Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Rick and I are setting off on a new adventure today. We will be traveling to Amsterdam, Giverny, and Paris. While Rick has been to two of these places before they will all be new to me. Although, he was only in the Amsterdam airport before, and I don’t think that counts as visiting a place.
Twenty years ago, this coming December was when he was in the Amsterdam airport. He stopped to have coffee with an old friend that he hadn’t seen in years. They have continued to remain in contact, and we are planning to see him.
That visit at the airport was when he was coming home from the KUAF trip that cemented us as a couple. So, one of the purposes of this trip is the celebration of our twenty years. Also, Rick’s final retirement and my retirement from being a professional harpist. Lots to celebrate!
We are going to Giverny, the home and garden of Claude Monet. One of my idols. To me, this may be the top of my bucket list and the primary reason to go to France (aside from the bread and cheese), but Paris will be lovely too. Most people do this as a quick day trip from Paris, but we are spending three nights in the tiny town. I’ve waited my whole life for this and will not be rushed. I think I’ve had a Monet poster on my walls my entire life (and other Impressionists). The Monet we currently have hanging on our bathroom wall is a street scene of Paris. (We have a couple of Renoirs and a Picasso hanging upstairs.) Recently, on a trip to the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, we spotted the original Monet. That was a pleasant shock! In Paris, we hope to find the vantage point that Monet used when he did that painting. We think we know where to look. This past weekend I pulled out all the Monet books I have in the house. The pop-up version of the Garden is the closest I’ve been…. until next week. A book I have about the Garden and color theory is a favorite that I bought at Nelson-Atkins in 2011. They had a special exhibit of a Water Lilies tryptic. In addition to the specific Monet books, I have another half-dozen+ about the wider spectrum of artists from the Impressionist movement. Just a tad excited about this trip, you might say.
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Thursday, May 4, 2023
We had a very smooth day of travel. Only a slight delay on our flight leaving Atlanta which wasn’t a problem for us. However, the morning we left I found out that I was going to miss my beloved sister-in-law by about an hour in the Amsterdam airport. She was traveling home to see her parents in Hamburg, Germany. That would have been fun. We’ll see her in August.
We took a cab to our hotel — my first ride in a Tesla! — arrived around 12:30pm. We dropped our bags and immediately set out on a walk. Across from our hotel is a several-block-long sculpture park. We watched them install a big blue dog. Apparently, they change the art every two years. Crystal Bridges has a LOVE sculpture, and this park has a LOVE LOVE sculpture. The perfect sentiment for the start of our trip. The bellman said it was the first beautiful day and it was glorious. After about a fifteen-minute walk we arrived at the museum center. The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh, the Modern Art, the Opera House… one smaller museum whose tagline is “In Art We Trust.” I see a t-shirt in my future. There was a huge space of grass in the middle of this area and as we got closer to the Riks, a large swath of planters full of tulips. We are maybe five days too late to see them at their prime, but I still thought they were beautiful with a wonderful diversity of varieties. We stopped and had coffee and tea at one cafe museum, Ten. Amusing to us as the restaurant at Crystal Bridges is Eleven.
There is a fairly large garden around the Rijks so we ambled there and found a spot in the sun right by their large water fountain. The fountain has a grated floor with spouts in various patterns where water shoots straight up. People were taking turns running into the middle of the fountain to have their pictures taken. We watched several people mistime their runs and get soaked. We laughed and laughed from the safety of our bench. A beautiful day it was, but not warm enough to want to get soaked! Then into a bookstore whose primary focus is art books. My suitcase is not large enough for all the books I wanted to bring home… or any suitcase, actually. I bought cards.
We returned to the hotel and had a frustrating check-in process. We didn’t get into our room until nearly 4pm which was when we were meeting Rick’s friend, Maartin. Rick went right down, and I was just a few minutes late. We sat in the bar and had a great visit. After an hour or so, we walked just a few blocks to Maartin’s house. A traditional house for this area, tall with steep steps up. He fixed us a lovely supper including large white asparagus which is common here.
Having missed a night of sleep on the way over, it wasn’t long before we were hitting our limits on the day. So, we reluctantly said goodbye and promised not to wait so long for our next visit. He is leaving for Spain on Friday.
