I Love Paris Every Moment

The next morning I woke up too early and took the metro all by myself down to the Musee D'Orsay so that I could be one of the first people in line when it opened. I wanted to have the impressionist paintings all to myself for as long as I possibly could.

The museum is housed in the former railway station, the Gare d'Orsay. When you walk in you are just overwhelmed with the grandeur, especially since early in the morning the light is streaming through all the glass giving it is somewhat dream-like quality. All the sculptures that were housed in the main area looked as if they could come out of their marble shells and magically come alive.

Quickly I headed up to the top floor to go and see the impressionist collection that I had heard (and read) so much about. Upon entering the wing, I realized that the entire trip to Paris had been worth it just to see all of this great artwork. The first piece that I saw that I knew was Degas's "Tiny Dancer" sculpture. I just stood in front of the case absolutely mesmerized by the perfection and beauty of it. In fact, (please don't make fun of me) I started to cry. No, these tears weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. Seeing all of these famous pieces of artwork that I had only seen in books for so many years was a dream come true. Yes, I know that this makes me sound like a small child in a way, but standing there I realized how lucky I was to have been raised to have an affinity for travel, learning, and for art (among other things).

From there that room, I went and spent some quality time with some of my favorite artists, including (but not limited to) Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and many others. I wish that I could do all of the pieces justice, but I can't (and you would get quite annoyed my post because it would go on forever. Instead, I am just going to post some of the pictures that I was able to take.

Following my enlightening experience at the d'Orsay, I killed some time until Laura could come and meet up with me. I took a lovely walk down the Seine, and eventually found myself at Notre Dame. Somehow, I accidentally went in the "out door." Oops. I felt like I was back at camp and I had to use the correct doors to go and get food in the kitchen. Except, at Notre Dame in Paris, there was no Jacob Pactor or Ilana Gildenblatt to teasingly scold me. Anyway... So, I went in the wrong door, which meant that I was going against the so-called flow of traffic. But, regardless... Even though it was crowded, and at times my claustrophobia kicked it, the structure was just amazing. And whenever I felt like I wanted to run out of there screaming, all I had to do was look up and see all of the space. I have always had an affinity for stained glass because my grandfather made on the side as a hobby. Yet, the glass at Notre Dame just radiated throughout the entire building. It was this light amongst the darkness and somber mood of the church.

From Notre Dame, I walked along this small touristy shopping street in the hopes of finding a charm for my bracelet. Of course, I got the obligatory Eiffel Tower charm, and I also wound up with an adorable mug with Le Petite Prince on it. During this walk, I also decided to suck it up and get another crepe, because how could one pass that deliciousness up? I decided to have one filled with banana and chocolate...how much better could life get with that combination?

I met up with Laura at Hotel de Ville, and we walked the few short blocks to the Pompidou Center to go to the contemporary art museum that is housed on the 5th and 6th floors. Not only does this building house contemporary art, it is also functions as a piece of art. The building is somewhat sore on the eyes after seeing all the gorgeous buildings that are so well known in Paris. Yet, the tubing and "exoskeleton" that is visable from the outside makes the building unique and a true topic of conversation. Hey! I even remember talking about it in my French class when we were in middle school!

After we waited an hour in the line to get in, Laura decided that she didn't really want to go with me, so she went to a friends to do homework, and I ascended the many escalators to get to the museum. Being here was essentially love at first sight. The art collection leaves off where the Musee d'Orsay ends, so it is mostly contemporary art. Some of my favorite artists, like Worhal, Agam, Chagall, (late) Picasso, and others are housed here. Yet, the best thing that I saw was something that I had no idea was even in Paris, let alone the Pompidou. The Matisse cutouts from his jazz series were hanging on a nondescript wall in a gallery. And so, there I stood and had another bout of my "happy-tears."

Afterwards, I once again met up with Laura and we went first to the Basilica du Sacre-Coeur to see the sun set over Paris, then we found our way to the Latin Quarter in the hopes of finding dinner. After wandering for a bit we decided to have fondue. I started the meal off with French onion soup, continued with a 3 cheese fondue, and finished with chocolate fondue. I felt oh so Parisian. I also felt like a fat kid who just wanted to eat more and more and more. I even suggested to Laura that we ask for bread to dip into the chocolate fondue so that we could eat the last drops of it. She didn't even want to entertain that idea and just kind of rolled her eyes at me.

By the time dinner was over Sarah Butzer, and Angelica (two of my sorority sisters that are spending the semester studying in London) had called me on my cell phone to tell me that their plane had touched down at Charles de Gaulle airport. This was my cue to leave Laura to go and meet the girls at the hostel that we would be staying at for the next few nights.

After a bit of drama that involved me getting lost once getting off the metro, and the hostel not taking credit cards, the three of us found out way up to our tiny room and I proceeded to pass out. But, don't you worry, there would be plenty in store for the three of us the next morning!