Second day in Paris

What did I do today?  I walked, and walked, and walked, and walked.  And then I sat for a bit.   And then I ran into Donn Spight (see below)??!?!?  I am sure glad I wore my good shoes today instead of just sandals!

This morning, after waking up really early, since my body thought I was just taking a post-call nap, I eventually got up, bought a pastry and some cheese from some shops just outside my hotel, then hopped a train to Versailles.  The palace is the opitome of opulence.  If you had a large chunck of the money of the wealthiest country in Europe in the 1700's to spend on a palace, this is what you would spend it on to.  (maybe not). 

Oh John, after seeing Versailles and the Louvre, I have a few decorating ideas for our house, once we get little details like a roof and some walls.  At first I thought it would be pricey, since it would involve buying a lot of marble, and befriending or hiring and amazing sculpture artist, not to mention someone to paint the frescos.  But, no worry.  I found out that you can make the sculptures that are embedded in the walls out of plaster or wood, and paint them to look like marble.  With a 40 foot ceiling, no one would ever notice.  Oh yeah, and we don't need to find someone like Michelangelo to lay on scaffolding under the ceiling. It works to paint the opulent pictures of Greek and Roman gods with our faces on the gods and cherubs and angels all around onto canvas at floor level and tack it up to the ceiling later.  Thank goodness. Much less worker's comp for that. 

After learning about decorating, I then walked through the gardens, which were amazingly huge.  30 minutes to walk straight from one end to another.  A horse would have helped, but the royal stables are no longer in use.  These people had way too much money.  I then visited the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette.  In addition to making the smaller palace in the periphery of the grounds all her style, she built a little hamlet of 11 thatched-roof cottages, each with a beautiful garden, and an entire farm nearby. Thus, when she got tired of all the pomp and circumstance of the French Royalty (which was all the time - can you blame her?) she could go tend her gardens and brush her sheep in the little (fake, but pretty) hamlet behind her house.  I don't blame her for hating the nobility, but again, too much money.  Eventually they got beheaded for all that opulence.  At least the French nobility eventually saw the area as a "tribute to the greatness of France" and opened it to the public...

After Versailles, I went to the Orsay museum.  Sometime in the 1800's the Louvre got full, so they don't have anything more modern (either that, or it is not their taste.).  The Orsay museum takes off where the Louvre leaves off.  I have to say, after Versaille and the Louvre, the genre of brilliant figures, with breast exposed, with unhealthy light, and surrounded by angels and cherubs, was sort of getting old.  I admit, those paintings are stunning, but after a couple thousand of them (the Louvre has even more than that), I was about done.  Fortunately, the last couple of centuries have involved variety, using themes like real people (not gods or Kings), water lillies (go Monet), pointalism, impressionism, etc.  It was refreshing.  Too bad the Picasso museum was closed, and i ran out of energy before the Orangerie, which houses some Picasso and similar works.

After being museum-ed out, I headed to the Tuileries gardens, where I had some food, wine, and about 1.5 hours of people watching, and my aching legs were happy again.  I then walked through Champ-Elysees, saw modern day opulence, and went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, for amazing views of the city.  I then was headed toward the Eiffel tower, not anywhere in particular, between anything worthwhile, and who do I almost ram straight into on the street, but Donn Spight (young, friendly, laparoscopic attending at OHSU).  Totally bizzare.  He is travelling Paris and some of Germany with a friend.  We stopped and had some food and drinks.  Small world.

After that I headed to the Trocadero (plaza in front of Eiffel Tower) and to the area under the Eiffel tower to enjoy it lit up at night. 

Hung out, met and talked to a few people, discussed the political history of many centuries leading to the current mindframe of France, then headed home.  I did not go up the Eiffel tower, since I'll do that later in the trip when I am here with John.

As of the end of the day today, my Museum Pass expires, so I no longer need to fit in as many sites as possible in as small as a time as possible.  So, no big plans for tomorrow, just planning to wander some fun neighborhoods, relax, and eat some good food.  Good night, and thanks for reading!