The Steps app says we walked 4.25 miles today.
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Friday, May 5, 2023
We slept in and had a lovely breakfast at the hotel. All the Dutch twists to the spread were a treat. And then, walk… walk… walk. We took a different neighborhood road than yesterday and struck a gold mine of local culture. We went out with no agenda other than trying to find a recommended art store and the flower market. Restraining myself in the art store was an epic feat for which I should be congratulated and feted. The flower market was disappointing. Perhaps we didn’t find the right spot, but I was expecting massive amounts of live flowers sold in bulk and this was a tourist trap with packaged bulbs. I didn’t expect to buy much at the market but wanted to see the varieties. Many of the packaged bulbs said export quality but I would fear trying to get them home through customs.
We wandered through a flea market area and I bought an Amstel beer glass. Shortly after that we came to the Heineken Experience and went in. I reported my glass to the security guard, just to be safe. He wasn’t impressed. The place was packed since today was a holiday. So, we just went to the store and bought a Heineken glass.
When the light rain started we sat in a lovely cafe and had treats, tea, and coffee. Then we walked back to the hotel, arriving just before the serious rain started. We thought we’d have a relaxing hour or so in our room but instead came back to jackhammers next door. Jackhammers. Luckily, we splurged at this hotel and have access to the Executive Suite. So, we went up and had a nice, but cloudy view, in a comfortable room with tea and coffee. Rick read and I sketched. (Zentangle patterns everywhere!). We stayed for Happy Hour, went for a nice walk in the evening sun, and returned in time to finish Happy Hour. Perfect.
Steps app says we walked seven miles today.
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Saturday, May 6, 2023
Today started out with one of those travel fiascos that after a period of panic actually works out to be better than the original plan.
We had booked Saturday and Sunday each as full museum/event days. Two each day. Somehow in my mind, I flipped which set was on which day. We also slightly overslept so we rushed down to breakfast and walked quickly out to the Rijks, stood in line for 15 minutes, and then realized we had the wrong day. Therefore, we had to rush back to the hotel to get our tickets for the correct day’s events. First, we were supposed to go to the Rembrandt House and then to the Botanical Garden in the afternoon. But we had already missed our entry time at the House and the day was gorgeous with rain due to come late afternoon. We were able to adjust our time for the House to later in the day and we took an Uber to the Garden. The Garden is the furthest point from the hotel for us and I don’t think we’d have made it through the day if we started with a second-long dash. We ended up carrying our raincoats all day and never needing them. Bonus.
The garden, founded in 1638 (1638!), was lovely. There are only three acres of grounds, but they are arranged nicely and filled to the brim. We are nearly at the end of the tulip season but there were still several great examples on display. The sun was out and it was just beautiful. A great place for a stroll. I picked some sweet ginkgo leaves off the ground, no harming of plants, to sketch later.
When we left the garden, we stopped briefly for water and regular black coffee for Rick and then it was only a short walk to the Rembrandt House. So far, our Step app has shown zero flights of stairs because Amsterdam is flat. But today we got in some flights. Early in his career, Rembrandt bought a nice house at the edge of town. Of course, it is on the edges no longer. Later in his career, he went bankrupt, so they cataloged everything in the house and the house and contents were sold to pay debts. At some point, the decision was made to turn the house into a museum, and they used that debtor inventory to recreate the contents of the house. The museum just went through a major remodel and only reopened in March of this year. We are lucky to see it at this point. We loved it. Some of the best things… There are three huge armoires which included beds—tiny beds. Guess that is what they mean by the old phrase bed chamber. There was the book/paper press of my dreams. A gorgeous piece of furniture. The stairs! This is a five-story, tall skinny, with tall skinny twisty stairs. Plus, so much more.
Then we walked in a lazy manner back to the hotel. That museum end of town was crazy crowded since it was Saturday. A madhouse. And as much as I love Amsterdam, and I really do, I am not a fan of the “coffee” shops when the smoke wafts out into the street and you walk through a fog of weed. I have no problem with the shops. I just don’t want to be included.
