A day at the d'Orsay

Saturday started with brunch at the park.  I wandered the park until I found something, passed two guys walking goats (no idea where they were going!) And a guy holding a giant cat.  The cat was amazingly tame and friendly, and it turns out that we had brunch at the same place. A cafe in the park near a pond in Paris. Ahhh.

It was a beautiful morning and after breakfast I took my time making my way over to the museum, and once again buying tickets in advanced proved to be the right move since the lines for tickets were amazing.  The museum itself it of course amazing as well, but unlike the Louvre they don't allow photography.  This is weird since the copyrights on those works are long gone, but I have to wonder if digital cameras have eaten into postcard and book sales.  You can however, take pictures from the roof.

Unlike the Louvre, the d'Orsay is more of a "best of" with the ratio of great art to "meh" much better. Monet, Manet, Millet, Daumier, Corot, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne, Degas, Pissaro, and a random Zorn.  I spent about five hours looking at brush strokes and color palettes.  The impressionists didn't blend; they let your eyes do that.  And if it's not about the trees, then don't worry about the trees.  If you're showing your brush strokes, then they become a part of the painting and the direction and thickness become important. (Just smile and nod if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

I decided to get the Japanese audio guide since I'm (trying to) learn Japanese.  It was hilarious:  About the only things I could understand were "this thing," "he went to," "he returned from," various numbers, and that all of the verbs were past tense.  Well of course the verbs were past tense - the paintings were done hundreds of years ago!  Good grief.  There was a Manet painting of asparagus, and the only thing I could understand was "asparagus."  To me it sounded like the Minions from Despicable Me: "Asparagus, asparagus, asparagus."  I was cracking up.  Somehow learning how to say "Mr. Smith will take the bullet train to the Osaka branch office on Wednesday for a meeting" does not help you understand interpretations of Impressionist paintings.  Go figure.

Lunch was inside a clock.  The museum is a former train station and the giant clocks are still there, and behind one of them is a restaurant.  Good food, and I had ice cream for dessert for comparative purposes (good, but I still prefer the chocolate mint in the park).  

Like any building that went through a 2-year renovation, there are not enough bathrooms.  At least not enough ladies' rooms.  Why is it that men are always in charge of restrooms?  Do they not see the lines???

Anyway, after the museum, it was back to the park to have a crepe sitting in front of some beautiful flowers surrounded by classical statuary.  Ah, Paris.  Sunset was at 9:30 and was an amazing ball of fire red with a dozen airplane trails lighting up like comets.  Walking back after dinner I watched the crescent moon rising over the city with the lights of Paris.  Unlike San Carlos, Paris does not shut down at 9pm!!

Sunset in Paris

From the roof of the d'Orsay

Saturday morning in Paris

Slowly making my way to the d'Orsay.

Bad paintings and random parrots

That's right, I went to the Louvre.  The thing about the Louvre is that it's not a "best of" it's just everything.  It's the world's largest museum, so there's bound to be a lot of "meh" mixed in.  It's also huge, so even if you have a plan, you're going to walk ten miles to get there.  I was on a mission for landscapes.  I had to walk through room after room of what I wasn't looking for, including one room of paintings of parrots!! This seemed so random after a half mile of crucifixions.  Finally I spotted windmills.  Ah!  Then boats.  Perfect.  There's a definite pattern to colors:  Burnt sienna up front, then move your way to greens then blues in the background.  Then you find the Rembrandt's, which are just dark except for the magical portions of light. I think he only had burnt umber and yellow ochre, but man could he make it sing!  That man knew how to use darkness.

Here's some close ups of random paintings for my art friends:

And some waves: 

I stopped for a snack on the roof.  Well, on a balcony on the second floor.  Decent sandwich,  chatted with a guy from Tokyo who was out here for a conference and staying through the weekend to check out Paris, and enjoyed the view.

Then I spent some time in the sculpture gallery.  It's in a huge open area with skylight, so it's absolutely stunning.  Venus de milo is in a crowded hallway somewhere else, and alas Nike is off view for conservation, but this gallery is still gorgeous, and a nice break from the enclosed spaces of the paintings.

