Day 4 in Paris

Thursday September 25, 2005.  The day began in the low 40s and overcast with hints of rain in the sky. We spent the morning with fruit, cheese and coffee and just enjoying not having to go anywhere in a rush. Too bad that our friend Val has been under the weather so we opted to forgo meeting up with her and her family later in the evening.

We shopped for a few essentials at the nearby Franprix, and Susie stopped at the pharmacy next door for some chapstick.

We could linger at home only for so long since we did have an appointment with the folks at the Musée d'Orsay to see the Sargent exhibition at 3:00 pm.

About 1:30 pm we left the apartment and walked over to the Metro at Ledru-Rollin. We took the 8 all the way to Madeleine where we made our way back to the surface and strolled around the place. We also took the opportunity to pop inside the Madeleine church, a space we hadn't been in before. While the front of the church had recently been cleaned the rear of the church remained unflattering. 

looking toward the Place de la Concorde from the front of the church

But the interior is quite stunning. 

The Catholics know how to build a church.

Back down into the Metro, we hopped on the no. 12 and got off at Solferino (coincidentally a place we stayed for a week in Italy many years ago). We passed a lovely pastry shop and I warned Susan we were going to stop there on our way back to the Metro on our way home.

It was a short two-block walk to the museum -- passing a raft of electric cars being charged, a phenomenon we've been seeing quite a lot of here in Paris.

Even though we were about an hour before our allotted time slot there was no line and we walked right in, right through security and skipped the line inside waiting to get tickets.

Once inside we followed the signs straight to the Sargent exhibition and were ushered right in (no lines!). The exhibition was, is, in a word, stunning. We learned much about John Singer Sargent's life, many details of which we were unaware.

Here are just a few, a very few examples of his work:

"A Parisian beggar girl" 1880

"Spanish Roma woman" c. 1876

"In the Luxembourg Gardens" 1879, detail

"Atlantic Storm" 1876

"Setting out to fish" 1878, detail

"Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron" 1881 detail

Madame Ramón Subercaseaux (Amalia Errázuriz y Urmeneta) 1880, detail

and of course Madame X

and of course Madame X, 1884, Amélie Avegno madame Gautreau

with John in his studio

After the exhibition we settled in to the rooftop cafe in front of the big clock to take a break. Susan took the opportunity to have a slice of flan Parisien (not as good as what she makes!) and coffee. I wasn't hungry so I settled on a glass of Chinon blanc, bringing back memories of our visit to Chinon this past spring. 

The cafe with the famous clock

I thought it fascinatingly odd that so many people were determined to photograph said clock

Not long after we settled in an older man and presumably his niece sat down at the table next to ours. It soon became clear that they were Italian and before long we all chatting up a storm, some in Italian, mostly in English. Her name was Chiara and his Luigi and both were from near Milan. We had a lovely time chatting mostly about Italy and our plan to return there next year. We asked about spending a couple of weeks in Ravenna and Chiara thought that was a lovely town and easy to reach other cities worthy of a visit: Bologna, Ferrara, Pescara and of course Venice. And she often visits her sister in nearby Parma so it's quite possible we might meet up again next year. A wonderful thing how paths cross, often at random and without purpose but then that crossing adds purpose to one's life.

We said ciao to Chiara and Luigi -- they were heading off in one direction while we walked the other way into the nearby Impressionist wing. Strolling past paintings we had seen before on this floor and the ground floor, is always an uplifting experience. Connecting with our favorites (Degas, Morisot, Cassatt, Manet to name just a few) helps lift our spirits.

"The Cradle" by Berthe Morisot, 1872

"The Butterfly Hunt" by Morisot, 1874

A guide discussing the use of white in Manet's 1863 painting "Olympia"

detail of Rosa Bonheur's "Ploughing in the Nivernais" 1849

Unfortunately two of our favorites, the Gleaners and Angelus both by Jean Millet, were not on display since they are part of a traveling show to China.

Leaving the museum we made our way back to the Metro and, as I had warned earlier, we stopped at the pastry shop we had admired on the way in. Gosselin's is not a name either of us were familiar with but the place was well-organized, with very friendly staff and, though they were quite busy, they were attentive to everyone, including a pair of goofy Americans. Out we walked with two tasty treats: a Religieuse and a Paris Brest. 

We made our way down into the nearby Metro line 12. It was that bewitching commuter hour so we were packed in for the short ride to Place de la Concorde where we switched to line 8. And while it seemed impossible, line 8 was even MORE full. We had to wait for a second train and finally squeezed ourselves on board. Eventually the wave of human traffic thinned out as we made our way to Ledru-Rollin and home.

That evening we went back out to have dinner -- our first dinner out in fact -- at Annam, a Vietnamese restaurant just a block or so up from our apartment. 

Although the space was small, like so many eateries around here, the experience was wonderful.  One man working the front and one (?) man back in the kitchen, the service was prompt, the beer cold and food incredible. We shared a plate of chicken nem; Susie had chicken on a bed of sizzling onions accompanied by a plate of rice and salad while I had a very tasty beef and noodle dish.

No coffee or dessert for us -- we had a bottle of Port and Foucher chocolates at home waiting for us.

The night air was cool and crisp but still no stars since we were suffering from a persistent overcast. 

As we sipped our digestif we remarked on what an absolutely wonderful day this had turned out to be. The way travel should be: not only experiencing incredible art and delicious food but also meeting someone new from another part of the world. Truly a gift.

Tomorrow we hope to get to the Montmartre Museum and maybe the Petit Palais for the Greuze exhibition. We'll see.