Paris Day Seven

Oh, our last day in Paris. It used to seem so far away! Today we got up early and I decided to have us walk to Musee d'Orsay instead of ride the metro. When you walk, you can see the city. We walked along the Seine to a sleepy Paris. Paris does not seem to wake up until about 10 a.m. We arrived at Musee d'Orsay in time to stand in line for tickets, but not as long a line as it could have been had we been later. We had breakfast at the cafe inside and Debbie and Brittany said they had the most delicious fresh squeezed orange juice that they had ever had. Debbie said it was just like drinking an orange. Mom and I thought the Pain au chocolat (a croissant with two strips of chocolate inside) was the best we've had so far. I was very disappointed during this trip to the museum. The Impressionist wing is under renovation so all of the impressionist art has been moved all around and ALL photography was strictly prohibited. Monet's cathedrals were not there at all, Whistler's mother was out, and most of Degas's ballerina paintings were not there. In order to see the famous ballerina sculpture by Degas, we had to pay an additional 1.50 euro to enter the Crime and Punishment special exhibition. We still have no idea why it was in there and a lot of what we saw in there we wish we had not seen. Debbie went around a corner and saw an actual guillotine! We ended up touring the entire museum looking for all the impressionist art. My companions were not disappointed however and soaked up everything they were seeing. All of them now have a new appreciation for sculpture too. After leaving Musee d'Orsay, we walked on rue du bac and stopped at the ATM and a brasserie for lunch. Lunch was rather unremarkable but still good. We found a large grocery store on the way and found the grocery carts quite interesting. They looked like little laundry baskets with wheels and handles. Debbie took one for a spin just to try it out. We entered the Rue du Bac station and popped out at Concorde for a peek at the Obelisk of Luxor and the place where Louis the XVI, Marie Antoinette, and approximately 1700 other people were beheaded over a period of time. Brittany finds it interesting that there are no street lines and that cars just go everywhere. Debbie says it proves her point about the reason for the number of sirens she hears. Back down into the metro to go to Opera. We had seen a split view of the inside of Opera in miniature at the museum. We have seen a lot of beggars in the metro, but the most interesting is the note written above. We found it most interesting that it was written in English and not French or Bosnian. She must have found a lot of gullible americans at some point. When we exited the metro, there were some people handing out free samples of cookies and some giant gold shoes to mark the arrival of the film Sex and the City 2. Behind Opera is Galleries Lafayette, a department store where we spent a couple of hours wandering and purchasing perfume. There were tons of people, not only because it was a Saturday, but because tomorrow is Mother's Day here. We also climbed to the top floor terrace to look out on Paris. It was beautiful and we were so glad we found it. We left Galleries Lafayette and went to the Duroc station and Montparnasse Blvd. Straight down the blvd is the restaurant where I ate with Sara Beth and our girls last year in January. This time we took a picture to remember the name. Our meal was delicious, but we still agree that the meal earlier in the week with steak and secret sauce was the best we had. We have climbed many stairs today but still not as many as yesterday. Mom said she can't wait to get on the airplane and sit still for 10 hours. I think I have worn out my companions, but we have covered a lot of ground and they all agree that they wouldn't have wanted to miss a thing. Tomorrow morning we leave for home and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we miss our families and are ready to see their smiling faces!