Dear Commons Community,
We arrived last night in Paris and are staying for a second time (the last time was in 2008) at the very old Hotel Angleterre. It is in the St. Germain section on the Left Bank. The hotel has quite a history including being selected as the site for the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The actual site was later moved several houses down the street at the insistence of Benjamin Franklin. Among notables, Ernest Hemingway and Charles Lindbergh have stayed here.
After breakfast, we went to see Notre Dame. The fire on April 15th really took a toll on this magnificent cathedral. Now you see mostly scaffolding, construction equipment, and massive tarps draping the structure. Very sad.
A little further up the Seine River, is the Musee D’Orsay, the converted Gare d’Orsay railway station that now houses an extraordinary collection of impressionist art (1848-1914}. The renovated interior of the train station is an artistic marvel itself.The ground floor of the Musee houses a collection of French sculptures from the 1800s. The upper floors belong to Cezanne, Gauguin, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas and others who have entire rooms dedicated to their work. The photographs below do not do justice to the actual paintings.
Quite a day!
Tony
Notre Dame
Notre Dame and Elaine
Musee D’Orsay Interior
Musee D’Orsay Sculpture Garden
Musee D’Orsay Balcony View of the Seine and Paris
Cezanne – The Bathers
Gauguin – The Ladies of Tahiti
Manet – Luncheon in the Grass
Degas – Ballet Rehearsal on Stage
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