Saturday, September 29, 2007

PARIS !!!

Well, we've finally made it to Paris. The first thing we had to do, though, was make a dental appointment to fix one of Judith's fillings! On emerging from the subway to go to the dentist we were confronted by the Arc de Triomphe - it had quite an impact as I thought we would approach it from the distance of at least two or three hundred metres, but there it was towering right in front of us.

We've been doing all the tourist things that one does in Paris and having a great time. The Eiffel Tower is indeed impressive and is a focal point all over Paris. We went up to the second level for the view as the top level was a further 45 minute wait.












We have hit the art galleries of course. We have been well disciplined and have got to all of the galleries early and have avoided any lengthy queues. We made a bee-line for the Mona Lisa straight away and got an easy view - and by 11.00 am there was a massive stream of tourists heading for the Mona Lisa and (it would seem) not much else. I found it quite amusing that when I went to the French collection there was hardly anybody there as was the case in the Objets d'Art salons.








The Louvre is very impressive but I particularly liked the Musee D'Orsee which is in an old railway station that more resembles an old palace than a railway station! It is simply spectacular as is the art housed within. It has an overwhelming collection of seminal impressionist and post-impressionist paintings and sculptures. It was exciting to not only see five, ten and twenty or more paintings of such famous artists as Degas, Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Matisse and so on, but these were some of their best known works as well.












It really brings home the massive significance of the impact of the French on modern art.

The hotel we are in is in the Latin Quarter and is in an excellent position. We are about 5 minutes walk from the Pantheon (one way) and the river Seine and Notre Dame Cathedral the other way. The other bonus about Paris is the magnificent underground railway system. We bought a weekly ticket and have travelled all over the place without any worries. A train comes along to any station within two or three minutes so you don't have to wait long and waste any time. Anyway, must dash - got a train to catch!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Milt, Just caught up with your doings again. Marg has just lef the South West today heading for Nice and Grasse for her last week. she leaves for home next Sunday. Keep an eye out! Look forward to sharing a coffee and chat. Cheers, from the armchair traveller - Russ