After some new info from someone in one of my bookmaking groups, I did go back into the paper shop and succumbed to a small purchase. Not sorry. And I practiced some additional retail therapy by buying a t-shirt at the Contemporary Art Museum that says, “In Art We Trust.” White on black. Love it.
On our continued stroll back, we walked again through the neighborhood we discovered earlier. They were having small farmer’s market-type events and seeing the various local goods was fun. We stopped for some exceptional gelato. This part of town I really love and could easily see myself spending a summer here. Winter, no. I need to pause here and rhapsodize poetically about the local cheese and bread. I know I’ll say the same about France but oooh la la. My goodness they have great cheese here.
After a short break in our room, we went back to the Executive Lounge and reclaimed our excellent seats with the panoramic view. A snack, a beer, and some time to relax. Back in our room, we caught up on BBC1 with the coronation of King Charles. Ironically, I was in Italy during the Queen’s funeral and missed the event. I’m glad I was able to see today’s event, without much delay, presented by the BBC. The music was inspiring. Actually, on Thursday night we nearly splurged and went to a Royal Concertgebouw Concert with Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducting two Brahms symphonies. And then here he was today conducting for the king. I’m sorry we missed him.
Today we only walked six miles with four flights of stairs. Somehow standing in museums makes it feel like a lot more, but it is worth every step.
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Sunday, May 7, 2023
We had a busy and wonderful day. We got up on time and had a nice leisurely breakfast. We walked to the museum and were there at the perfect time for our start. The Rijk was nearly a disappointment. We didn’t have tickets to the big Vermeer exhibit, but I was ok with that especially after I learned they had an exhibit on books! I was excited but mostly they had catalogs from the 1960s. It was stupid. But then… the Rijk’s library. Priceless. There were a few other treats I was happy to see. Lots of inspiration for the future.
In our break between events, we took a coffee break and went to Albertsons to get some medicine for my ear. An interesting experience.
The Van Gogh Museum was super crowded but wonderful. Other than the gorgeous art, one object was my favorite thing. Vincent’s box of yarn. This was how he assessed color combinations instead of using expensive paints. My next favorite things were in an area where they had easels and paints for people to do their own paintings. I thought the beauty of these much-used and messy pieces was breathtaking.
After carrying our raincoats around unused we finally needed them to walk back to the hotel. But we did manage to miss the heaviest part of the downpour. On the walk home, I finally had to admit that I have an ear infection. We had tried to find a real pharmacy during our break between museums but were unsuccessful. When we reached the hotel, I asked if they might have a doctor on speed dial and conveniently, they did. We spoke briefly and he promised to call in a prescription. Since it was raining again, and the pharmacy was a distance away we took a cab, and they waited while I ran in to pick it up. Long story… the hotel concierge was awesome, and it took a second trip back to the pharmacy to get my meds. Racing the clock to get there before they closed at 8pm. Success.
In between trips we went and said goodbye to our friendly steward in the Executive Lounge, took showers, and packed to leave at o’dark-thirty tomorrow. That would be 5:15 am on most clocks. We’re already planning our next trip back. But in the meantime, we are going to sleep watching the Royal Concert. Wow.
Just short of six miles today. Our legs are tired. And ready for a semi-break tomorrow.
One last piece of trivia. The hotel we are staying in is the site of the famous John Lennon and Yoko Ono bed-in. The price to stay in that room is a little beyond the budget of most people. However, just being in the same hotel is thrilling. The death of John Lennon was so sad and a memorable date—my birthday. Then five years ago, I discovered an interesting piece of Beatles trivia that is also quite meaningful to me. The Beatles album containing “All You Need is Love,” was released on the actual date of my birth. That feels like a special cosmic connection with John. For my birthday that year, I designed a logo to go with the song, using my special symbols, and use the logo frequently.
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Monday, May 8, 2023
After arriving tons early for the train, we had a smooth ride into Paris. Today was our most complex day of travel. Since I wasn’t feeling 100%, complex proved a challenge for me. We walked all over Gare Nord just looking for the bathrooms. Then again at Gare Saint-Lazare. The French obviously don’t need restrooms like Americans do. Plus, I really have to stop trying to speak to everyone in Italian although I am doing a good job of translating most of the written French. Rick does an excellent job of just diving in and trying to speak with people. Including liberal doses of dad jokes which often don’t translate well but amuse me at least.
