It had to come to this: we finally took on some of the must-do galleries of Paris.Last time we were here we were thwarted by Tracey's calf injury; this time it feels like we've both taken a few bullets in the the name of culture.
Frankly, it's exhausting. Eye-opening, yes. Revelatory, yes, Exhausting, you bet.
There's no point rattling off what we've seen and heard in the past few days. After all, that's why so many people come to Paris so they can see for themselves.
Better than expected
Monet's water lilies (l'Orangerie) - Andrew. Shown in natural light, these extraordinary expanses convinced us that there was in fact water in the picture which captured beautiful reflections. Believe it or not, the hype about these paintings is genuinely worth it. (Tracey believes that after approximately 250 paintings of water lilies, Monet may have been becoming lazy, though it may be better explained by the fact that he did have cataracts at the time of these particular works. Some of his early Lilies certainly exuded more of what Andrew describes above)- Lady with Unicorn (Musee National du Moyen Age) - Tracey & Andrew.
- So much sculpture. Everywhere you go there are exceptional works, from classical to contemporary eras, from the erotic to the bizarre.
Unexpected treats
- Sisley (Louvre & Musee d'Orsay)
- Modigliani (l'Orangerie)
- Artemis (sculpture, Louvre)
Sharing a bottle of Sancerre at Cafe Marly, overlooking the Louvre (glass pyramid) entrance courtyard. Greatly revived us after our second delving and made a third possible.
Don't believe the hype
- La Giconde/Mona Lisa. We felt we should see it and, we suppose, it's an OK piece. But seriously people - look around you! Even in the same hall are works which surpass this one.
- Venus de Milo. There's just so much better sculpture...that isn't broken.
- Auguste Renoir. Chacun a son gout, I suppose, but this guy isn't to our taste.
- Some of the works found at Centre Pompidou (black canvas with a white line, comics cut out and glued in a montage, the video of the women hula hooping with barbed wire...you get the idea.
Just near the Louvre the is a place called O Chateau, which do great cheese and wine tasting in a medieval cellar. Apparently well worth the cost, but you have to book. TripAdvisor has is as one of their top 5 Paris attractions. In 4 weeks, Charlie and I will be walking the same steps and sucking up the same culture you are. Very exciting. Love Deb and Charlie
ReplyDeletePS. We had a Sancerre wine here in Melbourne. It was stunning. Must make it to their winery in the Loire. Oh, and if you're sick of walking, another top 5 thing to do in Paris is hire a scooter from Left Bank Scooters. It's on our list of things to do there. Sound like a wicked fun way to see Paris. Imagine riding around the Arc de Triumphe.
ReplyDeleteHi guys glad you having a good time - on the ground!- Rich and I agree about mona lisa, especially the crazy people running past all those amazing pieces to see it then back on the bus. btw shed has arrived on site - looks tiny in pieces :)
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