Shopping and the Musée d'Orsay

Today I awoke to sunny blue skies and a temperature of 74, so of course I immediately thought of shopping. I ate a quick breakfast and was off to Boulevard Haussmann to visit Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette – two of the best known and largest department stores in Paris. There are others now as well – such as the new BHV [a bit upscale from Target], H&M stores [same as in the US], and a fairly new C&A store which is described in Frommer’s Guidebook as the Dutch version of “Walmart”. A very wide range indeed. Surprisingly I just took in all the sites and didn’t purchase a thing, but window-shopping in Paris is better than in most places, and one need not make any purchases to enjoy the scenery. For instance, the beautiful balconies and dome ceiling in Galeries Lafayette are beautiful to look at and I wasn’t the only one there shooting pictures instead of shopping[see above].

Next it was lunch at Le Saint Amour café down the street, and then on to the Museé D’Orsay. I found out that one could save 2 Euros [or more than $2.60 with today’s exchange rate] if one showed up after 4:15 pm on Thursdays when the museum is open until 9 pm. After navigating yet more metros, I found the area and simply followed all the people to the museum. Luckily the line was not long and it took only 10 minutes to actually enter the museum and begin my tour. [I hear the line is around the block during the summer months]. At the far end of the great central hall [see photo above], there is an escalator to the 5th floor where the great Impressionist paintings are located – Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gaugin, Manet, and Renoir to name just a few. Since Van Gogh has always been a favorite of mine, I took a few photos of his work. It’s just amazing that one is so close to these priceless paintings that it's possible to just reach out and touch them, and yet everyone seems quite well behaved. We are even allowed to photograph them as long as we do not use a flash. Fortunately, the lighting in the museum is excellent, so not using a flash did not seem to have any affect on the photos. Some of the lower floors are dedicated to either a later era of painters, or special exhibits that come and go. The great Central Hall is devoted to a sculpture gallery. A few hours at the museum, and then 2 metros to home and dinner. All in all, a very good day!