The Inaccurate Tourist

41. First Impressions (Guest Writer: KD)

As a birthday gift to myself, I sent myself to Paris. I don't think I could have picked a better way to start a new decade then by getting off the american continent and expanding my world a little further.

Now a lot of people questioned coming to Paris in January but I really can't think of a better time to go. I spent a ton of time in the Louvre and once I had walked the three blocks to the Metro station from Ryan's, I didn't breathe real outside air until I got back to his station. The weather isn't all that different from Vancouver, it's cheaper to fly off season and supposedly there are less tourists this time of year.

I flew the red eye from Vancouver to London. I arrived there at 5am PST but it was 1:00pm London time and I had a three hour lay over so I went to the pub and had a pint of beer and a packet of crisps for breakfast. Probably the worst choice of food I could have made but I was in London and I knew the boys would be proud. It certainly didn't wake me up. But getting on the little plane between Heathrow and CdG, the real eye opener was that my french was worse than bad it was awful. Four years of high school french and a cupboard full of bilingual packaging and I couldn't understand a word being said around me.

Charles de Gaulle aeroport reminds me of a 1970's sci-film. It has escalators and moving sidewalks moving at odd angles everywhere. Nothing makes much sense as to where you are supposed to go. And when I went through passport control, they looked at my passport with a glance and waved me through. No stamp, no questions, no nothing. This is an odd feeling compared to the border between Canada and the US right now, where you are treated like a criminal going across the line to get gas. I really wanted the stamp though. My poor naked little passport book.

Ryan met me at the aeroport and we voyaged back to Montparnasse via a shuttle bus, the RER, and a few metro switches. Thank goodness he met me as I don't think I could have done it on my own. We went back to his apartment, visited and ate cheese. I turned in early as the pint of beer really had done me in even though it was still early afternoon Vancouver time.

My first full day in Paris, we went to the Musee d'Orsay as Ryan had never been before and it had been heavily reccommended by co-workers. The Orsay museum takes up where the Louvre leaves off at about 1850 and covers roughly about 65 years of painting and sculpture and then the Centre Pompidou takes over. This period covers Neo-classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Art was going through a golden era and artists were like rock stars and work was shocking then as it could cause riots and swooning. Granted none of this is shocking now but then it was revolutionary.

The Orsay is located in an old train station (Gare) beside the Seine. It has two giant clocks on it's side >insert picture of clock< and is beside the assemble du nationale. Across the Seine you can see the Denon wing of the Louvre. The museum is currently renovating even though it is one of the newest museums in town and the second floor is closed to visitors until the summer of 2003. You can visit this much of the Orsay in about 3/4's of a day or less if you don't actually look at anything. Also of all the museums in Paris, the Orsay feels the least French. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that North Americains love Impressionism and the museum was full of them. I heard very little French being spoken. If you have not had the luxury of sleeping through a college level art history class, pick up a pocket guide to the Orsay, this will help place the paintings in a historical context and give you a little more info than the existing signage.

As you come into the central area of the main floor, you are presented with a giant painting by Thomas Couture, 'Romans of the Decadence.' It's very large and grand but it's basically a giant picture of an orgy. >insert picture< It's supposed to be a criticism of the decadence of the day but you can't help but feel the painter enjoyed painting it. This is one of the many college art history pieces that seems to be in every course. Surrounding you are many sculptures, people sketching, and people resting their museum feet. To the sides are rooms with Neo-classical and art works of the Romantics. Pieces worth seeing on this floor include Camille Corot's, 'Morning Dance of the Nymphs,' Manet's, 'Olympia,' and Moreau's, 'Galatea.' >insert picture< Now I am not necessarily picking paintings that have tons of historical significance but paintings that I think are beautiful and evoke an emotional response. But this is very subjective and given the quality of the artwork in the Orsay, I guarentee you will find your own evocative favorites.

Also on the main floor are little maquette's of opera sets and even a mini-eiffle tower that acted as foreshadowing for later in the day. Also Ryan overwhelmed by all the amazing art on display sprouted a second head.

As mentioned the second floor full of sculptures was closed for renos. So we skipped right up to the third floor - Impressionism. >insert picture< Now if you have no training in art history, here is where you are going to feel most comfortable. A huge number of these pictures have become such a huge part of our culture and are routinely seen on fridge magnets, umbrellas, pad covers , some are even in tv commercials! Included on this floor are Whistler's mom, Van Gogh's bedroom and miles of ballet dancers by Degas and Renoir. It's pretty crowded in this area of the museum but it certainly brings home the point that the original is certainly more evocative than the pop culture copy. We briefly stopped in the cafeteria for my first of many ham and cheese baguettes. Believe everything Ryan says about the food as I certainly could wax poetic about cheese for hours.

Also on this floor is a very dark room full of pastel paintings. Why is it dark and all the pictures behind layers of glass? Well pastel is the least permanent drawing medium. Soft pastels contain very little binder (straight pigment) and in France instead of spraying the work with a type of varnish based fixative traditionally the pastel is steamed with water. So eventually over time these little particles of pigment begin to fall off the work. Also many of the pigments use are fugitive meaning not lightfast and UV rays cause them to fade. Okay, I work in an art supply store and this kind of thing is interesting to me! My favorite piece here is 'La Sorciere,' by Levy-Dhurmer. Ryan and I worked very hard to take a picture without flash in these dark conditions.

Thank goodness for Digital cameras.

If you continue further on this floor, back behind the stairs, you can see bits of Gauguin's home and a lot of paintings by him that I haven't seen before. Also are several pieces by Seurat the master of Pointillism and a lot of work that was post-impressionist but not yet 'moderne.' Lots of primitive art where line and the image are being explored. A common mis-conception here is the common refrain, "Well I could draw that!" Trust me it isn't as easy as it looks.

After the Orsay, we crossed the Seine and went through the Lion gate of the Louvre.

I don't care what anyone says, you are never prepared for the size of this museum. It's beyond comprehension. I saw the mini-arch de triumphe and the real one lit up in the distance. We went over to the Eiffle tower and walked down through the Trocadero. Ryan's favorite approach and I have to say as the sun completely set it was très beau.

The fog was very dense so we didn't go up the tower as I didn't want to pay to see fog. We did catch the Bateau de Paris and went for an evening cruise along the Seine. With the exception of the disappointment of not having James Bond jumping on to the boat mid-tour it was awesome. We had some hot chocolate and I really enjoyed the cheesey but informative narration.

All and all it was a fantastic first full day in Paris. And so began my exploration of the inner Parisian that lives inside of me.

Posted by The Inaccurate Tourist at January 24, 2003 12:00 PM