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Gabrielle returned this morning with her amazing pastries. This really kicked our day off on a positive note…only slightly marred by the closure of our favorite orange juice machine due to sidewalk repair. Sigh.

Today was a Museum Pass day–our pre-paid free-entry card for Paris. We set out to hit at least three museums.

We started at the Musée Cluny, which was closed yesterday. The collection in the Cluny focuses on the Middle Ages. It has four famous Medieval tapestries of a maiden and her unicorn. The Cluny is housed in and named after Hôtel Cluny, a grand mansion on the Left Bank. It also happens to sit on the same site as a Roman bath complex…these unearthed structures are also visible as part of the museum.

We strolled down the noisy Boulevard Saint Germain, and quickly ducked into the (free) Abbey Saint Germain des Prés. The highlight was the silence. This Abbey was similar to most…cross-shaped, huge arched ceilings, somber mood. This one had very few 'attractions', which explained the small number of visitors.

Back out to the Boulevard and on to the Musée d'Orsay…specializing in impressionist paintings. The collection of Monet, Manet, Degas, Cezannne, Van Gogh and a zillion others was..well…impressive. (Five points for an impressionist pun.) The paintings are both familliar and approachable, and if you don't like impressionist painting, then the building is amazing as well…a converted Industrial Age train station on the Seine. (And…yes…there is a huge green metal Rhino out front, which Jeff and his buddy Matt enjoy photographing…with their heads up the behind–a tradition dating back to their trip in 1996. Jeff and I both recreated this scene for Matt. It is Matt's turn next.)

With the setting sun, we crossed the Seine via the Pont Solferino. The low sun was dramatic as it lit up landmarks up and down the Seine. One such landmark: the newly renovated Musée de L'Orangerie, which is the former greenhouse for the Jardin des Tuileries. This stylish renovation primarily showcases several waterlily murals by Monet in large oval galleries, but there is also an entire impressionist collection on the lower level…an excellent collection in its own right just steps from the Musée Louvre and Musée d'Orsay. Well worth a visit.

We closed our day walking down through the Jardin des Tuileries, past the Louvre, and along the Seine to our little Íle. Our evening was finished out with a comfortable dinner, yummy desert, and a cappuccino. We are off to bed early tonight. Tomorrow, Jeff's sister Julie and nephew Keegan are visiting from Germany, where Julie is stationed in the Army.

Some traditions are odd…but isn’t that what makes life fun 🙂 Here we are at the Musee d’Orsay. You’ll have to read tonight’s blog for an explanation.

This morning, we met Christophe and Philippe–the property managers for the apartment we’re renting. These guys clearly love Paris and love what they do. Christophe enthusiastically talked about discovering the painted beams in our apartment, which were hidden beneath a false ceiling. The ceiling dates from the mid 17th century and is rare and a sign of wealth.

After breakfast (no Gabrielle… again!), we spent most of the day on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter and Saint Germain neighborhoods. The sun surprised with its presence this morning, so we decided to follow the sun-starved Parisians to the Luxembourg Garden and its Italian-inspired Palais du Luxembourg–home of the French Senate. As expected, the park was full of Parisians, drawn out of their offices and classrooms to sit by the fountains or jog or play pick-up soccer.

We grabbed a quick burger at Quick…a Franco-Belgian chain and a modest imitation of McDonalds that served its purpose. Afterwards, we attempted to use our Museum Pass at two nearby landmarks–the Pantheon and the medieval Musée Cluny–but were thwarted by the French tradition of inconvenient mid-week closed days.

Undaunted, we wound our way over to the St. Sulpice cathedral–infamous for its role in The Da Vinci Code. Yes, the ‘Rose Line’ from the book is clearly marked, and every tourist (including us) stopped to photograph this tiny golden line. Otherwise, the church is an impressive, yet understated, monument to Roman Catholic grandeur. It was free…so no complaints from us.

From there, we entered the Saint Germain neighborhood, which had street closures all over from either a rally or a protest. We saw smoke and steered clear.

