Paris Diary: Day Two

Barbara: We got a bit of a reprieve on the usual 6-hour time difference because the time here changed for the winter this weekend. 6-hour time difference became 5-hours. We still needed the alarm to get up, but we allowed ourselves a sleep-in until 9am. Then we met Mike and Josee in the hotel for breakfast and Stefanie joined us for the day.

First stop today is the Jardin des Tuileries. It was cold but bright and sunny, which makes a huge difference! The Palace gardens are a must-see. And you never get tired of them. Stefanie comes here regularly with her sketchpad and sits on one of the many chairs or benches and writes and draws. The energy here is open and inviting, relaxed and easy. The view from the park goes to the Louvre on one side and down all the way to the Arc de Triomphe in the other. 

This is the side entrance of the Louvre: the entrance that Stefanie used when she took her class in Paris last year -- the class that "changed her life" (as experiences like that are supposed to do).

From here we made our way to the Orangerie, which is the gallery made famous by Monet’s incredible water lily paintings. I’ve never seen them before and it’s breathtaking. Two oval rooms that he designed for the pieces, and then 8 huge panoramic paintings that just make you want to sit and stare at them for hours. Which we almost did. Interesting to note that the Impressionist style he helped to establish was part of a greater political statement about the disorder of life, the messiness of it if you will, a stance that was against the neat, perfect (essentially unrealistic) lines of realism. By the time his water lilies were hung, Impressionism was no longer cool and Monet never felt the admiration his masterpiece would one day elicit. But he created anyway. And thank goodness for us!

Josee and I outside the Orangerie (so far this is the closest we've gotten to the Eiffel Tower!).

After hours in the galleries here, we were starved and tired and enjoyed a nice long lunch. Fresh oytsers! (yes, we are fans)

Then off to explore the streets, with no set plans. That this city was overhauled because of Baron Haussman’s singular design and inspiration is absolutely unimaginable when you see the sheer scope of the city, street after street. Miles and miles of townhouses and buildings and monuments and shops, each of them different and unique but coherently connected. No boring grids, but roundabouts and offshoots in all directions. It means that you can walk without purpose and still arrive somewhere purposeful. There’s a kind of divine madness about the scope and detail. I mean, only a divine madman could have conceived of it and then seen it through. 

Funny things we noticed: on the subway, every stop is announced twice, with two different emphases—“Champs Elysées-Clémenceau; Champs Elysées-Clémenceau”—in a lovely singsong voice, as if even the most mundane announcement ought to be imbued with aesthetic loveliness. Also, the apartment floors here all start at Floor 0, so my version of a second floor is Floor 1 here, and so on. Not so funny when Stefanie lives on the "Fourth Floor" and we have to walk up 5 flights! And that while "preservatives" IS a word in French, it isn't the word we mean when we use it. So if we admire the lack of "preservatives" in the French wine, if we're speaking French, we're actually saying we admire the lack of condoms in the wine. 

More loveliness:

Only in Paris is the entrance to the subway an ornate crown!

And some modern developments:

Electric, rentable cars!

Now off to dinner with Stefanie, Mike and Josée. The only thing wrong is that my other darling daughter isn’t with us—and we miss her in a way I can’t describe…

PS just read all the comments: Thank you for your great thoughts and wishes, everyone! To answer some questions: yes, Deb, this is the coat. A marvelous choice for this weather because it's still warm enough when layered over my jacket and some sweaters, but not so hot that I melt when I'm inside. Denny, so excited you're taking the trip too! Stefanie says she heard Frenchie's is great. And no pics because it was raining when we left, but Mike and Jo introduced us to a wonderful, inexpensive but superb Italian resto in the Les Halles district (fresh, fresh, only the best ingredients, yuuuuummmy): Pesto Fresco.

A demain!