Day 7 – June 22, 2019

Paris

Our final day in Paris, how sad! We made it count, don’t worry. While Friday was the “day of death” we affectionally called Saturday our “day of art.”

Because it was the weekend, our favorite boulangerie was closed. Instead, we returned to the café we had visited Thursday morning. I tried a pain au chocolate and had another iced coffee. From there we took the Metro to l’Orangerie, a museum near the Place de Concorde (aka where the French king was beheaded during the Revolution of 1789). The museum was refreshingly small compared to the others we had been to earlier in the week. The top floor housed a series of Monet’s water lilies, which were stunning. I was so thankful I had been to his house before I visited because it truly enriched the experience. Downstairs there were works by other famous impressionists. Renoir’s works were my favorites.

From there we walked up the street, visited the bridge in front of Les Invalides and near the Grand Palais. We took photos of the golden statues and watched as over 20 vans of gendarmes rolled by with their sirens on. We walked across the bridge and made our way to the Musée d’Orsay. This museum housed statues, impressionist works, furniture from different periods, and models of iconic buildings in the city. We got to see Van Gogh’s self-portrait among other gorgeous items. I thought it was neat that we got to go out on the roof. We had an excellent view of the Louvre and the Seine.

Our next stop was the Opéra Garnier. This building inspired the Phantom of the Opera. It is stunning both inside and out. We arrived just before closing so we were only able to look around for about 20 minutes. However, we were able to see wonderful chandeliers, paintings, and costumes.

We went to the AirBnb, took a short break, and headed back out to the Atelier des lumières. I was certainly not prepared for what we saw. The building was a converted former factory. The walls and floors had been painted a dull color, pools and levels installed as well. The show consisted of music being played in sync with moving images from famous impressionist paintings and photos of the artist’s life. My description cannot give justice to the incredibly moving nature of the show. Throughout the piece, you could either sit or move around to see it from all angles. How you experienced the piece truly changed depending on where one sat.