May 22nd was a day that I hadn't been looking forward to. It was the anniversary of Granny's death, and that's partially why I scheduled this trip over this date. I wanted to be removed from it a little bit. However, I'm happy to say that I didn't shed a single tear on this day. :)
We were supposed to go to Versailles on this day, and we actually did. However, while we were in France, the railway workers and Air France were striking every few days. If it's a strike day, some of the businesses were striking as well. So when we got to the Palace of Versailles, it was d-e-a-d.
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| I decided to capture a picture since I'm sure I wouldn't get one without a million people in it. |
We are fairly flexible people, and I was fairly prepared, so I just took a look at our schedule and we rearranged our days. We hopped back on the train and headed back into the city.
We hopped off at the Notre Dame and went for a tour. We didn't end up paying to climb up to the top, but we wandered around on the main floor.
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| Outside the Cathedral, people were gathered everywhere. |
The tour didn't take any time at all, so we decided to head over to the Orsay Museum. One of Tyler's co-workers had said that the Louvre wasn't their cup of tea, but they enjoyed the Orsay much more. I have to say, I agree with him. The last time I took an art class was in 4th grade, and I remember my art teacher showing us some paintings by these artists. I ended up snapping pictures of some of my favorites.
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| Outside the Orsay |
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| I absolutely loved looking at the buildings as we were standing in line. |
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| A lifesize clock from the inside looking out. |
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| Claude Monet |
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| Pierre Auguste Renoir |
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| Pierre Auguste Renoir |
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| From the top of the Orsay looking out toward Montmartre (up on the hill). |
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| Claude Monet |
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| The Orsay Museum is in an old train station. |
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| Vincent Van Gogh |
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| Vincent Van Gogh |
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| Vincent Van Gogh |
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| I loved this very neat clock. |
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| I wish I could have captured the glitter that this painting had, but it was amazing! |
Tyler and I both felt redeemed after going to the Orsay. :) We both enjoyed it, but it was also a lot of walking. These museums are huge! If you plan to go, you may want to start training. ;)
Right as we were leaving the Orsay, it started raining. But a little rain wouldn't dampen our spirits. We were in Paris! We hoofed it over to the Sainte-Chapelle, which just so happened to end up in my top 5 favorite things that we saw. I had read about it, and I was so excited to see it in person.
The Sainte-Chapelle was built to house the Crown of Thorns...yes, the crown that Jesus wore on the Cross. The stained glass was
incredible. It depicted Bible stories, Passion Week, and how the crown got to the chapel.
The Crown is actually housed in the Treasury at the Notre Dame, but it does come out every so often and sit on the altar.
I really didn't want to leave. I could have looked at these windows all day long and just stand there in awe. The cool thing about all of these places is that they were all quiet. People talked at a low volume or whisper. So that made being there all the more amazing.
It was still raining when we left, so we literally were running back to the Metro entrance. We took the train back over to our hotel. Since it was raining and we didn't really want to get out, we decided to eat supper at another restaurant near our hotel. We learned that there really is no "French cuisine." Our waiter explained that it's like the melting pot of cuisines. You can find a little bit of everything there.
We found our way back at our hotel and completed the evening by face timing our families and doing some laundry. When I tell people we did laundry on our trip, they look surprised. But it was so simple, and it was worth it to only take backpacks.
Other Posts in this Series:
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