We made it to the Hôtel des Invalides and enclosed Église du Dome right as sneaky rainclouds unloaded on us. (Note that this landmark is quite near the Eiffel Tower, which is where we were poured on this past summer…don’t go near the Eiffel Tower without an umbrella!) Inside, we toured Napoleon’s Tomb…a huge marble box for a tiny man.

Tired from walking, we hopped on the Metro. Lines 13, 8, and 7 deposited us near our Isle. We took a quick walk through the Village St. Paul, with its inter-connected coutyards brimming over with antique shops. We discovered why they call this a village–apparently it once stood outside the city walls of Paris–we spotted small sections of St. Paul’s former walls.

Dinner was a delightful find–the Starcooker on the Rue des Archives in the Marais. Jeff had a wonderful risotto au poulet and I had a cheesy mushroom ravioli. We had equally hearty deserts before finishing our evening with drinks at nearby Amnesia while watching AbFab with French subtitles.

[Hmmm, is anyone still reading these scribbles?]

Our new breakfasy buddy Gabrielle (you know…with the yummy pastries) stays home on Wednesdays, so the shutters were drawn on her shop. The replacement shop down the street was filling, but left us wanting. At least the little produce grocery where we've been buying fresh O.J. was open. (This O.J. contraption is worth a quick diversion. The O.J. is squeezed right in front of you in a device resembling a gum-ball machine. Whole oranges sit in a wire basket on top. When a button is pressed, the oranges drop in one-by-one, where they are split and then gauged out. Juice rains down on a strainer and into a bottle.)

With our O.J. sugar buzz going, we trotted off to conquer the confusing RER train service to Versailles. We were confused by this system last year with Chris, and were determined to get it right. Well, we still went to the wrong platform (again), but stopped short of boarding the wrong train.

Thirty minutes later, we de-trained at Versailles Rive Gauche, and a light rain began…an ominous repeat from our drenched visit last summer? Fortunately no. The rained cleared up and the sun even made a brief, colorful appearance right before it set.

Even though we had visited Versailles just last year, we were treated by with a new billet office, one simple main tour thru the principle rooms including some new rooms, and a very good audio tour in English. Coincidentally, we had just watched Sophia Copola's Marie Antoinette on the flight to Paris, so the images and history were fresh in our minds. The movie was filmed at Versailles, so it was fun trying to place scenes in the appropriate rooms.

A highlight of our visit was the newly refurbished Opera–entirely made from wood cleverly fashioned to resemble marble and plaster. The result is a lush opera house fit for a king. It was built by Louis XV in honor of the marriage of the Dauphin to the young archduchess of Austria, Marie Antoinette. We also took a new tour through the Dauphin's private apartments on the ground floor. Jeff was a little dismayed that large sections of the Chateau were not included on the regular tour. Inquiry at the ticket office did not answer how one would see those rooms. One area that was supposed to be open, the apartments of Mesdames, was closed, but no one bothered to post a sign or warn when buying our ticket. We're getting used to this 🙂

The gardens were a little barren compared with last year, but a fun walk nonetheless. We made our way to the Jupiter Fountain and the Grand Canal. The highlight, however, was almost getting attacked by two agressive swans…yes, we have pictures.

The trip back into the city was FAR simpler! Finished the day with dinner, wine, walking…and tonight an ice cream sundae…and more walking.

As we had done yesterday, we started our day today with some amazing pastries from Gabriele’s. This kicked everything off in grand style.

Our first activity after breakfast was to climb Notre Dame’s dual circular staircases to the top of its famous bell towers. Even though the visibility was limited by weather on the verge of drizzle at any minute, we climbed to the top of Quasimoto’s perch. The views (and architecture along the way) were amazing. We also did a repeat stop-over into the stunning Sainte Chappelle.

We grabbed lunch on the way to our next destination. Lunch was a hearty galette followed by a chocolate covered crepe. This fueled us up for a colorful museum of the history of Paris itself–the Musée Carnavalet.

A light drizzle cut our walk-about short…but only briefly. We still headed out for dinner: fusion Italian food at Caffe Boboli–Jeff’s pesto pasta was particularly good. We ended the day with a walk and drinks.