It was a gorgeous day, mid 60's-80, with sunny skies and a breeze. I had an espresso before heading out, weaving my way to the 1st arrondissemont to the Louvre, the Tuileries Gardens, Place de Concorde, the Champs Elysees and stopping to browse the collection at the Petit Palace.
I went across one of my favorite bridges over the Seine, the Pont Alexander 111 on my way to the Musee D'Orsay. Luckily there wasn't a line to enter. The fifth floor houses the best collection of impressionist art in the world. It is almost unbelievable how fabulous it is. I had plenty of time and room to soak in the paintings and sculptures. I recently heard that the average time people take to look at a painting is 8 seconds. That is the modern person's attention span. I definitely spent longer than that, but was aware that each work deserved to be regarded for much longer than I gave, partially due to the large quantity of masterpieces present. Many of them felt like old friends and it was great to see them again.
I journeyed on to St Michel and the Latin Quarter, bringing back my student memories. Lunch was a salad nicoise and beef burgugnion at a little bistro. My route then went past the Sorbonne, the Pantheon, Rue Mouffetard and the Luxembourg Gardens. The plethora of metal green chairs and benches in the park were occupied by a wonderful assortment of locals and tourists of all ages enjoying the warm weather. I plopped down in a chair by the Medici Fountain for a break and to people watch for awhile.
My phone was almost out of power so I decided to head back to my apartment to charge up. As I passed by Notre Dame I was treated to a young woman with an extraordinary voice sing Ave Maria followed by Somewhere Over the Rainbow. One last stop on the way was at the Tour St Jacques (St James) which is where one would start their Camino from in Paris. I asked a gal to take my photo and a guy decided to photo bomb me. Pretty funny.
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