Final Day in France
On January 13, 2019 by brian.haferkampToday was our last full day in Europe. I think we walked farther than we’ve ever walked on a trip.
Museé de l’Orangerie
The Museé de l’Orangerie houses the work of Claude Monet in a beautiful double circular space. It also exhibits the work of Renoir, Picasso, and others. The museum sits opposite the Louvre on the north bank of the Seine. It was stop number one today.
Eiffel Tower
After the museum we went on a hunt for the Eiffel Tower. The cool part about the tower is that it’s tall enough to see from all over the city center. The bad part is that it’s a long walk from the Museé de l’Orangerie. But we did it.
We we’re a little disappointed that you have to pay to go under it. Underneath is totally walled/fenced off. We understand why but it was sad and disappointing.
Pizza
We didn’t have a large breakfast so we needed sustenance. We found a nice little Italian place near the Eiffel Tower. The food was delicious and reviving. Good thing, too, because we had more walking ahead of us.
Museé Rodin
The next stop was the Rodin Museum. This is a favorite of Keturah’s. Most people know The Thinker but he has a tremendous body of work, including The Kiss and The Gates of Hell (where you’ll also find a smaller version of The Thinker).
I didn’t realize that he was also an art collector. He purchased paintings from Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh, which also hang in the museum.
Museé d’Orsay
The final stop was the Museé d’Orsay. It’s an art museum focused on Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
The museum itself was created inside an old train station. It has six floors of exhibition space and there is terrific lighting.
Some interesting parts were the cafe behind one of the clocks, we found a massive ballroom (which Baek danced in), we got to see another of Monet’s haystacks (there is a large collection in Chicago), and Lady Liberty was there.
Our magical, tiring tour of Paris has come to an end. The city was beautiful and grey, all of the people we met and talked to were quite warm, and the sites were better than I imagined. I’m very thankful we got to have this time in the city with the girls. God willing, we will be back in Chicago this time tomorrow.