Ellen and Andrew flew back to LAX this AM via SFO from CDG so I slept in! I didn’t realize how much running around we did here because I slept hard until 1000. And then realized that it wasn’t raining.
I finally visited the Arc d’Triomphe. It’s in the middle of a traffic circle but you can access it via a tunnel that runs underneath it. They wanted 7 Euro to go up to the top and since it wasn’t wet BUT it was windy and cold, I put that on my “do it next time I’m in Paris” list right below “visit the Dupont store” because they were closed for remodeling all this past week.
Since yesterday was the 59th Anniversary of VE-Day, there have been observances all over the city. On many of the buildings, there are plaques that remember those from the Maquis or the Underground who fought the Nazis throughout the Occupation.
There was a humongous tricolour hanging the height of the Arc and their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was immediately below. There were a lot of visitors.
After a brief snack (which is one of the things you do a lot in Paris because the food is good and good priced), I headed up to the Musee d’Orsay which houses art from the 1800s to the present.
The Orsay is located in an old train station that was built for the 1900 Paris Exposition but fell into disuse and disrepair over the years. When they created the Musee, they took all the “modern” art from the Louvre (they didn’t want it anyway) and began a gallery that is more accessible (not as much fire and brimstone religious art) and for many people, more enjoyable.
After about an hour there, I met Meghan, a former SMWMer/co-worker there and we puttered in the Musee for a few more hours.
Art!
Musings of a Food and Travel Addict