Today is our final full day in Paris, before we head to London where I fly home on Monday and Dave stays for his meetings. I have been to Paris four times, and I never get tired of this city. There is much to do here.
After the required pain au chocolat (I think I will look like one soon I have had so many), we started at the magnificent Musee d’Orsay.
Musee d’Orsay
The Orsay has what is perhaps one of the world’s most significant impressionist art collections in the entire world. Paris was where, in the 1870s, the impressionist art movement started. It is located in an old train terminal and it still has remnants of this past.
Musee d’Orsay
I appreciate the art from this time period, but I don’t love it. To be honest, although it is pretty, much of it looks the same to me. How many times can Monet paint that church, those haystacks or a scene in the woods? I might be exaggerating just a little bit. What is surprising is that something which looks so banal today caused an uproar in Parisian society at the time and was considered shocking.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures so there are no paintings to show on the blog tonight.
We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the city.
Louvre
A random street in Paris
Tonight we had the tasting menu at a restaurant called Les Bouquinistes, which translates as the used booksellers. Near the river Seine there are booksellers all along the side of the road and the restaurant’s decor reflects this local heritage.
Inside Les Bouquinistes
The dinner consisted of six courses. We started with Foie Gras with a fruit chutney, then had seared tuna with spicy hummus and potato, followed by Ravioli with mushrooms in a squash soup. The fish course was perfectly cooked salmon and the meat course was a moist and tender suckling pork. As if this wasn’t enough we had a dessert of meringue, served with vanilla and chestnut ice cream. So good.
I love this city and hope we can spend part of our retirement here. I know, I’m too young to be thinking seriously about retirement. But it’s fun to imagine having fresh croissants and bread from the local boulangerie, sipping cafe outside while reading the paper and dining at the local brasserie. I find Parisians to be warm and friendly, despite their undeserved reputation. When we needed help they were accommodating, they were always talkative and they allowed me to massacre their language without complaint.
To contrast the bizarre bear installation from last night I thought I would end today’s entry with a cuddly alternative from another window display.
Ahhhh, such cuddly bears
The Noel Code 
Love those bears ❤️