Paris, Part Deux; or, D'Orsay, Pompidou, & More

The best of America drifts to Paris. The American in Paris is the best American. 

It is more fun for an intelligent person to live in an intelligent country. 

France has the only two things toward which we drift as we grow older – 

intelligence and good manners.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: 

at home and in Paris.

Ernest Hemingway

The beauty of getting older---and I will be 50 in a year and a half---is that you really, REALLY don't much care what people think about you anymore.

Case in point---in the past, I was one of those people who rolled my eyes in a city when the double decker buses full of tourists passed by.

A few weeks ago, I found myself on top of one of those tourist buses in Paris, and I am so happy we did it.

Yes, it was a little cheesy (and pricey), but having a guide on the top of a double decker bus through the city is a great way to get a lay of the land. On Bastille Day (July 14), much of the city was closed down for parades and fireworks shows. This included streets (so no taxis) as well as some subway and bus stops.

For two first-timers figuring out how to get around a city we didn't know, having a little knowledge of how close things are really helped. You can't get this with a map!  It was really helped us visualize what museums and other attractions were in the same geographic areas.

It's also a nice way to take some photographs, standing on top of a double decker bus instead of down on the ground. I still think this is the best way to see the Arc de Triomphe (click on any photo for larger view):

Once we got the Louvre out of our way, we started thinking about what we wanted to do while in Paris.

We had the advantage of time---we were there for a week. We also have the advantage of living only a few hours away via plane. I can't tell you how amazing it is to be able to travel and NOT experience jet lag.

With the proximity in the back of our heads (plus there are some things I really want to experience with my children), we decided to put a few of the big tourist attractions on hold until a future trip. This included the Eiffel tower, which requires a several hour wait in line for security, even after you reserve a ticket many weeks (months?) in advance. With the hot weather and quite honestly, fatigue of crowds, we also put off Versailles as well.  Last but not least, we saw the hours-long line to get through security for Notre Dame in the hot sun, and, well, you guessed the rest. . .

What else does that leave, then?

Instead of waiting in line for the Notre Dame, we chose to go to the much smaller and close by Sainte Chapelle. This 13th century Gothic chapel is famous for its stained glass, and was built by King Louis IX to house his religious relics (including  Jesus' supposed crown of thorns).

Instead of traveling out to Versailles or climbing the Eiffel tower, we went to several museums. Some, like the D'Orsay, were full of tourists. However, we went on Bastille Day and we were surprised it wasn't more crowded. Several museums are free on that day, and it is a national holiday, so there were more people walking around the city. The D'Orsay is built in an old train station. Not only is the building beautiful, but it also is the perfect place to build a well-organized museum. Bonus: it was air-conditioned!

The D'Orsay houses impressionist and post-impressionist paintings and sculptures. There are several Degas, Renoir, Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and more paintings that are recognizable. Some paintings are as large as billboards; others are small and delicate.

Van Gogh's Blue Room and self portrait

Any Bow Wow Wow fans out there?
Manet's Luncheon on the Grass

Degas' In a Café

We also walked right into the Pompidou at opening time, avoiding the lines as well. The Pompidou is the modern art museum of Paris, and has one of the best views of the city.

My favorite moment in any museum was watching a grandmother sitting on the floor next to her grandchild, patiently explaining in detail one of Kandinsky's paintings. They were oblivious to everyone around them, and I was as enthralled with them as I was in what else was going on around us.

I really love modern art (the MoMA in NYC is my all-time favorite museum) and I wasn't disappointed. The museum is not only very well organized, but it is sectioned off into different movements within the modern art time period, with explanations (in English!) of what the artists wanted to convey and the impact of their work. I love art history so I found it very interesting.

There were paintings by Spanish artists protesting the Spanish Civil War and reign of Franco's dictatorship. There were murals, like the one below by Indian artist Jalish Kallat, who uses his art to bring attention to the poor working class of Mumbai. I love that you can either see art as art---merely a decoration---or you can read a deeper message into it. 

Jalish Kallat's Baggage Claim

Andy Warhol/Elizabeth Taylor

Chuck Close's Arne

Amadeo Modigliani's Portrait de Dédie

Picassos

In addition to the above, we saw photographs by Man Ray and artwork by Joan Miró, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Roy Lichtenstein. Did I mention that I love modern art? I could spend all day in either the D'Orsay or the Pompidou and be happy---both are so very well thought-out and designed and have amazing collections. 

The entry price for the two museums and chapel were all included with our museum passes. We did have to stand in a security line before entering each place, but sadly, that's just part of traveling and going to tourist attractions in Europe today.