Musee d’Orsay, Pickpockets and Moulin Rouge

Dec. 19 – I have now visited two of the well-known Paris monuments – Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower. It’s time to take in another of the “must-see” locations for visitors to this magical city. Today we have decided to go to the Musee d’Orsay where there are many works by famous impressionists such as Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir.

It is a busy Saturday with many people out doing their Christmas shopping; so the Metro is crowded. Within minutes of being on the Metro, I encounter my first pickpockets – a group of 5 or 6 girls about 14 year of age. A gentle pressure on my arm near my purse was my first clue as one girl attempted to see what she could find. Another girl tried to distract me by asking me the time so that I would remove my hand from my purse. Neither ploy worked; my purse was securely zipped up, and I told the girl I didn’t have the time and didn’t move my hand. They promptly moved away chattering in French, looking for an easier victim.

The Musee d’Orsay is located in a refurbished train station, an impressive building in the Beaux-Arts style. It is probably the most impressive museum/art gallery I have been in, and would have been an amazing train station in its time!

You can see the gorgeous vaulted, glass ceiling in the photo on the left. The art works – scultpures, paintings and drawings – are located in the main concourse, and in the many rooms and alcoves off to the side. Somehow it makes the art feel more personal to be lounging near all of this history.

One of the most impressive features of the concourse is the huge clock at the far end. It sets the tone for  the whole building. Imagine looking at that clock to check the time for your train!

We spent several hours here viewing many pieces of art that we recognized and enjoying many new ones. It was a most enjoyable day.

We finally decided it was time for something to eat and chose to have tea in the main restaurant. We had a very typical ‘French’ meal – a simple soup and a cheese platter. I must say it was the best pea soup I have ever had and the cheese, of course, was fantastic.

Oh, and did I mention what the restaurant  looked like? You’ll get an idea in the photo to the left. The room was full of chandeliers and paintings on the walls with gilded trimming everywhere! An occasional nude statue also surveyed the diners. What a place to have lunch!

I’m not sure how many of you have recognized the painting I used for the header of my blog. It is a portion of Renoir’s Bal de Roulin de la Galette.I chose it because our flat in Montmartre is located about 2 blocks away from that location.

I was delighted to see the original work at the Musee d’Orsay, and David took a picture of me beside it.

But now it is time to head back to our flat. We had some shopping to do and our landlady had recommended that we go to the Monoprix on Rue de Clichy. This happens to be across the street from the Moulin Rouge – yes, the famous cabaret immortalized in movies, paintings and known as the birthplace for the modern can-can.

It had grown dark by then, but I still managed to take a picture to give you an idea of what the ‘red light’ district looks like.

Seeing the real building housing the cabaret makes me want to watch the Academy Award-winning movies again – both the newer one from 2001 with Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman as well as the one from 1952 with Jose Ferrer and Zsa-Zsa Gabor.

Ah, but there is so much more to see in Paris. I don’t think I’ll have time for movies!