Headed off towards the Tuileries, stopping for cafe along the way. Around every corner are the stations for the Velib hire bikes that are so well used around the city. No helmets, no rules - and no chance you'll see me taking on the city traffic; it's hairy enough being a pedestrian! The bikes all have baskets handy for laptops, shopping, flowers or handbags - and everybody rides them.
Walked via the Cour Caree at the Louvre to the Tuileries. Cour Caree is a gorgeous courtyard which leads into Cour Napoleon where the Grande Pyramide is situated.
Wandered through the Jardin des Tuileries and visited the Musee de l'Orangerie. This gallery has two oval rooms that were purpose built on Monet's instructions in which he painted a series of Decorations des Nympheas (Water Lilies). These are just beautiful. The remaining rooms of the gallery display art collected by Parisien art dealer Paul Guillaume and his wife Juliette Lacaze. This couple seemed to have a fabulous story which I intend to research further.
M. Guillaume died in 1934 and Juliette continued to assemble the collection, eventually donating it to the French State in the early 1960s. From what I could understand of the information displayed at the gallery (all in French of course), Juliette married a second time (to a very wealthy businessman, Jean Walter), but Paul was her first love and she continued to build the collection as dedication to his passion. The collection includes Renoir and Cezanne, Picasso and Matisse, Derain, Soutine and Utrillo, Modigliani, Rousseau, and Marie Laurencin, a female artist whose work I loved. The Musee de l'Orangerie was an absolute highlight of the day.
It seems that seats at the Tuileries are primarily for the boys!
Left the Tuileries and headed for Galeries Lafayette. Wore ourselves out just walking the store - don't you love a department store that has separate buildings for women, for men and for home! The trip was justified because we found a birthday present for a most special niece! No clues, Ruby!
1 comment:
It is really great to find a refuge like the Tuileries where you can just sit and enjoy being there, until your energy returns and your feet feel like moving on - what a truly lovely day this must have been. L&G
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