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October 18th -- On my own in Paris

I saw Laurie and Mercy off at about 11:00 a.m. and then headed down to the Luxembourg Gardens. My Paris Pass was used up--I had only purchased the 4-day Pass--so I decided I would do one paid attraction and that would be Musée d’Orsay. Before going there, however, I did want to see the Luxembourg Gardens. 











I missed my girls of course. But I never really mind wandering around by myself. The Gardens were lovely and the day was warm. As I walked down from the Gardens toward the d'Orsay I came across a beautiful old church, Saint Sulpice.  

Saint Sulpice was built over an original church from the 13th century. The present church was begun in 1636 and finally "finished" in its present state in the late 1700s although something always seemed to be happening, including a fire in March of 2019 that damaged parts of the church and was apparently arson. 2019 wasn't a good year for Paris churches. 

What I found most interesting was a memorial to St Vincent de Paul.



Our local Catholic charity is called St. Vincent de Paul and of course there are St. Vincent de Paul charity shops all over, including Montreal. As well as the Sisters of Charity, also mentioned in the memorial above.

The church itself is quite beautiful and I actually didn't notice any fire damage as I walked around. I was just about the only person in the church.













I spent about half an hour reading the posters about the church, thinking about its history, enjoying its beauty. Then I walked down a few more streets and finally found the entrance to d'Orsay. 

The museum was breathtaking. I find the Impressionist paintings so full of light and movement. Some are so real in the way the people and places are painted and some are so ethereal. And I think it is most true of the Impressionists that you have to see them in real life to appreciate the color. Especially Van Gogh. When I saw "Starry Night" it was as if I were seeing it for the first time. I took so many photos of paintings. Like the Louvre, you can photograph anything as long as you don't use a flash. I have chosen a few of my favorites although it was difficult as I was drawn to so many:



View from the balcony toward SACRÉ-CŒUR
This is one of the restaurants. I had a lovely, quite decadent, lunch.








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How lucky these schoolchildren are to have art appreciation in such a place!





Model of l'Opera in the Degas exhibit






By the time I left the d'Orsay, it was 4:30 p.m. and I decided to go back to my hotel by walking up the Champs-Élysées. First though I stopped at a creperie in the Tuileries and enjoyed my last French crepe (for this trip anyway.) I relaxed and thought and people watched until the store owner warned me that they would be closing the Tuileries gates soon. So I gathered my thoughts and meandered up the 1.9 kms of the Champs home.

















Sleep in my little attic bedroom and demain, on to Belfast!









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