My parents wanted to walk around to see Paris and they were on their last day of the d'Orsay / l'Orangerie Passport (4 days to see both museums) so we combined the two. We walked along a bus route until the bus caught up with us. It worked perfectly since the bus was on a slower schedule and we had perfect weather! And we had bang-up luck at l'Orangerie! We only had about two hours and the line went around the building. However, the line for card holders (which I am) and previous ticket purchases (the passports my parents had) had ZERO people in it! Awesome!
France does an awesome job of pruning trees. I particularly like them when they're cubes or rectangles. Above left is the corner of one in Champ de Mars. I realize the pic doesn't let you appreciate the full shape, but I like it against that blue sky. A little further down the road we came across a building that had a rock formation by the front door. I liked the pieces of slate (above right) but the intent was to get lower into the rocks to emphasize the sharp edges. I kinda missed the point.
Here are two more shots of the same rock formation. Above is from the opposite angle and I liked how that little plant is making a go of it. Cool contrast against all the stone and a reminder of how resilient plants, and life, really are.
Before visiting l'Orangerie, we swung by the Notre Dame - my parents had to see it. Side note, I'm glad the "grandstand" seating in front of the church has been removed. Here are some pics...
Although these turned out grainy there was something about them I really liked. On the left, it reminded me of an old post card or archive picture of the interior. The same look is on the right, but I tried to take a panoramic. It's always difficult to well-center a panoramic when it's a look up shot. You can see I had the same problem below - but I still liked how it showed all the windows and captured the organ (on the right).
I'm not sure who is in this grave - wouldn't think it's Jesus since the Angel of Death is standing right behind him. Maybe Joseph. Maybe I should read the plaque next time (my standard act). I took the picture because skeletons in marble - especially the Angel of Death - are very intriguing to me.
More modèles! I think models can make some great pictures and, of course, they themselves can be amazing works of art. Above are two shots of the same model. On the left, a focus on two buttresses meeting a window in the chancel and, on the right, a focus on the little clock on the main crossing or the north transept.
Here is a panoramic I do like. It is the east end of the church (the chancel) which is surrounded by the famous flying buttresses. We took a quick lunch break between the Notre Dame and l'Orangerie and we found a great little place, Le Tambour D'Arcole. Yes, there are dozens of "great little places" in Paris (which is nice) but it's always cool when you can find a great seat - which we did. And, of note, this place is not immediately by l'église so it was not packed with people. The burgers were great and so was the chicken.
Finally, we made it to l'Orangerie, and like I said, had great luck getting in! The expo was Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera) which I was lukewarm about, but I took my parents there to see the Les Nymphéas of Monet. But, the expos are bonus and the gallery in the basement is always nice.
Again, I neglected to note the artist of the mask (above) but, in general, I think masks are cool.
Other works of interest to me... Dans le parc de Château Noir by Paul Cézanne. I liked the bold lines and colors. Below right, La Maison Bernot by Maurice Utrillo (my dad really like it so I wanted to save the name). He really appreciated how it reminded him of places he's seen and visited, and how many things about French villages haven't really changed.
Below (left) is La Route by André Derain. I'm pretty picky when it comes to landscapes (which everyone is, i.e., individual taste) but I often like wide open, clean spaces which this road has for me. And I like the coolness offered by the trees. Good shade trees. Also, I like it when "normal" things, such as the buildings are negated - almost removed - by the landscape itself.
There is a tradition in Paris (and other cities) for couples to put a padlock on a bridge to say "I lock you" or to confirm their "lock" for each other. Nicknamed the Love Lock, I thought it'd be cool if my parents played along. They liked the idea too and shown below, are affixing their lock to the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor which is near the Orsay museum.
fin
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