Our next city was Paris, and we couldn’t be more fortunate in terms of the timing — and our timing was great as it coincided with Bastille Day (although we didn’t intend this). The city was vibrant and full of energy. We couldn’t see the famous July 14 fireworks as the city was getting packed, but we saw the fireworks (and the amazing classical music performances that preceded it) on TV. It was amazing.
France is a country full of modern history, and Paris has many great museums, including the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay. This was our second visit to the city, so it helped that things were a little more familiar to us this time.
In the Orsay museum, we took the time to see the paintings we didn’t see in our previous visit. We started the journey from the 5th floor where the Impressionism and Post-impressionism works were prominently displayed (Renoir, Monet, Goguin, Van Gogh, and others). Some of Van Gogh’s works (especially his works in his last years), while being part of the Orsay’s permanent collection, were loaned out to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, which we were lucky enough to see there.
Seeing the impressionist works is always a reminder of some important life lessons – you must be original and trail-blazing, you can’t just conform to the tradition – and yet, you must be really good and make the maximum effort. That’s what France’s impressionist artists did. Their works were too modern, too new by the standards back then, and subsequently rejected by the salon and major exhibitions. What did they do? They got together and held their own exhibition. That’s actually another important lesson; forward-thinking minds need to flock together and form a community. That’s how they learn from each other, and also speak to the world that their new movement has arrived. You should be original, be really good, and form a community of like-minded people.
Every time we come to the Louvre, we always think the same – this museum can’t be seen in a few hours. One can spend a few days just to see all the works at walking speed. We wanted to pick our battle and focus on the Egyptian antiquities and modern (post 18th century) European paintings. Sure, we did the mandatory selfie in front of the Mona Lisa, but we still think the painting is famous more because of its theft story than its impact in art history. We were also marveled (as always) by the Greek sculpture from 2000 years ago – how could they create sculptures of figures in stone, with such details that it’s even hard to draw with a pencil? Seeing the antiquities section is always such an awe-inspiring experience.
Outside of the museum visits (which was, again, our main theme for this trip), we also did some other touristy things — Spent time in the water park (Aquaboulevard Paris), took a croissant cooking class from a local chef, and visited Sunday farmer’s market. Paris is a city full of fun and charm; we can’t wait to visit again.
