Versailles and Musee D'Orsay

9/7/11  Wow!  A day that went according to plan.  I got up early, had petit dejeuner, and got ready for my tour pick-up for Versailles.  There was a little drama while I waited.  Some street guy came into the lobby and provoked our hotel staff.  The two men were yelling at each other, insulting, and the crazy man even pushed the hotel concierge and I almost got shoved.  Police were called, the combatants were pulled apart.  That Latin temper! 

Versailles was lovely though really not my taste in any way.  Way too opulent.  I would have been a revolutionary back then, a peasant not royalty.  Which would you have been?  The gardens are beautiful.  Our van was all Americans who are so much more friendly than internationals.  We all took pictures.  Our guide was a very nice young woman who knows everything about the Sun King and his successors, the Revolution, and French history in general.  The town of Versailles is very nice too.  Quieter than Paris, but old, well-maintained, lovely, lots of trees, old brick/stone streets, and trop cher.

After the Versailles tour, I ate the rest of my cheese with bread (just a quick bite in my room).  Then I walked over to Musee D’Orsay and spent the whole afternoon in the museum.  Of course my favorites are Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh.  But I was exposed to some artists I hadn’t seen before.  I took sit-down breaks, then saw another room I had missed.  And I bought souvenirs – a book about the museum for myself and lots of boxes of cards as gifts.  Lovely afternoon.

And I had enough energy to walk over to St Germain des Pres, find Procope Restaurant, and have a     lovely dinner at the restaurant where Benjamin Franklin dined when he was in Paris!  Since I had saved on lunch, I splurged on dinner – three courses, salad, beef and mashed potatoes, and crème brulee.  Delicious!  I had a nice walk home.  A hot bath.  Winding down. 

The desk clerk told me I had a message: my friend cannot come into town tomorrow, but wants my email address.  I’m not really surprised.  She is busy with her life, moving back to Paris after eight years in LA, enrolling her son in college.  It was nice of her to call and tell me, she could have just not shown up.   So tomorrow I will spend the day at the Louvre.  (I hope the museum has a lunch venue, I will need a food break during the day.)  C’est tout pour aujourdui.