European Exercise XIII: Trois Musées
The drunken sex from the night before really left us very tired and unprepared for the next day. Forgot to charge my camera and we were supposed to spend the day at Musée du Louvre. *smacks forehead*. It was relatively easy to enter the famous museum. KH was very proud that we used the lesser-known side entrance and made use of the Paris Museum Pass. Truth be told, the Louvre is super big. One really doesn't have the time to finish every wing and every floor. Thirty thousand objects of art! So our objective was just to look at the highlights and absorb whatever goody that we might come across on the way. Started out at the main atrium, right under the glass pyramids. Beautiful geometry. The building itself was impressive-- the Palais du Louvre. Seeing signs of the impending crowds, we quickly started our tour. First was Chevaux de Marly, the Marly Horses. Then it was the opulent rooms of Napolean III. Extremely ornate and dripping of luxury at every corner, from the gilded furniture to the crystal chandeliers. In terms of paintings, we saw "The Lacemaker" by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. I have no idea why it's famous. LOL. Also "The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds" by Georges de La Tour. Believe it or not, we gave the "Mona Lisa" a miss. We already saw the super high quality immitation at the Singapore Science Center a couple of years back. Even had an up-close view from all angles. No point lining up for hours just to catch a glimpse from afar. Another highlight was "Winged Victory of Samothrace", a headless statue of the Goddess Nike. Considered one of the greatest surviving pieces from the Hellenistic period. Yawning yet? :P. Next up was "Venus de Milo", the epitome of graceful female beauty. People crowded around her like she was Lady Gaga.
Moving on, we saw the "Great Sphinx of Tanis", 24-tonnes of granite from the Old Kingdom. Then we went to th crypt to explore the original medieval base of The Louvre. It clearly shows it's beginnings as a fortress. Spent nearly four hours there. Too bad I took photos sparingly to conserver battery power. Sigh. Oh well. Outside, we managed to employ the help of tourists to help us take some couple shots. A girl stopped us at the glass pyramids:
Girl: Can you help us take a photo?
Moi: Sure. I'll do my best.
Girl: OMG. You're from KL? I'm from Ipoh la!
It was getting cold, so brought out our scarves, huddled close together, clasped our hands and walked to the Musée de l'Orangerie, a treasure trove of of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. The main features there were the "Water Lilies" murals by Claude Monet. Wasn't really in tune with his tortured brushstrokes. Haha. Recognized several paintings from my childhood (I used to read the Encyoclopedia Brittanica on a daily basis) like Paul Cézanne's "Fruits, serviette et boîte à lait" and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Girls at the Piano". I actually have that latter painting hanging as a jigsaw puzzle in my living room. Never knew it was a Renoir. :S. The third museum for the day was Musée d'Orsay (you see a pattern now?). But before that we grabbed a quick lunch at Osselin. On the way there, we tailed a nicely-dressed potato-rice gay couple. Was bloody sleepy by then. I nearly fell asleep on the many benches in the museum. The horrid thing about that museum was the fact that they forbid photograpy. Shit. The important paintings housed there were "Whistler's Mother" by James McNeill Whistler, Renoir's "Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette", Van Gogh's self portrait and interestingly, "L'ecole de Platon", Jean Delville's portrayal of a homosexual Jesus with his twelve very effeminate and affectionate disciples. We kept on going in and out of the museum and waited for a non-existent free tour. Had a expensive fruit salad at the former restaurant of the Hôtel d'Orsay, just to experience the dazzling chandeliers and the painted and gilded ceilings of this dining room, listed as a Historic Monument.
By the end of the evening, we were already super pooped, so we went home. Stopped by at L'Entrepôt for an early dinner. Was amnother disaster ordering food. Surprised ourselves with the andouvilette dijon (some kind of meat roll with fries of all things!), pate de sanglier (an interesting meatloaf with innards) and red wine (no aphrodisiac properties like the 2006 bordeaux we drank yesterday). Didn't have dessert at the restaurant but had it back at Le Rez de Chausse instead. The waitress recognized us. Chose the peach pie and a chocolate soufflé. Packed up that night and finished whatever leftover food we had. Brewed a couple cups of organic tea and called it a night. Tomorrow, back to London!
Moving on, we saw the "Great Sphinx of Tanis", 24-tonnes of granite from the Old Kingdom. Then we went to th crypt to explore the original medieval base of The Louvre. It clearly shows it's beginnings as a fortress. Spent nearly four hours there. Too bad I took photos sparingly to conserver battery power. Sigh. Oh well. Outside, we managed to employ the help of tourists to help us take some couple shots. A girl stopped us at the glass pyramids:
Girl: Can you help us take a photo?
Moi: Sure. I'll do my best.
Girl: OMG. You're from KL? I'm from Ipoh la!
It was getting cold, so brought out our scarves, huddled close together, clasped our hands and walked to the Musée de l'Orangerie, a treasure trove of of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. The main features there were the "Water Lilies" murals by Claude Monet. Wasn't really in tune with his tortured brushstrokes. Haha. Recognized several paintings from my childhood (I used to read the Encyoclopedia Brittanica on a daily basis) like Paul Cézanne's "Fruits, serviette et boîte à lait" and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Girls at the Piano". I actually have that latter painting hanging as a jigsaw puzzle in my living room. Never knew it was a Renoir. :S. The third museum for the day was Musée d'Orsay (you see a pattern now?). But before that we grabbed a quick lunch at Osselin. On the way there, we tailed a nicely-dressed potato-rice gay couple. Was bloody sleepy by then. I nearly fell asleep on the many benches in the museum. The horrid thing about that museum was the fact that they forbid photograpy. Shit. The important paintings housed there were "Whistler's Mother" by James McNeill Whistler, Renoir's "Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette", Van Gogh's self portrait and interestingly, "L'ecole de Platon", Jean Delville's portrayal of a homosexual Jesus with his twelve very effeminate and affectionate disciples. We kept on going in and out of the museum and waited for a non-existent free tour. Had a expensive fruit salad at the former restaurant of the Hôtel d'Orsay, just to experience the dazzling chandeliers and the painted and gilded ceilings of this dining room, listed as a Historic Monument.
By the end of the evening, we were already super pooped, so we went home. Stopped by at L'Entrepôt for an early dinner. Was amnother disaster ordering food. Surprised ourselves with the andouvilette dijon (some kind of meat roll with fries of all things!), pate de sanglier (an interesting meatloaf with innards) and red wine (no aphrodisiac properties like the 2006 bordeaux we drank yesterday). Didn't have dessert at the restaurant but had it back at Le Rez de Chausse instead. The waitress recognized us. Chose the peach pie and a chocolate soufflé. Packed up that night and finished whatever leftover food we had. Brewed a couple cups of organic tea and called it a night. Tomorrow, back to London!
Comments
Sigh, I miss Europe!
Baby like ah? :P. I miss Europe too!
@TZ:
The headless martyr? Another person asked me about it. I have no idea what it is. :P
Malaysians are everywhere. LOL. Thanks.
Wah... you'd have to camp there for days.