Impressionism and Napoleon -- Not Connected, Except Tuesday

So, Monday night, after our day of hitting all the high points in Paris, I stayed up going through the two guide books (Rick Steve's -- first time with that guide) and the DK Eyewitness Travel guide to France (DK are the best for what to see -- they don't have much other info (like where to do laundry).

After breakfast, we walked the 15 minutes or so to the Musee d'Orsay.  Carol and I had talked about ordering tickets ahead of time and printing them at the hotel, but then we forgot our good idea.  The line was already quite long, so we waited patiently again.  Once we got in, the museum was great.

Despite the long line ahead of us, it never felt crowded.  Built as a train station, the openness, combined with the stunning views through the huge see-through clocks, made the place quite enjoyable.  From the fifth floor, we had stunning views of Sacre Couer, which encouraged Maddy and I to growl "Sacre Couer" in our most dismissive French accents possible.

We first made a sweep of the impressionist wing on the fifth floor.  Yes, there were lots of people there, but you could see every Monet, Manet, Rodin, Pissaro, and Renoir you wanted to see.  As I've mentioned, Carol has always (well, since before I knew her) been a huge fan of Impressionism, and I've grown to like it (don't tell her).  Sorry to those who think I'm just following the crowds, but Monet's work was the most interesting, and then Renoir's.  There's a reason those two dead guys are at the top of the list -- they've earned it.

We then went through the Van Gogh section, hit some other areas, including sculptures and the strange works of Toulouse Lautrec.

From there we took the free bus (boy, I'm smart) to Invalides, so we could go to the Hotel des Invalides, St-Louis-des-Invalides, and the Dome Church.  That connector bus from Notre Dame to d'Orsay to Invalides sure proved to be helpful to us -- faster than walking (don't worry, we still did plenty), and easier than the Metro (none of the lines go along the river axis, which doesn't make sense, so we'd be spending time changing lines and going out of our way).

By the way, in one church with an impressive dome, I noted to the girls that if it fell down we'd all be domed!  They were not amused.

We did not go into the Hotel des Invalides -- just walked through the giant center courtyard to the St-Louis-des-Invalides, the church built at the behest of King Louis XIV for his soldiers to worship in while he was next door at the Dome Church. 

The Dome Church includes the grave of Napoleon, so you have to buy tickets -- it is no longer a church.  Marshall Foch (WWI fame) and other French luminaries are also buried there.  It was neat to wander around for a bit, and then it was time to go.

We caught the free bus back to Notre Dame area and found a passable, yet not cheap, place for lunch in the area between Notre Dame and the Sorbonne.  In 1984 when I was there the area was quite affordable -- it's where I stayed.  Now it's high priced.  Thanks Euro!

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