We managed to wake up and get showered a bit earlier today. We were down at breakfast by 9am enjoying coffee and croissants. Again the weather was cold and clear, with a biting cold wind, which was only partly offset by the weak sunlight.
We had planned to take the metro down to Musee d'Orsay, but our train was stopped at Barbes Rochechouart due to a failed train somewhere. We had sat on the train for a while, but eventually a fairly final sounding announcement was made and everyone left for other connections.
As it happened we were able to connect to the line that goes to Pere Lachaise station, so we changed plans and decided to go to the Pere Lachaise cemetry to see the grave of Jim Morrison. It was easy to find a map of the cemetry to buy at a kiosk near the station, and armed with this we headed in to look for the grave.
Metro station on the way to Pere Lachaise
Layout of Pere Lachaise
The cemetry was quiet, with only a few groups of people roaming around, most probably with the same intention of looking for the grave of the lizard king. Pere Lachaise is a large cemetery and the many small plots are laid out butted right up against one another.
Dense layout of graves at Pere Lachaise
On the way around the cemetry, we saw lots of beautiful statuary and monuments.
Statue on grave
Crypt with stained glass
Cool statue
Another great statue
After walking for about 20 minutes, we found the crypt of Heloise et Aberlard, a tragic love story.
Heloise et Aberlard
History
After this we found the grave of Jim Morrison, which was surrounded by barriers, though I did manage to get a picture. JimMorrison
Jim Morrison's Grave
There were some other very attractive sculptures and stained glass present in some of the crypts, but our destination was the crypt of Oscar Wilde, who is buried here. Sadly, when we found the crypt it was defaced, which Wilde himself probably would have been appalled at. Ghastly, dear boy, simply ghastly.
Grave of Oscar Wilde
After looking at the cemetery, we ended up heading East towards Place Gambetta, where we found a photo shop. I bought some extremely expensive CR2 batteries for the reserve battery holder for my D70, as I had neglected to charge it the night before. I also acquired a SanDisk Extreme II 1.0Gig compact flash for 80E which will allow me to shoot pictures a bit faster than with the generic branded flash card currently in the camera. We looked around a little more, before settling on a little Bar Restaurant to eat lunch at. Meredith had Hamburger with a fried egg on top, and I had a Steak au Poivre, both were extremely rare, but also delicious. I think we're still waiting for a really bad meal, though my spaghetti carbonara last night wasn't the best.
After paying the 22.40E for lunch, which included a diet coke and an excellent cappaccino, we entered the Gambetta metro station and caught a train to Republique. Here we changed and went South to Gare d'Austerlitz. At this point it wasn't very clear on what to do. Gare d'Austerlitz is a mixed station with RER and suburban trains, and RER C which we needed to get to Musee d'Orsay was tucked away downstairs, behind what seemed like a mini-mall. Down on platform A, it wasn't clear about with of the two available platforms to wait at, so asked a French lady, who tried to help us understand. Sadly, she talked just a little too fast for my weak language skills, but we eventually worked out that any train at either of the platforms would be just fine. As indeed it turned out, emerging right at the Musee d'Orsay.
Musee d'Orsay is built in an old railway station building, and looks fantastic, both inside and outside. There are some interesting sculptures outside and the building facade is clean and handsome.
Musee D'Orsay Facade
Statues outside Musee D'Orsay
Inside the Musee d'Orsay, the feeling is of a modern cathedral with a huge airy and naturally lit open space. People roam around amongst sculptures with feeling of relaxed contemplation. There were several parties of children, probably on school trips, who seemed to be having fun.
School kids waiting to wreak havoc
Cathedral like Musee D'Orsay Interior
Musee d'Orsay has a fantastique collection of art, both paintings and sculpture. There are many acknowledged masterpieces and during January, like now, it is not incredibly busy. The main collections of paintings are spread out in bright airy rooms on several levels around the edge of the building.
Painting room at Musee D'Orsay
Painting Room with Several Masterpieces ;-)
It's worth noting that photography is permitted, though obviously flash photography will not be tolerated around such priceless works of art. It seems kinda silly to photograph art anyway, so I (mainly) refrained from risking it near the paintings.
Painting that caught my eye
Some pointillist
Degas painted by Renoir(?)
Restored clock at Musee D'Orsay
I wasn't the only photographer
We splashed for a cab after visiting Musee D'Orsay as Meredith was tired from all the walking and stair climbing, and the cab dropped us at the Jules Joffrin metro station. For a late second lunch, or early dinner, depending on how you look at it, we walked up to a Patisserie and purchased a Croque Monsieur, a big slice of pizza, a slice of Flan and a Royal Chocolate. This gace us a pretty good meal in the hotel room, and after eating, Meredith napped, and your faithful correspondent worked on downloading pictures, and this vacation blog.
After a while, it was time to eat again, and we enjoyed some Italian food at a nearby restaurant. Meredith had bolognaise and I had saltimbocca and a half bottle of wine.
