On our fourth day in Paris, we decided to see Musée d’Orsay, which holds many French impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. We had our museum passes still that we got at the aiport, and walked right in without much of a wait.
The museum is the former Gare d’Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900.
Musée d’Orsay Clock, Victor Laloux, Main Hall
You cannot photograph any of the artwork in d’Orsay, even with your flash off… so, I did not get a lot of photos inside the building. This is the back of the clock, on the top floor, where they house a lot of Monet/Manet paintings. We also saw paintings by Vincent van Gogh (A LOT), Renoir, Cezanne, Gauguin, Degas, etc.
My favorite painting at d’Orsay… The Magpie by Monet.
After visiting the museum, we were starving… I wanted to experience McDonalds in another country. Boy, did it suck. I will stick to McDonalds in America from now on… for one, they didn’t have milkshakes!!! I am not sure if this was because of the location? Then, it was crowded, filthy as can be and the French Fries tasted horrible. They were fresh, but just had a weird taste… I think they use a different cooking oil. I won’t be back.
From McDonalds, we could see the Triumphal arch. Its gigantic.
Lots and lots of photos of us by the Triumphal arch.
Another Triumphal arch shot once we were right across the street from it. You can sort of see all the people on the top of it.
Detail shots
We used our museum passes again to get into the Triumphal arch. Its not free! After climbing up the Eiffel tower, climbing up to the top of the Triumphal arch was a breeze.
Once at the top, we were in an inner level (see this map)… I really couldn’t believe how much space was at the top, once we were up there…
There was a clear window to where we could look down at people on the ground.
Here I am at the top! It was so windy up there!
Here are some photos from different sides of the arch. It was really neat to see how the streets lined up to meet the arch. Also, loved the view of the Eiffel tower from the top. So beautiful!
After we toured the arch, I wanted to get a crep from off the street. It didn’t take long to find one.
I am not sure how I ever decided…
They cooked my crepe up right in front of me… Nutella and banana! It was huge, but I couldn’t share with Brian… he hates bananas. Isn’t that funny of him?! He got a chocolate one, I wish I had gotten a picture, they melted real chocolate chips for his…
After a little rest up at the hotel, we went to a restaurant that the hotel recommended to us, Joséphine Chez Dumonet. It was so pretty inside, they had the glasses all out on the table.
The table next to us had at the table that ordered beef tar tare (raw hamburger meat) for his meal. Here is the waiter adding some spices to it. Yuck!
I had boeff borginon, it was well done and so tender. It was served with a mushroom sauce, and alfredo noodles (which I am sure were homemade). This is one of the best meals I have had in my life, seriously.
For dessert we shared the massive Grand Mariner souffle. It came with a little ‘happy’ syrup.
A second, complimentary dessert.
