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Paris

4/6/25

After a delectable breakfast of croissants, pastries, meats, cheeses, yogurts, cake and coffee we rolled out of our lodging in Chailly-en Biere and drove into Paris. Yes, we drove the Highlander. Well, Plein Air Force Spouse of the year drove us into Paris, and into the tiny parking garage, underneath our hotel in the 9^th Arrondissement, arriving mid-morning.

We traveled by Metro to the Musee d’Orsay and were early enough to have a café, Parisian style and just outside of the museum, while we were waiting to que for our timed entry at 11:30.

Musee d'Orsay

 One of the largest museums in Europe - and housed inside the Gare d’Orsay, the museum contains the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings in the world! The collection also includes many of the famous works painted by the Barbizon artists mentioned in my previous blogpost.

Speeding to the top floor, I was surrounded by Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Morisot, Sisley, Pissarro, Boudin, Fantin-Latour, and so many more! It was a whirlwind of inspiration and awe. Walking among giants is the only way to describe the experience. Viewing, studying, and trying to absorb the visual poetry and mastery of these paintings I’ve only read about and seen reproductions of.

A quick lunch in the 7^th Arrondissement at a bistrot with an available table, and then off we went to le Musee Marmottan Monet for the afternoon!

Musee Marmottan Monet

In 1932, Paul Marmottan bequeathed both his townhouse and personal collections to the Academie des Beaux-Arts, as the basis for a museum. It has become home to the world’s leading collections of works by Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot. It was a thrill to see Monet’s palette on display alongside so many beautiful paintings, and the iconic, Impression. The work inspired critic Louis Leroy to coin the term "Impressionist".

In 1996 the descendents of Berthe Morisot, the first woman Impressionist, bequeathed their collection to the Musee Marmottan Monet. Morisot was a student of Corot. Degas, Renoir, Manet, & Monet were among her closest friends. She was acclaimed as the “finest watercolor painter of her day”. Her passion for this medium influenced her approach to oil paint. Viewing so many of her paintings all together was quite special.

Leaving the Marmottan in the 16^th Arrondissement, we taxied back to our hotel, with a drive by view of the Eiffel Tower. After a long day, we happily found dinner in our neighborhood and slept well after covering so much ground in one day!

4/7/25

Our second day in Paris, our boutique hotel served us Mona Lisa lattes, and an early birthday toast, foreshadowing our day’s museum itinerary. Our first visit would be to Musee l’Orangerie to see the Waterlilies.

Musee l'Orangerie

Photos cannot capture the visual effects Monet created with these Masterpieces. Pigment and texture vibrate and glow. The norms of landscape art were shattered. Their structure is elliptical, without sky, horizon, or stable points of reference. They’re mesmerizing to observe and meditative to experience. Seeing these from life, was witnessing art history's path into modern art and abstraction, ushered in by Monet.

Leaving the waterlilies and walking across the Tuileries Garden, the Louvre, was our next visit.

Louvre Museum

Much like the Prado, you are simply overwhelmed with mastery in Art History.

Da Vinci, Holbein, Durer, Rubens, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Hals, David, Fragonard, and miles and miles of paintings.

The Louvre was impressive, crowded, and an iconic visit!

We had a lovely dinner in the 9^th Arrondissement ending our epic museum crawl in Paris.

Bougival

4/8/25

Driving through the Arc du Triumph was a heroic start to our next stop, on our drive north, at Bougival. Located there, is a new museum in Berthe Morisot’s home.

Maison Berthe Morisot

It houses reproductions of many of the paintings exhibited in the Marmottan collection, and an excellent educational exhibition about her works, methods, and life.

Bougival sits on the Seine and was frequented by many artists and impressionists. Included in the museum are photos of the sites where many of the paintings were made. This was so lovely to see. A short walk, after visiting the museum, we stumbled upon a site with a plaque to report that “Turner painted here”. We found a similar Pissarro spot.

Feeling full of inspiration, we continued our drive north toward Auvers-sur-Oise.

Van Gogh’s last address and final resting place.