THE LEFT BANK
Wednesday 10/4/06
We are all pretty tired from our running around so we just decide to stay in bed all day today. Just kidding! We start with an early amble down past Paul’s for coffee and pastries and we are now proud that we can do business there. We take a new street that angles northwest towards the Seine and past interesting looking antique shops and art stores. It is a bright sunny morning so we grab this opportunity to snap a few romantic pictures along the river.
Our mission this morning is the Musee d’Orsay that houses the works of the period during which Paris was the center of the art world. Our pass gets us easily into the special entrance and we grab a map and step quickly into the mid-1800s. The Orsay begins where the Louvre ends. We are now in the center of the French neo-classical style which reproduces on canvas much of the Greek statuary we saw Monday. Naked ladies and cherubs abound in upright and laid flat poses with pitchers and swirling garments galore.
Dave and John like the naked ladies but we move into a more interesting period of realism and the works of very recognizable names such as Courbet and Manet. The artists have become a little friskier here and their style is taunting and somewhat cartoonish in its style, poking fun at the big shots of their society. Instead of Greek and Roman gods or biblical heroes, the subjects are now working folks at their daily tasks or in situations familiar to everyone.
We transition from the realists to the impressionists and we find works by Whistler (yes, his mom), Degas, Renoir and Monet. Apparently when the camera was invented, the art world swung away from realistic portrayals which they assumed a photograph would trump, and on to more flair and dash in their work. The K’s try desperately to educate the Z’s in the intricacies of the impressionist art form with limited success, but all agree that there are a lot of pretty pictures.
We wrap up with the post-impressionists and now every artist and every painting is familiar. There are dozens of paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Rousseau, Gaugin, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Perhaps because of the familiarity or the evolution of styles, we all find the Orsay to be more entertaining than the Louvre. We take a final stroll through the Grand Ballroom with astounding statues by Rodin among others.
Once again we are into early afternoon with more work ahead. We walk a block or two south and find a crowded café that the locals seem to like so we squeeze into an upstairs table for a quick bite. We once again are able to get what we want and pay appropriately. We’re now almost Parisians.
We hop on the Metro at the Orsay station and ride a couple of stops to the “Tour Eiffel” station. As we walk up to street level and follow the signs we get a great view through the trees of the tower rising in front of us. This is a pretty spectacular setting and the tower is actually bigger than we might think. It soars up over 1,000 feet and weighs over 7,000 tons even though it is a hollow ornament by design. Built for the World’s Fair of 1889 is serves no purpose other than to impress the masses. The French are apparently indifferent to the structure and one Parisian said he likes to eat in the restaurant there so he doesn’t have to look at it. The Z’s decide to pay a few euros to ride up to the middle observation deck for a view of the city, while the K’s decide that a park bench and pigeons look more inviting than the long lines. Both think they made the right decision after the fact.
We are now in the 7th arrondissement and with the sun still shining we decide to start walking back to the hotel. The park stretching southeast from the Tower (the Champ de Mars) is a bit like the Washington Mall and we follow that to the end with frequent neck swivels to catch new views of the Tower. Our walk takes us past the “Invalides,” a hospital built by Napoleon for his injured troops and still operating like a VA hospital today. We get a peek at the Rodin museum which is now closed but still has visible statuary in the exterior garden. Mary Z. does the sensible thing at this point and grabs a Metro back to the hotel for a nap while the other three warriors soldier on by foot. This part of the city houses many of the national and city governmental offices so the similarity to Washington DC continues. We eventually work our way back to Boulevard St. Germain and finish our late afternoon walk down this very lovely avenue. The K’s stop at our neighborhood grocery on le Buci while John joins Mary Z. in slumberland.
Tonight is our big splurge for dinner. Yes, one of the big time fancy Paris restaurants. After much searching we have decided on “Taillevent” based not only on the quality of the food, but also because of the reputation of the restaurateur. Taillevent was founded in 1946 by Andre Vrinat and he was joined in the business by his son Jean-Claude in 1962. Jean Claude, now in his 80’s still shows up for work most nights and the day to day operation is handled by his daughter Valerie. They have been awarded three Michelin stars (the highest) every year since 1973.
Our front desk babe gets us a cab at 7:00 for our 7:30 reservation and we have a pleasant ride through traffic and across the Champs Elysees to the restaurant. Valerie greets us at the door and our waiter, dressed in a business suit, is quick to get us martinis and explain the menu. During our dinner our waiter brings over Jean-Claude for introductions and we ooh and aah over his reputation in the industry. After we finish our Crème brulee de foie gras de canard, Epeautre du pays de sault en risotto, Rouget-barber peole, Selle d‘agneau princier en rognonnade, Chevre frais, Oeuf-neige aux fruits rouges, and Plaet au chocolat caraibe et a la verveine, our waiter brings a bottle of 25 year old cognac and four glasses, complements of Monsieur Vrinat, and tells us to enjoy as much as we like. On our way out Valerie asks us to wait because Jean Claude would like to say good-bye and it is hugs all around. Yeah, it was an OK place.
Our cab drops us at our hotel and we walk to the river and watch the lights twinkle on the Eiffel Tower before heading off to bed. Was this the best day yet? Hard to tell.