For ease, we taxied from GN to GS-L to continue our trip to Giverny and we had a six-hour layover. Once we arrived at GS-L, we thought we’d find a place to store our luggage and walk around a bit. No such luck with the luggage. I needed to replace two of my art pens, so I found an art-paper place that I swore Yelp said was open. It was only a half mile so we thought it would be easy to reach. With the added bonus that we passed by the Paris Opera House and the road which is the scene Monet painted that hangs in our bathroom. As expected, there are few remnants of Monet’s street remaining. Walking down Paris streets toting suitcases—even our small suitcases—is a pain. Literally. And when we reached the shop, it was closed. I had reached my limit. We went back to the station and found a cafe outside. Not a particularly perfect spot but nice and some sunshine and an excellent meal. We had arrived in Paris. We wasted some more time and then went through the learning curve to figure out our train to Vernon-Giverny. By then, I’d almost lost my voice and my ear was killing me. Thank goodness I’d gotten my medicine the night before or I’d really have been in trouble. I was worried I’d be intimidated by Paris and I am. Amsterdam felt clean, nice, and manageable. Paris feels crazy and too big. Panhandling everywhere. Something else we never saw in Amsterdam. I hope when we settle in our apartment in the Latin Quarter I’ll feel better mentally and physically.
In Vernon, we had to find a few groceries and get a cab to Giverny. After some fumbling, we arrived to meet our gracious AirBnB host, Sylvaine. Oh la la. I’m in love with Giverny and we just got here. Suddenly, it feels worth all the effort. After a brief break, we took advantage of the lovely evening with no rain to walk through the town. It is supposed to rain for the next two days, but we will see. Sylvaine told us the weather forecasts here are as bad as they were in Amsterdam. She also gave us some advice about the crowds tomorrow. Because it is a day that many places are closed in Paris, the crowds are heavier here on Tuesday. Things I didn’t know. Maybe the rain will keep them away.
We had a beautiful stroll and saw the church where Claude Monet and his family are buried. On a day we hadn’t planned to walk much we ended up doing nearly seven miles. These were not our usual two-mile easy loop in the park. Most of these involved suitcases. We are ready for two days in this beautiful town. I may never leave.
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Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Today was perfect. I slept in and am feeling much better. The rain came down all morning, so we took advantage of a lazy day and Rick read and napped while I was drawing. Although, he did jet back to Vernon for a quick grocery run. Sylvaine suggested that we wait until about 4pm to go to the garden. The rain stopped at about 3pm and we decided to go.
The garden is a very short walk from our house, and we should have waited just a bit longer. We entered right behind the last groups of the day. However, they didn’t stay long so by the time we were leaving after 5:30 the crowds had thinned considerably. As with the Amsterdam tulips, we are slightly late for the first flowers and slightly early for the next round of spring blooms. Nevertheless, the garden and house were worth waiting 55 years to see. I could try to claim I contained myself, but I can’t lie. I was giddy. I took hundreds of photos and look forward to seeing them on a big screen. I did miss not having a proper zoom lens with me. The book that I have at home on the color theory of the garden proved to be the game changer for me in understanding the layout. I was sorry that we couldn’t go into one of the major studios or peek into the greenhouses. The other major studio has been turned into the gift shop. I had to visualize around the knickknacks.
When we left the garden, the rain had stopped and the sun was periodically shining so we decided to walk through town again. Tonight, we were early enough that several of the galleries and stores were open. I was tempted by pieces in a couple of the galleries but have resisted so far. However, the hat shop got me. We bought two beautiful hats, both made in France. I love them!
Then we went to dinner at one of the nice restaurants. We had a great dinner and are now relaxing in the house. We walked a measly two and a half miles today. A day of rest, beauty, art, flowers, gardens, hats, and dreams.
