The next morning we woke up and went to the Musée d’Orsay. We got there by 11am or something like that and the kids were pretty hungry after a couple of hours in there. The girls had a good exposure to the impressionists, Monet’s haystacks and the Cathedral of Rouen which he painted over and over again in different lighting at different times of day. McKenzey especially liked a very large Water Lillies painting by Monet. We also saw a couple of Monet’s that are very famous : Déjeuner sur l’herbe and Olympia. We also say some nice Van Gogh’s that McKenzey liked, Starry Night (not the more famous one that is in NY, but this one and a great selfportrait : We also saw some of Gauguin paintings but I don’t think that they would remember them because they were totally worn out and famished. Oh, also at the Musée d’Orsay, we saw Whistler’s Mother.
We got some sandwiches nearby and ate on the steps of the Museum before heading off. We took the metro to a stop near Notre Dame. We saw the statue of Charlemagne and went to the restrooms before waiting in line to go into the Cathedral. The girls got some pictures of the rose windows and I told them what I knew of the bible stories depicted on the wooden statues inside the church. The girls crossed over
in the middle of the church in order to take a picture of the Rose window at the back of the church, but I think that the organ was in the way. McKenzey will show you. Once outside the church, we spent some time looking at the statues carved above the doors. We recognized Peter by his key and John by his curly hair and lack of beard. We also saw people being led off to hell by demons. And lots of fanciful animals. Then we walked alongside of the church and saw the flying buttresses and heard the church bells ringing. It was a nice evening. Then we hopped on the metro and went to Versailles. We got their kind of late, ate at the McDonald’s between the station and our hotel.- Day 1 France – On the way see cousins in France!
- Day 2 France – aquarium in Brest Brittany
- Day 3 France – Eiffel Tower
- Day 5 France -Versailles
- Day 6 France – Beach Brittany
Hope you remembered and reminded the kids that they are descended from Charlemagne! Makes history more interesting when you can make a connection to it! I’ll get out the genealogy charts and software when I see you next (G).