Wednesday 10/4/06
We are all pretty tired from our running around so we just decide to stay in bed all day today. Just kidding! We start with an early amble down past Paul’s for coffee and pastries and we are now proud that we can do business there. We take a new street that angles northwest towards the Seine and past interesting looking antique shops and art stores. It is a bright sunny morning so we grab this opportunity to snap a few romantic pictures along the river.
Our mission this morning is the Musee d’Orsay that houses the works of the period during which Paris was the center of the art world. Our pass gets us easily into the special entrance and we grab a map and step quickly into the mid-1800s. The Orsay begins where the Louvre ends. We are now in the center of the French neo-classical style which reproduces on canvas much of the Greek statuary we saw Monday. Naked ladies and cherubs abound in upright and laid flat poses with pitchers and swirling garments galore.
Dave and John like the naked ladies but we move into a more interesting period of realism and the works of very recognizable names such as Courbet and Manet. The artists have become a little friskier here and their style is taunting and somewhat cartoonish in its style, poking fun at the big shots of their society. Instead of Greek and Roman gods or biblical heroes, the subjects are now working folks at their daily tasks or in situations familiar to everyone.
We transition from the realists to the impressionists and we find works by Whistler (yes, his mom), Degas, Renoir and Monet. Apparently when the camera was invented, the art world swung away from realistic portrayals which they assumed a photograph would trump, and on to more flair and dash in their work. The K’s try desperately to educate the Z’s in the intricacies of the impressionist art form with limited success, but all agree that there are a lot of pretty pictures.
We wrap up with the post-impressionists and now every artist and every painting is familiar. There are dozens of paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Rousseau, Gaugin, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Perhaps because of the familiarity or the evolution of styles, we all find the Orsay to be more entertaining than the Louvre. We take a final stroll through the Grand Ballroom with astounding statues by Rodin among others.
Once again we are into early afternoon with more work ahead. We walk a block or two south and find a crowded café that the locals seem to like so we squeeze into an upstairs table for a quick bite. We once again are able to get what we want and pay appropriately. We’re now almost Parisians.
We hop on the Metro at the Orsay station and ride a couple of stops to the “Tour Eiffel” station. As we walk up to street level and follow the signs we get a great view through the trees of the tower rising in front of us. This is a pretty spectacular setting and the tower is actually bigger than we might think. It soars up over 1,000 feet and weighs over 7,000 tons even though it is a hollow ornament by design. Built for the World’s Fair of 1889 is serves no purpose other than to impress the masses. The French are apparently indifferent to the structure and one Parisian said he likes to eat in the restaurant there so he doesn’t have to look at it. The Z’s decide to pay a few euros to ride up to the middle observation deck for a view of the city, while the K’s decide that a park bench and pigeons look more inviting than the long lines. Both think they made the right decision after the fact.
We are now in the 7th arrondissement and with the sun still shining we decide to start walking back to the hotel. The park stretching southeast from the Tower (the Champ de Mars) is a bit like the Washington Mall and we follow that to the end with frequent neck swivels to catch new views of the Tower. Our walk takes us past the “Invalides,” a hospital built by Napoleon for his injured troops and still operating like a VA hospital today. We get a peek at the Rodin museum which is now closed but still has visible statuary in the exterior garden. Mary Z. does the sensible thing at this point and grabs a Metro back to the hotel for a nap while the other three warriors soldier on by foot. This part of the city houses many of the national and city governmental offices so the similarity to Washington DC continues. We eventually work our way back to Boulevard St. Germain and finish our late afternoon walk down this very lovely avenue. The K’s stop at our neighborhood grocery on le Buci while John joins Mary Z. in slumberland.
Tonight is our big splurge for dinner. Yes, one of the big time fancy Paris restaurants. After much searching we have decided on “Taillevent” based not only on the quality of the food, but also because of the reputation of the restaurateur. Taillevent was founded in 1946 by Andre Vrinat and he was joined in the business by his son Jean-Claude in 1962. Jean Claude, now in his 80’s still shows up for work most nights and the day to day operation is handled by his daughter Valerie. They have been awarded three Michelin stars (the highest) every year since 1973.
Our front desk babe gets us a cab at 7:00 for our 7:30 reservation and we have a pleasant ride through traffic and across the Champs Elysees to the restaurant. Valerie greets us at the door and our waiter, dressed in a business suit, is quick to get us martinis and explain the menu. During our dinner our waiter brings over Jean-Claude for introductions and we ooh and aah over his reputation in the industry. After we finish our Crème brulee de foie gras de canard, Epeautre du pays de sault en risotto, Rouget-barber peole, Selle d‘agneau princier en rognonnade, Chevre frais, Oeuf-neige aux fruits rouges, and Plaet au chocolat caraibe et a la verveine, our waiter brings a bottle of 25 year old cognac and four glasses, complements of Monsieur Vrinat, and tells us to enjoy as much as we like. On our way out Valerie asks us to wait because Jean Claude would like to say good-bye and it is hugs all around. Yeah, it was an OK place.
Our cab drops us at our hotel and we walk to the river and watch the lights twinkle on the Eiffel Tower before heading off to bed. Was this the best day yet? Hard to tell.
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