiffel Towers for awhile but decided on a piece that had actually caught our eyes upon first stepping into the square. It’s unique and eclectic, of course, and it will go perfectly with our Phish Coventry poster. It doesn’t scream “WE WENT TO PARIS” but it will take us back to Montmartre and our anniversary trip. It's three fish outlined in black with swirly primary colors. Michael pointed out a rather sweet symbolism- the three fish represent the three years of our marriage. We paused to have some Rosé wine before leaving the Montmartre area and were serenaded by street musicians. We made our way back towards central Paris, passing by quaint houses and buildings including Van Gogh’s former home.

We ventured to the Marasis district for our official anniversary dinner at Chez Janou. The food was divine and the best we ate our entire time in Paris. We started with warm goat cheese served atop a chunky tomato sauce. Michael had cream risotto with scallops, drizzled with a sweet balsamic reduction. I had a juicy tuna steak with a side of grilled veggie risotto with garlic. For dessert, we split a massive dish of crème brûlée, my absolute favorite dessert. It was simply heavenly and the perfect ending to our delicious anniversary dinner!