Another quick trip to paris for more eating, walking, and exploring.
day 1 May 3
we had flown directly from Los angeles to arrive in paris in the late afternoon, therefore we were pretty beat from the flight over. so it was an easy dinner at the apartment then resting up so that we could explore the city in the next few days. at least the weather in paris seems promising, blue skies and warm weather.
Day 2 May 4
what a beautiful morning in paris, it was actually warmer and sunnier than the last few days in la. after a very french breakfast of pastries, baguettes, and coffee we headed to the musee d'orsay. i had not been back since my first trip to paris when i was a child, i could remember the building but couldn't remember any of the art inside. the musuem has paintings and sculptures from french artists mostly dating from the later 1800's to the early 1900's, the art that i found most interesting was on the top floor, the impressionist art from artists like vincent van gogh, claude monet, edgar degas, paul Cézanne, paul gaugin, pierre-auguste renoir, Édouard manet, and many more.
after all that walking we grew a bit of an appetite so we decided to have some lunch at the restaurant in the museum. i had great memories of eating a whole bowl of ice cream under the CHANDELIERS. unfortunately the food was a bit of a disappointment, i guess it is a tourist trap. but it is still a nice setting to have some coffee and dessert after walking around and seeing some art.
we were recommended to see an exhibition called atelier des lumières. make sure you end up at a foundry and not at a shop (who has the same name), we were not the only ones to make this mistake. once we arrived at the right location we waited in line to buy tickets, however i would recommend buying tickets in advance as the line can be quite long, but it is worth the wait as it is a one of a kind of experience. i had experienced something similar in shanghai with the works from van gogh, however it wasn't done as nicely and innovated as this one. the artists featured changes every few months this time they were showing the artworks of gustav klimt and hundertwasser and a short art piece called poetic ai by ouchh.
Atelier des lumières
38 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011 Paris
http://www.atelier-lumieres.com/
after a long day of walking around and looking at art we took a short break before dinner at bistrotters. post to come soon.
Day 3 may 5
we were all very exhausted from the day before so we decided to take it a bit easier. we had booked tickets to go to the louis vuitton foundation and this time they did have some exhibitions. as we arrived early we decided to walk around the park just adjacent to the building, much of the park was under construction but we did get to see some animals. the construction for the park will be done by the summer to also reopen the zoo there.
i was surprised to see that there were no more colors on the outside of the building, but i was told that it was a temporary exhibition done by a french artist. so i guess we will have to wait and see if anyone else does anything with the exterior. the current exhibition was called "in tune with the world" which unveiled a new selection of artists from the collection. the most worldy known artist that was featured was takashi murakami with his kawaii artwork. the other artworks were quite fascinating, some a bit difficult to understand but more interesting than many of the artworks from yesterday (as in general i prefer more modern art).
we then enjoyed a delicious lunch at the restaurant downstairs le frank. i had ordered the chicken cesear salad again, which was just as delicious as i had remembered. and to end the meal i ordered the lemon meringue tart, which was really good and beautiful.
we left for dinner a bit earlier so that we could walk around the neighborhood and then the palais royal and garden. what a truly gorgeous day in the city and it seemed that everyone was enjoying it. we then headed to dinner at enyaa, post to come soon.
day 4 may 6
a very big breakfast to start of the day then a walk around the city to enjoy the last few hours in paris. sundays are quite nice in the city (at least in the morning) as they appear to be much quieter with less people around and less cars. for our last meal we decided to have some chinese food, it was pretty tasty but i think some of that was due to the msg.
well that was another quick trip to paris, but at least this time i got to see more of the city. i still hope to come back soon for a couple more visits as there is still so much more to see and to eat in this city.
