Old Friends & Masters

Day 22

Just a short report today.

I spent a lovely couple of hours this morning catching up with one of my students from Parramatta.  Naomi has been living, working  and studying in Paris for a couple of years and we wandered and chatted.  Heading down to our local metro station I encountered yet another traffic jam on our long one-way street.  Much gesticulating and blaring of horns but little movement because the truck was stopped, unloading stock for a shop and he wasn't going anywhere till he'd finished.

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Naomi & I wandered parts of Paris Tony & I had not visited.

Tony then made his way into the centre of Paris to meet me and low and behold, we discovered a little Christmas market.  

we went to the Musee D’Orsay.  What a stunning building it’s housed in.  Built originally as a railway station for the 1900 World Fair, it was re-purposed in 1977 as train travel changed, the Musee D’Orsy was opened in 1986 as the home for painting, sculpture and the decorative arts from 1848 – 1914.

Lots of wonderful Impressionist paintings and sculptures and it as incredible to stand in front of works of the masters that I studied at school.  Rodan, Cezenne, Degas, Monet, Manet, Sisley, Renoir, Van Gogh & Gauguin were all there as well as a wonderful display of Art Nouveau glass, jewellery and furniture.  The D'Orsay was really busy and some photos had to be taken from an angle - lots of people wanting to just stand in front of these wonderful works and just gaze at them - cant say I blame them.

Out of the museum and back across the river we went in search of a coffee and something for me to wear to Ainsley's wedding in September. 

We walked home up Rue des Martyrs and decided that if you had a week in Paris and could pick a street where you did nothing but stop and eat at each shop you passed, this would be the street.  Meats (hams & salamis) cheese, cake shops to simply die for, breads, wine, seafood, fruit … aaand repeat and again before you got to the end of the street.

Dinner in the lovely little Italian just next door to our building and home to pack – we’re off to Vienna tomorrow.