Paris, July 5

Wednesday, July 5
Paris, France

Busy day today. First Gary and I wandered down to a little bistro on the corner called Café Charlot and split the most delicious ham and cheese omelet I’ve ever tasted in my life. More... You could tell it had been cooked in plenty of real butter. And of course it came with crusty bread and creamy café au lait.

Then we met John and Yvonne back at the apartment and the four of us took the Metro to the Musée d’Orsay (Orsay Museum). It’s a former train station which was constructed in the Beaux-Arts style for an early French railway company and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. During World War II it became a mailing center, and in the 1960s it was used as a set for several movies, including Orson Wells’ “The Trial.” It was scheduled to be demolished in 1970, but the French government instead decided to convert it into an art museum that would bridge the gap between the Louvre and the Museum of Contemporary Arts. It reopened as the Musée d’Orsay in 1986. And yes, the huge clock in the main alley still works.

Here, I finally saw in person the masterpieces of the Impressionist artists such as Renoir, Monet, and Van Gogh. (And also one of the most famous works of art by an American artist outside of the United States – “Whistler’s Mother.”)

Water Lily Pond (Blue) - Claude Monet

Bal du moulin de la Galette - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Starry Night Over the Rhone Arles - Vincent Van Gogh

Arrangement in Gray and Black #1 (Whistler's Mother) - James McNeill Whistler

After several hours at the museum, we walked down to Paris’ oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf (which ironically means “new bridge”), to take a one-hour scenic cruise up and down the River Seine on an excursion boat.

After the boat cruise, we made our way over to the Eiffel Tower on Champs de Mars. This, of course, is the 1,066-foot wrought iron lattice tower that was built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Fair and has since become an iconic symbol of France.

The obligatory Eiffel Tower picture -- just to prove we really were in Paris

We didn’t climb all 704 steps to the top of the tower. (The uneven stairways to our apartment already give us a good work-out every day.) We took the elevator to the second floor, which is open to the public, then we used the tickets we had purchased several weeks before to take another elevator up to the very top. We met up with Tim and Peggy here and spent several hours taking pictures of the panoramic views.

We did take the stairs down from the second floor, which is a lot easier but with just as spectacular a view. It was a really distinctive experience of being inside and outside at the same time.

It was after 10 PM when we left the tower, and sunset was finally falling. As we walked away from the tower in search of a restaurant, the nightly light show started. A really beautiful sight!