We started off late because the list of museums we wanted to visit was short and nothing opened until 10 am. We were also a man down as Johnny woke up under the weather and decided to stay behind. Topping up our train passes didn’t take long and off we went, but while exiting the Orsay train station, I had an incident. Good to know I’m tough. When we started racing up the escalator after it stopped, the 30-something man behind me reached into my purse (which was open, oops!) I felt the bump and turned on him, grabbed his hands and yelled at him in English. Then I gave each of his hands a little slap and let him go. That showed him!
From there, we crossed the bridge and headed for Le Orangerie, a museum with a single fabulous attraction that Katie and I really wanted to see again—Monet’s garden pond painted on giant canvases and hung in an oval room. Surround-sound in visuals! It was so worth it as each panel captures different view in varying light and different colors.
Just as we were finishing, Johnny arrived! He was feeding better. He and John went to look closer at the Luxor obelisk (a gift from Egypt to France), standing nicely at the end of the Tuileries Garden. From there, we had options. We could go to the Christmas Market at the end of the path, or regroup back at the hotel. We decided on the latter. While regrouping, we all took advantage of the very charming St. Michel Christmas Market (Marche de Noel) near our hotel. Oh the cheeses! Too smelly to even approach! The little booths were full of charming fur-trimmed scarves, gold and pearl earrings, and lots of food to taste and buy. Imagine the smell of roasting chestnuts. They were everywhere in Paris, on every street corner…buy some and they come wrapped in today’s newspaper. So warm and tasty!!
After a quick turnaround, we had lunch at Le dèpart St. Michel, right on the Seine and with a perfect view of Notre Dame at no extra charge. We had skipped breakfast so the warm meal with a second serving of bread was welcome. I asked the waiter for “un sac pour le chien” (a doggy bag) for Johnny’s extras. The waiter said, “Non! Non pour le chien. J’ai un sac à emporter pour vous.” (A box for you to take with you.)
Lunch was a good time to make the next plan. Our possibilities were the Musee de l’Armee and Napoleon’s Tomb, the Sewers, the Catacombs, and/or Le Grand Marche du Noel (the big Christmas Market). After a long and very strenuous trip, it was good to have a simple last day. We decided not to overdo it and head for The Museum of the Army, full of weaponry and military history. Indeed it was! My favorite memory from the last trip, were the dioramas and military reenactments in some of the corner displays. Katie likes all weapons and so went from swords to guns, to canon and had a great time. The guys wandered and picked up all the information they could. From there, it was down a floor to the temporary display of musical instruments— bassoons and serpents, early clarinets, natural horns both of the trumpet style and French horn style.
Napoleon’s Tomb was grander than anything in Egypt or Rome. Built by his nephew, it’s clean and interesting, but still over the top. So much marble, Italy must have been cleaned out! Since another few hours had slipped by, Johnny decided to head back to the room, while the rest of us headed to the Big Christmas Market under the huge Ferris wheel in the Tuiliers Gardens. This would be our fourth Christmas market: Le Roche-Guyan under the chateau, Rouan, the charming market in Paris, and Le Grand market in Paris. If you are interested, we highly recommend the smaller markets for charm and homemade goods, but always be sure to taste the mulled wine!
By 7pm, the temperature was dropping fast and John only had a thick jacket and hat, none of the extra layers that Katie and I wore, so he was feeling it. We headed back to D’Orsay station and just one stop away, across the street, and there we were at our darling hotel! Thanks again, Martin and Lori! And bon soir à la Paris.