It was a long yet fun train trip from Lourdes. Six hours and the woman sitting next to June (Marie) was enroute to meet up with her two sisters. Then the three were departing the next day to The Big Apple for Marie's first visit. Her list of things to see and eat was long. She asked for help with her list. What a fun way to practice our French and her English.
That was jueves, 13 Septiembre. Viernes was a lazy day for me! The first such day since we left on 1 Septiembre, that I did not go out until about 6 pm and only then to go to the market a block away to gather some dinner! Felt awesome to relax and rest all day! Perfect since the next day was a day of museums.
Musee de l'Orangerie, lunch, then Musee d'Orsay. The Water Lilies panoramas at l'Orangerie are a must see! Arriving just after the musee opened allowed me the beautiful experience of viewing them with a smaller crowd! The experience taught me that my bag of adjectives needs to expand! On the other hand, words fail when it comes to the visceral impact of something like a painting!
After l'Orangerie, the d'Orsay felt massive and overwhelming--both in itself and the crowds of people.
Thus after 2 or so hours, while June attended mass at Notre Dame, I opted for a stroll outdoors down Rue de St Louis on Ile St Louis.
Now it's Martes, 18 Septiembre and I've managed to take the Metro to Gare Saint Lezare. And arrive in time to purchase my SNCF train ticket to Vernon. Where I'll take a taxi or bus to Giverny--home of Claude Monet. While it is late September, I'm excited to feel the experience of his gardens. Water lilies. The Japanese bridge. The inspiration of his many paintings which I experienced on this past Saturday in Musees l'Orangerie and d'Orsay.
And I was not disappointed. The water garden. The flower garden. Even now in late Septiembre are beautiful. The flowers colorful and vibrant! I see how he could spend hours painting his gardens! I spent almost 4 hours wandering and sitting there!
June and I spent my last day in Paris being leisurely! We went to Pere Lachaise Cemetary (which is directly across the street from our hotel). That's since I learned two days before that a number of famous persons are buried there: Edith Piaf, Chopin, Moliere, Modiglini, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Jim Morrison! Then on to eat a nice dinner near Eiffel Tower. Decided to try steak aller-retour which is steak tartare that is pan fried about a minute on each side (as I saw steak tartare on every menu since I arrived in Paris! And we were rewarded with VEGETABLES! Haricot verts!
Then we passed by Eiffel Tower to the Metro station to return to the hotel as the 21:00 light show started! Thank you for a wonderful farewell to me :-)
Bon Chemin!
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