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Wednesday, May 10, 2023
As sometimes happens, I woke up with my ear infection much worse. It was dark, cold, cloudy, with a little rain. We walked to the small local museum at about 10 am. They are currently having a charming exhibit of paintings of children by Impressionist artists. We enjoyed it very much and quickly returned home to relax and wait out the cold. At about 3:30pm the sun was out, and we had a lovely walk back into town for an early dinner. By 5pm we were back at the garden and were rewarded with a relatively empty and serene scene for the next hour until closing time. We walked the loop around the pond about three times, noticing new things each round. For obvious reasons, they won’t let you set up and paint or sketch in the garden. But I will definitely be doing that in the near future using my photos as inspiration. I also have a new appreciation for the pop-up book I have… now that I’ve seen it come to life.
As I mentioned earlier with John Lennon’s relationship with my birthday. I found I have a similar situation with Monet. He died on December 5th but was buried on the 8th. Pearl Harbor was on the 7th and war was declared on the 8th. Too many sad occurrences on that date. I’m trying to change the mojo.
After we left the garden, we strolled back to our house, and we were able to sit for a while on the patio in the sun and have a beer. It was a glorious day in all. Despite being mostly lazy we walked three miles. I’ll be quite sad to leave tomorrow.
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Thursday, May 11, 2023
A brief final morning in Giverny until the train back to Paris. I’m going to miss Giverny. Our house was so cute — very French. After a smooth ride, our recon work on Monday and last night paid off. We easily found our bus and the way to our next Airbnb. We didn’t have a ton of choices when we booked this so we are a little far out in the Latin Quarter, but we love our apartment.
After meeting our gracious hosts, we went for a short walk in the neighborhood. What a great street. We found a boulangerie and had a very Parisian lunch. We’re in Paris! After that, we walked to the D’Orsay Museum. Wow. What a beautiful building and art. We had a great time exploring with a short pause in the cafe for some soup. Then we walked back to our apartment and had drinks and dessert on the balcony. Oui! We walked almost eight miles today and I’m feeling it. At least my ear is better, although I was distressed to run out of ear drops last night. I thought I had more medicine. I’ll be needing to find more cold meds tomorrow. We have a full day.
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Friday, May 12, 2023
This morning we had tickets for L’Orangerie Museum at 9:30. The advice is to be there when they open. We decided to take an Uber, so we’d be dropped at the correct spot and spend the least amount of time getting there. Enter my second major error of the trip. Apparently, there is an L’Orangerie Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in town. Despite the fact that we talked about tickets and the museum on the ride over, our driver dropped us in the vicinity of the Four Seasons. And pointed us in the opposite direction of the hotel. So, a terrible job getting us to the Four Seasons, as apparently, I had picked the wrong location. It seemed weird to me when we got out, but I had no idea where we were going. It also seemed weird to Rick but he didn’t say anything fast enough before the guy zoomed away. So, we had to figure out where we were and walk about a mile and a half to the correct location. We arrived at the museum at about 10:15. Luckily, there was still barely any line, and we didn’t have a hassle in being late. The museum was still a dream to see. The Water Lilies were so beautiful to see. Rick said he wouldn’t have appreciated them as much if we hadn’t just been in Giverny. The recommendation of L’Orangerie first and then Giverny is clearly wrong for the non-artistic people in your life. They also had a great exhibit on Picasso and Matisse.
After that, we just walked. However, our first stop was back at the D’Orsay Museum to check lost and found because I discovered that I lost my treasured heirloom sun brooch that I always wear on my jacket. I’m devastated to have lost it. I do remember adjusting it at some point yesterday because the face was crooked. I don’t remember if we were in the D’Orsay but that is my best guess. I’ve left messages and claim recovery info but I’m not optimistic. Just sad.
Our next stop was also sad because my ear was worse this morning than it has been all trip. We stopped in a pharmacy and the kind man gave me ear drops (not the Rx I had) and cold meds. I took them immediately when we stopped for lunch, and they helped quite a bit. We had an excellent lunch in a fancy pizza place. Which certainly didn’t help with my inclination to still answer everyone in Italian. I did manage to order once in French at a bread shop, so I feel good about that. My translation skills are pretty good for written things. The problem is that everyone here is much better at English than I am at French, so it is so much easier to lapse into English.
