Louvre Museum

We spent most of the day at the Louvre. Students had a choice of taking a "greatest hits of nineteenth-century French painting" tour or striking out on their own.

We met at noontime for lunch. We had planned to dine at a cafe inside the museum, but the line was long and the servers would only seat us two at a time as tables in a certain section became available. Instead we headed to the Paul sandwich cart near the Arc du Carrousel, at the beginning of the Tuileries Gardens.

In the early afternoon we had an appointment with Carel van Tuyll van Serooskerken, the Louvre's curator of prints and drawings. He oversees a collection of more than 150,000 images, and he is also the first non-French department head ever hired by the museum.



Dr. van Tuyll devoted an hour of his time to show us a number of drawings. Following the nineteenth-century theme, he focused mainly on David, Delacroix, and Géricault. He discussed the growing scholarly emphasis on drawings as a way to study an artist's thought processes. He also showed us some watercolors from the period around 1820, when French artists "discovered" the English watercolor tradition.

It was a fascinating presentation. Unfortunately photos aren't permitted in that part of the museum. The department's study room is a huge chamber, intended by Napoleon III to be part of a grand staircase for receiving visitors. The walls and ceiling are decorated with relief sculptures and beautiful paintings. An accurate description for this room's decoration would be "over the top." It was quite a contrast from the rest of the museum, with thousands of visitors milling around.

The students had the rest of the afternoon to explore the museum on their own. Once again it was hot and sunny today.

This evening we gathered for a farewell dinner. The food was great, and we followed that with a visit to the top of Montparnasse Tower. From 209 meters above ground, you can see for many miles. We waited for the Eiffel Tower to sparkle at 11:00 p.m. before heading back to the hotel.

Overall the trip has been a big success. Everyone seems reluctant to leave Paris!

Montmartre

Sunday was HOT in Paris! It was at least 80-82 degrees (F), approx. 30C. That may not sound very hot, but to us it felt like August weather.

We explored Montmartre, beginning with the long ascent to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. We had planned to take the funicular to the top, but everyone wanted to walk.

The students had time to explore the basilica, then we walked through the throngs of tourists to the Place du Tertre. Frankly, this is my least favorite spot in Paris because it's always packed with visitors and vendors. I enjoyed finding a plaque announcing that 21-year-old Louis Renault piloted his single-cylinder "Voiturette" to the summit of Montmartre on Christmas Eve, 1898. This was the first ascent of Montmartre by automobile.

We continued to the Musée Montmartre. Away from the madding crowds in the surrounding streets, this small museum presents historical exhibits, mainly from the nineteenth century.

Later we walked down the hill, pausing at the Moulin de la Galette (which was the last working windmill on Montmartre) and other landmarks. We paused for lunch and ice cream, then ended our tour at the Moulin Rouge.

Most of the students headed off to visit various museums. Marta and I went to the basilica of St. Denis, a few miles north of Montmartre. Most of the French kings are buried there -- or were until the Revolution, when their bones were disinterred and transferred to a common grave outside the church to "purge it of the royal race." Later some of the bones were transferred back into the church. The fascinating tombs, many with elaborate marble sculptures, remain.

Our final day (Monday) features a long visit to the Louvre, then a group dinner.

Saturday: Musée Marmottan and Guimard architecture

Saturday's main activity was a visit to the Musée Marmottan Monet in the suburb of Passy. So why are there pictures of food and chocolate and donkeys, but no Monets? Unfortunately the museum doesn't allow any photographs.

Passy is a very upscale part of the city, known as a stronghold of the bourgeoisie. Beautiful, well-kept apartment houses feature upscale boutiques, maternity shops, and pastry shops at ground level. Many "in-town" Parisians consider Passy too boring to visit.

We went to a large cafe in the Place du Passy. Several students said that our lunch there was the best meal of the trip so far. The food was superb.

We continued to the Regis chocolate shop, where everything is made on the premises except the ice cream. The students each made a chocolate selection to enjoy while we walked to the museum.

A pleasant stroll through gardens and parkland led us to the museum. The Marmottan has dozens of Monet's canvases, especially from his later years. Some people consider it the finest Monet collection anywhere. We explored the museum, then everyone had the option of going elsewhere or taking an Art Nouveau architectural tour.

Those who stayed for the tour had a treat. We went in search of apartment buildings designed by Hector Guimard, who is most famous for his Paris Métro station entrances. We found several buildings, including a spectacular apartment block that's pictured below. The details on the building's exterior are amazing, from stained glass to fanciful ironwork.

Musée d'Orsay

Friday's schedule was built around a visit to the Musée d'Orsay. Depending on one's interests, this is potentially the best museum visit in Paris. I say that because it is packed with wonderful art from the mid-nineteenth century until 1914. There are so many famous paintings and painters -- an embarrassment of riches.

We did a structured visit to certain paintings, then had time to wander the permanent and temporary exhibitions. After a group lunch in the cafe, the group dispersed to various museums across the city.

You will see from the photos that gorgeous weather had taken over, making us forget the relatively cold and wet conditions during the first few days we were in Paris.

La Madeleine and the Opéra Garnier

On Wednesday we began at the Madeleine (church of Mary Magdalene). We discussed the unusual architecture and history of the church, and had some time to explore. We also stopped briefly at the Maille mustard boutique. Yes, a shop that sells only mustard.

We continued with a walking tour along the bd des Capucines, stopping at the building where the first Impressionist art exhibition was held. This was across the street from the Scribe Hotel, where the first public moving-picture performance was held by the Lumière Brothers.

We then visited one of the passages that are common to see on the Right Bank. These covered corridors were constructed as pedestrian shopping avenues to escape the noisy, smelly streets in the mid-nineteenth century. They were a particular feature of the city's reconstruction by Baron Haussmann.

The highlight of our morning was a guided tour of the Opéra Garnier, one of the most magnificent buildings in Paris. You will see a number of photos below, which barely do justice to the opulence of the place.

Several students returned in the evening for a ballet performance (Eugene Onegin, I believe). They bought EUR 6 tickets which placed them in an upper booth without a direct sight line to the stage. But by standing, they could see about 75% of the action. The opera house was designed for watching other spectators, not the stage!

The afternoon was free. Students rushed off to shop and visit museums. This is definitely a museum-going crowd.

Today (Thursday) is the Pentecost holiday, and also a free day for the students to do as they wish. Most offices and many small shops are closed, but almost all the museums are open. Most large stores are open as well. The students have dispersed all over the city. One even left town to see the Art Nouveau architecture in Nancy. It's 240 miles from here, but only 90 minutes by TGV train!