Oui, Paris

I have a lot of duplicated artwork. Paintings I hung in my dorm room and apartment at college. Things I bought at poster stores or the gift shop at the DIA. So it was really strange to see the actual versions of my copies, brush stokes and all, and remind myself that they are the real deal. The Musée d’Orsay, which I visited in Paris on Saturday, has lots of these classics, from Van Gogh’s self portrait to Monet’s water lilies. The museum is housed in a converted train station, with a big clock at one end and an open gallery running down the center with many sculptures. It also has a huge collection of one of my favorite artists, Degas. All of the ballet scenes and sculptures I can recall are held there.
From there, I took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. Paris’ subway system reminds me of the tube in London. It’s relatively easy to navigate as long as you have a route map, and pretty clean. However, like any subway system, it also has it share of crazies. One man sitting across from me would mumble something in French and then break out into flow-blown cackling. I think everyone sighed in relief after he exited. Anyway, I made it to the tower safely and after waiting in a long line, I took in the view from the tower’s second platform. It was somewhat cloudy, but still a stunning sight. I could see up and down the Seine river and make out Notre Dame in the distance. Unfortunately, that’s about all I had time for. The latest train out of the city was booked by the time I made my reservation on Thursday night, leaving me with just six hours to wander around. I’ll definitely be back, because there’s so much more I want to see.