 
Last, I fought my way over to the Denon wing for the sole purpose of getting a picture of Totoro with the Mona Lisa.  That's her in the back.  I still think it's not the greatest painting in the world, just infamous.

The place is huge and a zoo, so by 5pm I wanted out!  It was beautiful out, nice and sunny but with big beautiful clouds.  I walked through the park there just enjoying the day, when I saw a line for ice cream and got in it.  Best darn ice cream I've ever had!  And they make this sort of flower out of it with the different flavors.  The chocolate mint and banana were amazing - I think I need to go back and try some more flavors!

I enjoy the evening by just walking along the Seine and taking it all in, then for kicks I stop for bento - I just have to try bento in Paris.  It's like a Korean bento, but they had this wonderful green plum tea as well.

Then it's back out into the streets of Paris to watch the sun go down.  The light really is different here.

Day 1 in Paris: Getting there and arrival

Wow, long day!  Started normal enough, then after lunch I headed out to the airport.  Flying business class for international has so much awesomeness that it's hard to describe: Every line is shorter and the leg room is longer and the food is better.  I've flown in the baggage compartment to Tokyo enough times to truly appreciate this.  The lounge at the airport is a nice start because it's quiet: A nice calming start to your journey.  The snacks are a nice touch, but really it's the calm that's good.  Then you get down to the gate and it's a massive cattle call for the largest commercial aircraft there is, but you just kind of slide right in.  Plenty of room to stretch out once you find your seat.

The guy next to me was on the phone before we took off and I caught things like "I'm on a plane to Paris and nobody knows my whereabouts" and "they might try an injunction" and miscellaneous tidbits about data and what's on his laptop... International intrigue!  Awesome!  Then he was texting like a maniac.  I actually talked to him during the flight and apparently he's leaving one law firm and joining another and "it's messy."

The flight out was great - a little hazy but still some good views of The City and some really cool clouds along the way.  The food was amazing, actually, I think I gained 5 pounds just on the plane!  A plate full of salad, and some cheeses, fabulous chocolates, chicken that is actually identifiable as chicken....  Not the gray noodles that I've had on ANA (they're pretty good, but that's just not a food color)!

There was a good translation moment, though, apparently it is "absurdly forbidden to smoke in the toilets."  I bet!

Then you can actually sleep - the seats recline completely and there is a foot/let rest that comes up.  Not a king size bed but man does it make a difference!  You can adjust every little section.  Yes!!  This does not cure the time zone problem, mind you - it's still the middle of the night somewhere and the middle of the day somewhere else.  But at least you get some sleep and you're knees don't hurt after 2 hours.

Getting through the airport in France actually wasn't bad - it's just a lot of walking!  My bags came out Priority  :)  and I was on my way to the hotel shortly after noon.  My room was ready so I got to take a shower and a short nap upon arrival.  Hunger was a driving factor, so first I had to find a bank.  There's one right up the road so I got to do a little exploring right off the bat, then I actually stumbled across a place that someone had told me about: Laduree.  So I had a nice sandwich and followed it with hot chocolate.  That was the recommended drink, and I would like to clarify that this is in fact molten death!  The whole place is shiny silver - even my tap water was served to me in a crystal decanter.  Funny.  I made friends with the German gals (mother and daughter) sitting next to me as we discussed evil desserts and they commented that the US was easier to get around than Europe because the roads go in a straight line.

Then it was out to explore Paris.  A walk along the Seine proved to be markedly different from 15 years ago:  There are cargo containers recycled as urban living, a skateboarding area with folks doing 70-s-style tricks on longboards, a bar that's a line of bright orange lounge chairs, and a zillion padlocks that people add to statues and bridges.  Ugly. But the old parts of Paris are still Paris!

Made it

Paris ho!

A little bit of last-minute packing to do, and we'll be ready to go!

Playing tourist

I played tourist with my aunt this past weekend.  We did the Farmer's Market, walked along the Embarcadero, took an open-top tour bus (windy as hell!), watched the sea lions, had lunch looking out over the Bay and the City and went to the aquarium.  We're both sketchers, so we had a grand time drawing everything we saw.  Here's my sketchbook from the weekend.

Arguello park

Nice day to sit on a hill.