Next stop was a walk around Notre Dame. They have fascinating information on the fence around the church about the fires and the recovery process. Seeing the info and the cranes at work was impressive. After that, we stopped for more tea and coffee.
Our last stop of the day was the Louvre. We had tickets for 5pm but we have discovered museums in France are pretty loose about time. We went in at 4pm. We’ve done a great job of avoiding the high points of crowds and having our advanced tickets. But as Rick mentioned when we were inside, the building is so freaking huge, and an impressive feat of a building, that it still doesn’t feel that crowded. However, the things I wanted to see weren’t the highlights for many. We were also getting tired and having a little bit of museum fatigue which, I know, is basically criminal in the Louvre, but true. We stuck to French works, decorative arts, and sculptures. All truly awe-inspiring. I have so much to do! We really treasured our time.
On the walk home, we stopped at the cheese shop (OMG!), boulangerie, the art store(!), and the fruit stand. Then we had a perfect French dinner of fruit, cheese, bread, and wine. Heaven. When the day was done, we had walked over nine and a half miles. I am exhausted. Today was supposedly, hopefully, the coldest and rainiest day until Tuesday. We will take the next couple of days “off” (being lazy) until Tuesday when we have tickets to the Picasso Museum. We are looking forward to seeing more things around our neighborhood in the Latin Quarter in the next few days. I like this neighborhood. Paris does intimidate me—too big, too noisy, way too many people—but I’m glad to have this adventure. Amsterdam, while big and busy operates at a different speed that I’m more comfortable with. Must be my Swedish — German roots. Giverny was definitely my favorite speed.
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Saturday, May 13, 2023
We were lazy this morning and had a perfect French breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and croissants. The weather was nearly perfect and sunny, so we went out for a walk around our local Latin Quarter neighborhood and up to the Jardin Des Plantes. Here I felt at home. What a great place! Much bigger than I had imagined, we walked up and down. Families were out and everyone was enjoying the nice day. They had several ponds and one included water lilies that I could finally get close enough to photograph properly. We decided to go into the library because… A. Library! And B. we needed the loo.
One of my favorite things at the D’Orsay was a sculpture of a polar bear by François Pompon from the 1920s. At the D’Orsay, I bought two postcards about his work. This morning I was putting those in my travel book, and one includes a collection of Pompon’s other sculptures. When we walked into the library at the Jardin… There was his hippopotamus! I knew it instantly. The hippo is life-sized, so it is hard to miss. That was a magical moment for me. The polar bear is oversized and is really magnificent.
After our walk in the park, we came back down our local Mouffetard street. Where we had lunch on Thursday. We sat in the sun for coffee and tea, watching all the locals go by, doing their grocery shopping. So, we followed suit. Buying more cheese, bread, and desserts. Mai oui! We took our treasures back to the house.
We ventured out in a different direction to a local restaurant and had a lovely lunch. Now we are back at our apartment for reading, art, and laze. We only walked three and a half miles today. A serious storm was supposed to start in earnest at 3pm. It’s now 5:30 and we still have lovely sunshine. We sat out on our balcony for a while with our afternoon drinks.
At 8:15pm the sky is still going back and forth between storm possibilities and sun. Once again, we had a perfect French dinner of fruit, cheese, bread, and wine. We’re boring but we’re in France! All of those ingredients are exceptional here so we’re taking advantage of every bite.
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Sunday, May 14, 2023
As we had planned, we started the day with a cheat and took the metro to the Eiffel Tower as it is on the other side of town from us. The day was supposed to dawn sunny and get warm quickly. When we emerged from the metro the sky was still cloudy with a cold wind, and we saw the top of the tower in a mist. As a photographer, I didn’t mind the mist, but as the wimp I am, not the cold. The Eiffel Tower truly is magnificent. Seeing it just as an iconic image for so long does not lessen its impact when you see it in person.
From there we walked down the Seine and on part of the Champs-Élysées. We walked down a side street before we hit the Champs-Élysées and passed by every major high-end brand. With security guards at each door. Not part of my usual shopping experience. Finally, we paused for coffee and tea just to warm up.
