Musee D'Orsay, 2009

I love their logo
 
Little did Van G know he'd be doing the signature piece for a museum
 
Interior of the old train station...lots of clocks
 
Clock view of Mont Martre
 
2nd floor aerial view of the large model of the old Paris Opera; an aviator has skillfully landed his paper airplane on the roof (how many other blogs will show you such keen-eyed observations?)
Another unusual view, looking out the fifth floor escalator on the entry side
 
Renoir's portait of Wagner
 
Source of the Coca Cola polar bear ad image

Not pictured: my favorite D'Orsay piece, Courbet's L'Origine du monde. I have pix of all the usual D'Orsay classics, if anyone wants to see them, but thought today's blog might feature the unusual. Courbet is a bit too unusual, and I'd probably have to have the blog status changed to "mature content" or somesuch.

Leon of Brussels

The Leon's near Les Halles

Me, demonstrating proper technique

Interior, with Manneqin Pis replica

Two carafes of Eau de Paris

Our (well, Rachel's and my) favorite mussels and frites restaurant in Paris; now with 9 locations. Much as I love mussels and frites here, and the muscadet, nothing compares with the green shells of New Zealand.

Saint Chapelle

Lower level ceiling (for courtiers, functionaries, administrators, etc.)
King Saint Louis himself
 
The upper, proper level, where the King worshipped, is as stunning as ever, although the north side needs a wash
 
Rose window
 
Specimen window

Ile de Cite, Rive Gauche, etc.

Between being Parisii and Paris, it was Lutuce, a Roman city, many of the remains of which are on the Ile de Cite and beneath Notre Dame; this is part of the baths
 
Depiction of Lutuce's Coliseum

At the east end of the island, the interior of the French war victims' memorial
Shakespeare's

Notre Dame

South river view of the great cathedral
 
Our crew again

Charlemagne statue outside the Cathedral; I thought his capital was Aachen
Celing
Rose eindow
 
One of many windows
 
Diorama of medieval construction of cathedral
 
When the cathedral was renovated in the 19th century--thank you, Victor Hugo--the architect had himself portrayed examining the new spire he had constructed
 
Work continues...and I don't find the scaffolding as objectionable as I used to

Louvre I

Our crew consulting a local map
 
Before the Louvre was the Louvre, or even the Palais Royal, there was a six-towered royal fortress on the site, much of which remains beneath the present Louvre
 
At the outbreak of WW2, the major assets of the Louvre were packed up and distributed around France for safe-keeping; there is a great exhibition on this under-way
 
Unusual stern view of Venus de Milo; by this time I was getting restless
Another sculpture hospital

Still my favorite, the Winged Victory
 
Closer view

It was a warm day in Paris

Pompidou I

Ugliest museum in the world, but always interesting and provocative exhibits

Georges himself
 
We mostly looked at the current "Elles" exhibit, which draws together the Pomp's enormous resources by women
 
Sometimes political, sometimes just aesthetic
 
Sometimes political

View from Pompidiou

Ditto

Le Apartment

Rebecca and Rachel, and their boyfirends, Jeremy and Will, had rented an apartment for the week in Paris, on Boulevard Sebastopol, 3rd Arrondisement, about two blocks or so from the Pompidiou, four or five from the Seine, a great location. It was their home and family headquarters. Vicki and I stayed, as always, at the campground in the Bois Boulogne, a bit further out, a bus ride and then the Metro, but quite manageable. It is still one of the best and most popular campgrounds in Europe. Anyhow, we spent the week in Paris, sometimes together, especially meals, sometimes apart given different interests and priorities. The succeeding posts will capture some of what we did and where we visited. It was a most memorable family vacation.

Rachel had put together a large bound notebook of Paris 

and France resouces, sites, maps, timetables, descriptions, 

etc., and this itinerary, which we adjusted for weather and 

other exigencies 

View from the apartment, fifth floor

Boulevard Sebastopol from the apartment

 

St. Jacques Tower, near Chatelet, from the alley behind
Sebastopol

Sebastopol street level

Down on the Ferm

It was mostly a wheat farm
 
With a rooster
 
Some chickens
 
Some cows

And an orchard

Where we all stayed two nights. Very nice, very French, very bucolic.