Museum Monday

Although I have a general plan of our schedule, I tend to figure out the order the night before or day of and had planned to visit the Louvre first thing today due to the expected crowds and since it's closed tomorrow. But since our hotel was not too far from the Gustave Moreau Museum, but opened a little bit later at 10 am, we decided to have a later breakfast and rested before heading out. 

When I studied in Paris for the summer before my junior year of high school, I did lots of day trips and went to many museums, but I somehow missed this one. The difficulty was that it closes in the middle of the day and is not open for long. My family had no expectations, but found his home and studio wonderfully furnished and filled to the rim and to the shelves of his works. My dad also identified some Roualt paintings thinking they were just of his style, but I aptly pointed it out they were actual Roualts. We climbed up and down stairs of this intimate 3 floor museum and delighted in the details. Here's a collage of our visit:

We then took the bus down to the Louvre Museum and we enjoyed the lack of stairs which is typically needed to take the metro. Although it's super convenient, the metro stairs and transfers can really take a toll on my parents. So the leisurely 15 minute bus ride which allows us to observe the city was a nice break. We made it to the I.M. Pei designed pyramids where we stood in a fast track security line and took fun pictures and selfies as shown here:

As many know, the museum is gigantic with 3 main wings. I'm not sure why, but I don't feel like the crowded museums of NY are overwhelming, but the Louvre, always feels like a cluster. The tour groups, the flags of tour guides, and the many visitors trying to see the most famous paintings in the world really suffocate even this museum lover. My strategy today and like the last time, was to see the highlights and observe others en route. For fun, I encouraged my family to take selfies with me as everyone knows these famous pieces - Winged Victory, the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Sphinx: 

We actually got up pretty close to all of them, even the Mona Lisa. My mom and I waited very patiently to be in the very front, and a short Chinese man was trying to take a selfie with the Mona Lisa. I kept laughing, because I just kept seeing my brother's face in his camera and then when he finally got his settings right, he was so short that only the top bald part of his head would make it into the photo. He finally gave up his spot to us and my mom was excited to be so close. And then she realized she didn't have her glasses as my dad was holding them in the back of the crowd. Nonetheless, it was worth all the elbowing. 

We enjoyed many more works, and here's a few more of Da Vinci and others. A nice Canadian couple took of photo with Hercules below, but the partner could not work the iPad from the bench we were sitting, so I offered to help and took some good shots. I was inspired to take a photo of Hercules too, as shown in the collage:

The couple and I chatted for a bit and asked me how to say "thank you" in Chinese. I told them I didn't know, because I wasn't Chinese and they were quickly embarrassed. I told them don't worry and that it happens all the time. 5 minutes later, a Chinese woman came up to me pointing down the hallway and asked me a question, and I responded in one of three phrases I know in Chinese: "I'm a Korean person" and she nodded and walked away. You see? Happens all the time. I must have a trusting face or exude some gravitas, because Chinese people always ask me questions in public places. 

We were over the crowds and ready for some fresh air when we made our way to the metro. I promised my dad less walking today even if it is only one stop on the train. As we got on the metro, we watched school kids struggling with the turnstiles and talked about how cute French kids were. They literally had to crawl underneath, because they weren't walking through fast enough after inserting their tickets - pure cuteness and comedy gold watching the 20 or so little ones. 

After a few quick stops and transfer, we made our way back to Ile de la Cité, where we lunched at a brasserie on the corner next to Notre Dame Cathedral. Everyone had penne pasta, but I had a goat cheese salad with some beer as we watched the long line for the Cathedral. However, we realized the line we were looking at was the walk up to the towers, which we were not planning on doing and made our way to the front entrance. 

I still remembered having my confession heard here in high school (not sure what sins I had) and the gorgeous rose windows. Here is a collage of the front and the rose windows:

Inside, we walked around the whole church, my mom said a prayer, and we sat for a little bit as shown in the photos below:

After the Cathedral, we had several options from our museum pass. We got a bit turned around looking for the crypt, so I suggested the Delacroix museum. Here we also got turned around too, but finally made it. We were so tired upon arrival, we looked for the first seating which was in front of a modern film. I was so confused because it was modern, in German with French subtitles, and had nothing to do with Delacroix. But we didn't care as we were excited to be off our feet. 

We realized the first part was some special temporary exhibit, but we made it to his studio and then to his gardens. Here's a photo of my dad in front and the serene backyard:

Although we could have probably squeezed in another site, or could sit in a garden or café, everyone was spent and decided a nap at the hotel was a better option. So we took the bus for a 20 minute ride and short walk back to our hotel. My dad and I were craving ice cream and I was so surprised how cooperative he was being, so I treated us to pistachio and hazelnut ice cream as shown below across the street from our hotel:

After 2 hours of napping, we were ready to walk 7 minutes to our dinner reservation at La Bourse et La Vie, another Daniel Rose restaurant. Although there were some similarities with Chez La Veille, it was a Daniel Rose original and very French. We had leeks with crushed hazelnuts, mushrooms with duck hearts for starters; my dad and brother had steak frites, while my mom had a fish stew with a side of potatoes and eel, and I had duck with cabbage, Jewish style; for a shared side, lettuce with anchovy dressing finished with a cheese course. The flavors in everything from the wine to the coffee was so incredible, that this was a wonderful way to celebrate Paris. 

We said goodbye to our friendly waiters and walked off the food shown above by making our way back to the hotel. We also missed the rain during the dinner, and as my dad said, "Paris smelled so fresh after the rain!"

So a simple night for us as we get some rest for our last day in Paris before we head to Madrid tomorrow night. The hard part is over with the jam packed Parisian museums conquered, but they made this Museum Monday so memorable.