El Peregrino Dave: Last day in Paris

Being a typically autumn rainy day in Paris, with hopes that it would clear up after lunch, I headed to the third of the three art museums that I was visiting. Having been to the Louvre, the d'Orsay today was l'Orangerie, a museum idedicated to 20th century French art. Because it is a smaller gallery, situated in one corner of the Tuilieries gardens, there was virtually no lineup. Part of the gallery is dedicated to a complete installation of Monet's Nymphades (Water Lilies) in two large oval shaped rooms that Monet himself designed and dedicated as a place of quiet and peace. The space is very much like a temple; even the people there were remarkably quiet. I sat there for about a half an hour simply looking at the paintings, and reflecting on my last month and a half. I have had quite a time of it; I am feeling a little nostalgic about going home, but i realize that I can't stay in Neverland/Wonderland forever (even if I COULD afford it!)

I'm glad I went to the Louvre, the d'Orsay and the l'Orangerie in that order...three distinct eras of art, centred in France in three distinct settings. And each experience was sufficiently different that I could pick a favourite, although I had favourite moments and paintings in each.

And as I left l'Orangerie, the sky cleared sufficiently that left me with a decision to make: what was left to see or do?

I had seen some (mass produced!) paintings by the stalls on the Left Bank the first afternoon I was in Paris - stop one, after a walk along the Seine and the bars and souvenir shops of Saint Michel. And I wanted to see Paris from high up someplace - and since the Eiffel Tower was the obvious choice, I walked to the Arc de Triomphe.

The Arc de Triomphe is France's National War Memorial, and given that Armistice/Remembrance Day is next week, I thought it would be a fitting last stop. The other thing is that the top of the Arc de Triomphe is a visitors' gallery with a museum of uniforms and battle honours on the two windowless floors below the top. The view, surrounded by the symmetry of the radiating streets, was wonderful, and a fitting way to remember the city.