Impressed with the Impressionists!

August 1st

After a relaxing morning at our apartment we wandered our way toward the Musee de l'Orangerie located at the end of the Tuileries Garden.  Purchasing a ticket online for an English guided tour turned out to be a wise decision as the line to buy tickets as well as the line for pre-purchased tickets was quite long.  We did feel a little guilty when the agent at the entrance ushered us in immediately while the people standing in line in the hot sun looked on in jealous disdain.  The tour guide was a lovely lady with incredible knowledge of the exhibit.  Monet wanted his large lilies to be displayed on curved walls with natural light so the museum reconstructed rooms to his specifications.  His lilies were placed permanently in 1927 and lasted through World War II with minimal damage.  This is one of the best displays of impressionism we have seen especially with the natural light to enhance the paintings.  Besides Monet, the Orangerie houses paintings from Picasso, Matisse and the notables of that era.

We had some time on our hands so walked the 2.3km along the Champs Elysses up to the Arc de Triumph.  We checked out going to the top for a view but the line was too long for us in this heat so we will do that another time.

Since we didn't have a dinner reservation we decided to go to Leon of Bruxelles for their moule frites (mussels and fries).  We had been there 2 years ago and remembered it being quite good. We can now confirm that it was indeed an accurate memory!  My moules with a creamy dijonnaise sauce was delicious as was Jay's curry sauce.  We ordered beverages to go along and as the photo shows we were very well hydrated by the time we finished.

Tomorrow we plan to go to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery and then to O'Chateau Wine Bar for a tasting and dinner.  Bon nuit...😴