Since we are staying only inches away from the Musee d’Orsay on the left bank of the Seine, we decide to make it our very first serious museum stop. If you are looking for the largest collection of Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist art in the world, this is it — Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, Van Gogh — yes, they are all here.

The building itself is a fabulous old Beaux Artes railway station, built between 1898 and 1900. Classic film buffs might recognize it from Kafka’s The Trial. Beloved paintings and surprises are around every corner. And there she is, Whistler’s Mother, sitting right there looking just as you remember. You find yourself wondering how long she had to sit still, and if she became ultimately annoyed with her son. “Jimmy! For heaven’s sake, would you hurry up already?”

 

Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over the Rhone may be the most stunning thing we’ve ever seen. Liz moves in close to look at the brush work. Big mistake. When in a Paris museum, do NOT lean in close to study the brush work. En. Oh.

 

 

 

From behind the enormous clocks, you can look across the Seine and see Le Louvre, which is monstrously huge. We can’t wait to visit tomorrow. Even though the Musee D’Orsay is of workable size, we ruin our feet looking into every corner. There is also a nifty cross-section model of the Garnier Paris Opera House down in the basement, so don’t miss that if you go. Lovers of the Phantom of the Opera may recognize this as well.

Important tip: If you are a young French woman with very long legs and a very short skirt, you can expect to get the stink-eye from an older French woman in a skirt of tasteful length. Luckily, none of us are either of those things.

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