Saturday December 7, 2019
Today was overcast and a mild 50 degrees so I set out to walk to the Rodin Museum. The French workers strike continued today so there were no buses, trains, or Metros. According to Google Maps, the distance from the hotel to the museum was almost two miles. Not bad.
I walked along the Seine River and crossed over to the Left Bank on le Pont des Arts. This pedestrian bridge was called “the most romantic bridge in Paris” because it was the place where lovers would write their names on a padlock then lock it on the grating of the bridge to insure that their “love would last forever.”
The bridge was full of locks the last time I was in Paris, but recently the government declared that the locks were damaging the bridge and had them all removed. The grating was replaced with heavy clear plexiglass. Which gives a nice view of the river but no place to put locks. Today there was one enterprising young man selling padlocks on the bridge. I noticed some determined romantics used the lamp poles to make their declarations:
A big change I noticed this time in Paris was that there were many more bicycles and scooters all over the city. Automobile lanes were reduced by half to allow pedestrians, bikers, skaters, and scooters more roadway. Driving in Paris had always been really difficult, but now it must be much much worse!
Public Electric Scooters:
Electric-powered bicycle:
The 7th Arrondissement seemed like an up-scale residential area. I enjoyed strolling along the Seine and looking into art gallery and shop windows. The French expression is faire du leche-vitrines which means to go window shopping, but is literally translated as “licking the windows.”
So, I had fun licking the windows in the 7th Arrondissement! There was so much to see!
For some reason, rue de Varenne where the Musee Rodin is located, was blocked off to traffic by the police. I never found out why and I didn’t have the nerve to ask the heavily armed police officers. They didn’t stop me from walking up the street.
Le Musee Rodin is housed in a lovely early 18th century chateau. It was used as a workshop by Auguste Rodin from 1908 until his death in 1917. The sculptures were arranged chronologically in the museum which made it interesting to see Rodin’s artistic development.
The elegant garden highlighted many sculptures.
After a while, I walked to the Musee d’Orsay:
This is one of my favorite museums because they have a wonderful collection of Impressionist art. These are two of my favorite paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir:
A view across Paris from the Musee d’Orsay to the church of Sacre Coeur in Montmartre:
There were many more windows to lick on my way back to my hotel. A shop called The Golden Goose sold Italian leather sneakers which cost between $350 – $650! One of the designers was in the window of the shop autographing his sneakers. The sign on his shirt said, “Sneakers Maker.”
I walked up rue de Seine to explore the 6th Arrondissement as the winter sun disappeared and night took over beautiful Paris.
I always wondered how Parisian sidewalk cafes functioned in the winter and whether they served coffee indoors when the weather became cold and rainy. Well, I discovered they’re still outdoors with awnings overhead, heavy plastic curtains, and cozy heaters. Nice….
AHhhhh Paris…….
