January in Paris: Last Days in Paris

Our last couple of days in Paris we spent revisiting some of our favorite parts of Paris, and taking pictures of some of our regular neighborhood haunts.

We took one last walk to Notre Dame and noticing that there was no line, decided to go inside. I was soaking in the beauty and taking pictures but was becoming increasingly annoyed that some jerk was droning on in a very loud voice and ruining the mood. The annoying jerk of course turned out to be a priest saying mass, so I guess that really doesn't count as destroying the mood.

I wanted to see Monet’s Water Lilies again as a good-bye to Paris (we had seen them on our last trip) so we headed in that direction, walking through the Louvre courtyard and taking still more pictures of the pyramid. The day was gorgeous as we meandered through the Tuileries, taking pictures of some of the statues scattered throughout the park, and noticing that the ducks could no longer skate on the pond.

We walked right into L’Orangerie, there was no line, and very few people inside. We went downstairs first, to see the paintings by Renoir, Matisse, Cezanne, and other artists. It’s one of my favorite museums – just the right size—with a great collection. We then went upstairs to spend time with the water lilies, which are amazing. I was especially taken with the man who had obviously dressed that morning with the water lilies in mind. He coordinated beautifully with the painting, I think.

It was a perfect day, although a bit sad, knowing it was our last in Paris.