Monday Feb 28
Today my mission was to see the Orangerie Gallery and also the Delacroux's house galley.
Orangerie is a collection of paintings by Guillaume Rogers. Found the Renoir collection very interesting but the most amazing galleries were the two upstairs galleries built especially for Monet's major achievement of 8 HUGE painting of his water lilies. After seeing many of Monet's "practice paintings" of water lilies at the Mamottan Monet gallery I was really taken a-back when I saw these. I returned to these rooms again before I left just to refresh my mind. I was so much to take in. The rest at the Orangerie Galley was great and really worthwhile to see. The Renoir collection ("R-n-wa" no e) and I now know some new names that I now need to follow up.
(check photos and add nomes here)
The Delacroux's house galley was a waste of time. I have been very impressed with Delacroix's painting in both the l'Orsay and the Louvre.
Tuesday Mar 1
At home day.
Catalogued all my photos and did a pencil drawing of the St Michel Chapel in the Torrent of Vallon valley when we were ski recently.
Wednesday Mar 2
Planned this day better and managed to achieve all visits (a number as closed for various reasons)
Started by returning to Delacroix's house again. I took a short-cut along the nice and narrow street St Andre des Arts to Satre-Beauvoir Place. This is the area where to modern Philosophers gathered in cafes). I came to see the Church, St German des Pres, a very old Romanesque architecture containing the tomb of the philosopher Descartes.
I then headed along Rue Bonaparte to St Sulpice Place and the 2nd largest Cathedral in Paris. It has two towers and inside I found a chapel with 3 Delacroix paintings. An interesting fact I discovered was that he mixed his paints with molten wax to preserve the paintings. Looking closely at the painting you could see the wax and it must have been very difficult to apply.
I was then off along the rue Garancieve to the Palias du Luxembourg and the gardens. The building is the government office for the senate and not accessible. The Medici wife of King Henry IV built this palias to remind her of her Italian home. It is a very beautifully set out garden, currently without flowers or tree with leave. The fountain pond and tree and the vista to the Pantheon were all very nice. The long view down lawn back to the Palais was impressive. It is now used by local students for social cafe and exercise along the many paths and playing areas.
Leaving the garden and heading along the avenue de l'Observatory I passed the famous "Fountain of the four parts of the world". This was a particularly beautiful fountain with the four maidens looking very graceful as they carried the world on their shoulders.
I was heading toward the Paris Observatory hoping to see the time marker - unfortunately it was close for renovations. I continued on to the Place Denfert Rochreau where there was a huge sculpture of a lion in the centre with all the car circulating around. I was here to see the Paris Catacombs and they were hard to find. In fact the entrance was right in the Place but the only sign post pointed away from the Place. The Catacombs of Paris are old abandoned limestone mines (abandoned because of serious subsidence cause the building above to collapse) which were re-used to bury the Paris dead because of heath problem arising from cemeteries within the city. All bones, with occasional little chapels for service. Signs told us that some were exhumed from city cemeteries of were the dead from specific revolutions. All very neatly and respectfully arranged skulls and bones in their thousands. It was very interesting but a bit macabre. (There is an other museum which takes you into the sewers of Paris. I'm no sure that I am ready for that one.)
From here I headed along the rue de St Jacques to the Pantheon. An impressive piece of architecture and geometry, even though the early attempt at using steel for reinforcing concrete is now failing and bit are falling off the building. The building was first built as a church but under Napoleon it changed to be a "secular public building" for special occasions and for the burial of significant Frenchmen. Madam Curie, Victor Hugo, Voltaire Rousseau and Emile Zola are in the crypt.
At this point I was keen to get back to the I'le St Louis and headed along St Germain Bd - bought some veges and bran - I'm getting to know the local shops. I found an interesting and not-on-the-tourist-route church - (Can't find its name) I did not take any photo as it was full of people actively praying at all the various chapels to saints. It to me that France is a very Catholic country (surprise!!)
A very trying day. I did not use the metro as I still find it fast to walk to palaces and I like to take interesting streets and see the life. There is a lot of darkness in the Metro tunnels and you don't see much.
Must plan tomorrow. Friday I have to pack for the ski trip to Nice (Tende). They have had a lot of snow this week.
A Norwegian friend of Fritz (uno) who is coming on the ski trip will be having dinner with us tomorrow night. (the conversation will be in English!!)
Thursday Mar 3
Another better planned day.
Caught the metro to Madeleine Metro station and emerged from the underground to find myself beneath towering columns
Madeleine
Elysee Palace
Impresioinist walk around the Place de Europe
Paris Opera house
(complete)
Friday Mar 4
Napolian's tombe and the Musee Rodin with Uno.
(complete)
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