Our next stop was the Museum of Decorative Arts. I loved this museum. The content, layout, and interactive displays were all excellent. It was also quite empty except that they were setting up for a major hair or fashion show in the lobby area tonight. We enjoyed watching some of the rehearsals. Their jewelry exhibit was fascinating and there was a great exhibit about a graphic designer. I look forward to reading more about some of his influences.
When we emerged from the museum at 2:30, the sun was shining bright and all of Paris had decided it was time to be outside. We agreed. We had a fabulous lunch at a cafe. Later we found a brass ensemble playing pop songs on the street. So much fun. We continued our ramble through the streets and into the Luxembourg Gardens. There we also found a big orchestra playing fun stuff. We stayed and listened to several songs. Enjoying being out with the people. Trying to take some different roads back to our house we discovered the Panthéon and the Marie Curie Institute. The Curie Institute was closed but had a wonderful timeline and assortment of photos out on their fence. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see all of them because of construction in the way but enough. I’m glad she found a welcoming home in Paris when Poland wouldn’t allow her to continue her education.
Ice cream was our final indulgence out for the day, back on our lively local street. We had earned it after seven and a half miles of walking today. A great day to be in Paris.
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Monday, May 15, 2023
Rest, relaxation, and art. The plan for today. The forecast called for cold and rain but so far, we are seeing the cold, but once again, luckily, no rain. Maybe this afternoon. Our apartment is on the sixth floor—we take the stairs down and the tiny, tiny elevator up. My harp might fit in there with one person, but it would be a tight squeeze. The view from the apartment is not particularly exciting but great big windows make us feel part of the city. The decor is fun and bold. Most of the major furniture pieces are red, including the toilet seat!, with an extremely eclectic range of art on the walls. With a definite emphasis on fish.
As a thank you to our hosts, I did a mini fish painting for them using the new brush pens I bought the other day at the art supply shop. In Amsterdam, I did a Caribbean themed thank you tile for the Executive Lounge host. In Giverny, I moved some of the decorative items around to make a great still life. She had a fantastic paper lamp with perforated holes in a flower design which glowed beautifully when you turned the light on. Oh, I loved that lamp. There was also a cute jug and vase and they all worked together as a perfect still life. I did a quick sketch of them in my travel art journal and then did a more detailed painting for Sylvaine. I meant to put everything back in place, but I was so taken with my arrangement… I hope she likes it too.
Seeing the beautiful jewelry at the museum yesterday just made me sad again that I’ve lost my beloved brooch. As expected, no word from the lost and found department. Everyone that sees it comments how much they like the brooch, so someone was exceptionally lucky. I’ll just envision its new owner appreciating it as much as I did the past forty years. I also managed to snag and basically ruin my favorite lavender sweater I purchased in Italy. I’m trying to envision some new eclectic way to decorate the sweater to camouflage the hole. Turning the repair into gold as they do in Japan with broken pottery. Still pondering.
As all good Parisians do, we had to go out for lunch plus more bread and dessert for tonight and croissants for breakfast. Two people recommended a place to us which is about a 30-minute walk from the house. When we left it was actually fairly nice outside. We walked up our favorite local street and around in a wide loop to the restaurant. On the way we passed another side of the Panthéon we hadn’t seen, as well as part of the Sorbonne. We obviously hit it at their lunchtime because we passed through mobs of students. Seeing their enthusiasm was fun.
The restaurant we went to is called Polidor—in business since 1845—authentic and popular with locals. We learned that a key scene from Midnight in Paris was filmed there. We had a great chat with a grandfather and grandson enjoying a meal. The food was excellent, and our plates went back clean. By far the best meal we’ve had but the one we had last Monday between trains was stellar too. Even the worst meal Rick had was fine. Mine at that same lunch place on Saturday was really really good.
We walked home (finishing up the day at two and a half miles) in the pouring rain and stopped to do our shopping. By the time we reached home, the rain had stopped, temporarily, and we had a nice mix of sun and rain off and on for our afternoon of continued laze. Perfect.
