Our favorite museum of all
in Paris is the Musee d'Orsay. Each time we visit, I'm amazed at how
open and light it all seems. Maybe the Parisians should consider converting
a couple more of the drear train stations into repositories such as this
one. The museum displays 19th century Paris at its best; all our favorites
are here, and each time we visit, we seem to find something that we missed
the time before.
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One of Brenda's favorites
in the Orsay is Manet's "Luncheon on the Grass." Some critics date
the beginning of the "independent spirit" of Impressionism from the refusal
of the Salon to exhibit this painting in 1863 (although the painting is clearly
not in the style of the Impressionists.
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Arranged around the edges
of the Place de la Concorde are eight statues representing great cities of
France. This statue is for the city of Strasbourg, located in the Alsace
region of eastern France. When Alsace-Lorraine was taken by the Germans
at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Parisians covered the Strasbourg statue
in black. It was not uncovered until Strasbourg was returned to France
following World War I.
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Only a few of the art nouveau
subway entrances remain in Paris. This one is at the Abbesses stop,
used by visitors on their way to visit Montmartre. Is it only a matter
of time until these symbols of Paris disappear much in the same way that
the pissoirs seem to have?
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| The "Modern Pissoir" required
two francs to enter (in the days before euros). It will play music
for the user during the time that it is occupied, but don't make the mistake
of letting a friend share the cost by holding the door open; you both might
be sprayed as the modern marvel goes about its self-cleaning routine! |
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