Van Gogh, Louvre and Sant Chapelle

We got up early on Sunday morning to have Van Gogh to ourselves. We had breakfast at the hotel and then jumped on the metro to go back to the Museo de Orsay. We got there at 9 am and the museum opens at 9:30. We were like fourth in the museum pass line. When the doors opened we were like the fifth and sixth people to enter the museum. We went straight to the fifth floor to the Van Gogh room. We were the only ones there! We were so thrilled it was like a dream come true. We looked at all the works, took pictures and discussed the work. It was fifteen or more minutes before anyone else arrived.

After the Orsay, we walked down the Seine to the Louvre. I wasn’t that excited about going to the Louvre, but Leea wanted to see it and it seemed like something one should do when one is in Paris. It was still fairly early when we got there and we decided to take our outdoor pictures after we had been in the museum. When we entered the Louvre it wasn’t that crowded and we already knew what we wanted to see. Wait, you mean you thought we were going to spend 12 hours trying to see everything? You get a big W for Wrooooong. We saw the things we wanted to see. We got in the Mona Lisa room and the crowd was fairly loose and only about three deep so we were able to squeezy our way up front, take a quick picture and slide out. In the process of leaving Leea got shoved by some woman, who looked harmless. While we were there we saw the DaVinci’s, Caravaggio, Venus and Winged Victory.

By the time we left the Louvre the tour groups had packed the place and there was a long line outside. For some reason, even though all the tourist books say to go to popular sights early to avoid lines, people still sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast and don’t get out until 11 am or so. And by 11 or 12 the lines are like blocks long and worse than that, once you get in the place is packed like a sardine can.

After the Louvre we walked down the Seine and had the worst and most expensive lunch we had had on the entire trip. I’m not a quiche lorraine connoisseur, however I am relatively certain that the crust is not supposed to be as hard as and taste like shoe leather, nor is the filling supposed to require a steak knife to cut it. One bad meal out of two and a half months, not bad.

After lunch we walked across the bridge to see Sant Chapelle. It is a beautiful little chapel with stunning stained glass windows, but the crowds were not conducive to quiet reflection. After a little contemplation, we left to see Notre Dame. On the way we visited the Flower Market and wandered around looking at all the plants and flowers, wonderfully smelling soaps and sachets. I bought four lavender sachets for Mr. Burple, whose lavender has lost its pleasant smell.

When we got to Notre Dame there were massive lines. Even if we could have gotten in, Leea suggested that it would be way too crowded to see anything. So we headed back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant.

On the way home we had an interesting experience when we went to the metro. We had a pass which you just slip in the slot, it pops out another slot and then you go through a turnstile and then push through swinging doors. Well as I put my pass into the slot a guy came up close behind me and when I pulled the ticket out he got real close and went through the turnstile and doors with me in a tiny little space. It was very startling and I felt slightly violated after it happened. His friend did the same thing to Leea, but she was expecting it. This is how young guys get on the metro free. Oh well.