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Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Picasso. A perfect blue sunny day for Picasso. Our last full day in town. We decided to wear our French hats and with the sunshine, it was a good idea. Except for the periodic sharp gusts of wind that threatened to take mine away. We went once again to the metro to reach the other side of town.
The Picasso Museum was wonderful. Not the same place Rick remembers visiting 25 years ago but clearly an upgrade reflecting Picasso’s status. Unfortunately, currently, they have devoted two large chunks of space to two exhibits, unrelated to Picasso, which we had no interest in seeing. However, the rest of the exhibit was excellent. They are celebrating 50 years since Picasso died and had a guest artist come in and assemble the space. Each individual room was vibrant and reflective of the work. Picasso isn’t someone I’ve studied in depth, and I have a much better understanding of him now. He had a wickedly funny sense of humor as a youngster, and despite working through both World Wars, he managed to maintain it. Although, the wars definitely influenced him a great deal and you can see how they affected his art.
In the museum, we sat in the sunshine on their rooftop deck and had coffee, tea, and a cookie to celebrate our last day in town. From there we meandered back down the streets through the fun Marais district. I found a fabulous sculpture in one of the galleries. One in the window caught my eye because it reminded me of a painting in our apartment. One inside, however, caught my heart. So fun!
We did go into one of the big department stores because I read a post from someone that said they had a good fountain pen section. Oh, yes. But not in my budget. However, I did find a wax seal with a similar design to my lost brooch. A small consolation.
We had lunch at a nice spot, finished with a walk down our favorite street, and did some shopping for our perfect Parisian dinner. We are sad to go but ready to be home. The right balance. This trip has felt like a true vacation. More so than any I can remember of late. Rick finally feels like he’s retired.
One of the many things that I appreciate about Europe is that all the shops have simple tap machines for credit cards. Minus one small boutique (Rick had the card) and a loo in the big park where the attendant wanted two Euros cash—luckily, we had it. I’ve been able to use my phone everywhere. Therefore, I haven’t had to carry anything other than my phone, lip balm, and tissue. I’m wearing my glasses full-time… which I should do at home… and they go dark. No need to tote sunglasses. I had thought I’d want to carry a sketchbook and pen with me, but I realized it was better to take a few pictures, enjoy the moments, and sketch later. I’ve been working on two books… one full of mementos, tickets, and such, and one of sketches. They will both be fun to review in the future.
Now we laze on our bright red couch enjoying the sunshine. We walked five miles today and will enjoy every minute of our remaining time.
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Wednesday-Thursday, May 17-18, 2023
Glorious Paris. She gave us a bright cheery send-off this morning. We had a perfect French breakfast and packed up. Leaving our sweet apartment behind. I said we were ready to come home but, on the airplane, I changed my mind and am ready to go back. However… We decided to make our lives easier and just take an Uber to the airport instead of lugging luggage through the metro. What I thought would be about a 40-minute trip took about an hour and a half. Who knew that Wednesday at noon would be a major traffic jam? The upside was that we saw the “real” and definitely more seedy side of the town. My obsession with being obnoxiously early to things, airports in particular, paid off this time. We still reached the airport in good time. We met some fellow Razorbacks on the flight from Paris to Atlanta and they will be on our same flight to XNA.
Smooth traveling all day yesterday. Our flight home was full of some of our friends who had been on a tour of Greece. They barely made the flight due to a transfer delay and when they arrived there was a short burst of party atmosphere. However, since it seems most passengers were on a European time zone it quieted down quickly. By the time we reached home and did some basic unpacking, we went to bed at about midnight in our time zone while my iPad said 7am in Paris. We slept well but my body definitely needs more time to adjust.
I’m trying to revive myself now with my favorite tea which is aptly called “Paris Morning.” Not quite the same as looking out over the Paris skyline but it will do for now. We had an incredible trip. Wonderful memories made… lots of photos to sort, review, and revisit; so much art seen, made, in progress, purchased, and to come; a friendship renewed/made with Rick’s friend in Amsterdam and hopefully it will be not such a gap until their/our next visit; retirements and anniversaries celebrated and plans in the works for the future; and French chapeaus. Oh la la!