Stephanie in the City of Lights: Mercredi au musée (Museum Wednesdays)

Salut!

So this Wednesday, now that I'm quite recovered from last week's cold, I decided that I absolutely had to go and visit le musée d'Orsay, because it's just a crying shame that I've never been! It is famous for its collections of Impressionist paintings (think Van Gogh, Gaugin, Seurat, etc). It is not as enormous a museum as the Louvre, which I think is a benefit, because you can see more of it! But it was still so big that I don't think I even saw half of what was there last Wednesday afternoon--I'll just have go back! But luckily, it's gratuit for students! Anyway, of course you can't take photos inside, which is a shame, because the building itself is really architecturally interesting and aesthetically pleasing. It used to be a train station! And later, sometime in the mid-20th century I believe, it was converted into a museum. Anyway, it has this very high, arched ceiling, which is mostly glass so there is lots of natural light. But there are also these great metal girders, and this fabulous, enormous, wooden and gilt clock, and lower down along the arch, there's some very detailed ornamentation; it was too high up for me to tell what it was, but I might guess plaster? It probably says somewhere on their website, which you can check out by clicking here. Their website also has some interior shots so you can see what I'm talking about, or google images will turn up some decent results, too. But I did get some nice photos of the outside, which is pretty easy on the eyes as well. Also, by the time I left, the sun was starting to set, and the Orsay is right along the Seine, so I couldn't resist a few other scenic photos as well, which you can find after the museum photos. Anyway, I really enjoyed this museum. I always forget how much I love impressionist art! I mean, I find it aesthetically pleasing, but the subjects are so often fascinating as well! Anyway, I will definitely be returning there during the remainder of my time here.

There are lots of animal statues outside le musée d'Orsay.

This guy was hiding out by the elephant's hind leg... I'm not quite sure who he is, but he reminded me of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz--minus the wings!