Paris Day 4: The Musee d'Orsay and Montmartre (Home of the Sacre-Coeur)

We woke up pretty late, around 11:00 am Paris time (We were still a little bit jet-lagged). After we finished doing all of the monotonous stuff that everyone does in the morning, including eating breakfast using the groceries we bought from Monoprix, we were once again joined by Antoine: this time for a tour of the Musee d'Orsay and a trip to Montmartre, home of the Sacre-Coeur and the highest point in Paris. At the museum, Antoine guided us past the long harrowing lines for both those with and without tickets into the museum where we quickly went through security and finally entered the actual art exhibitions. Paintings highlighted in the tour included L'Angelus by Jean-Francois Millet and Van Gogh and Gaugin were also shown by Antoine. While we walked through the former metro station, Antoine filled us in on the museums past as a metro station and a hotel. Once we tired of looking at priceless works of art Antoine showed us how to use the metro and dropped us off at Montmartre but not before he put his storytelling skills to use and told us the reason that the hill was called Montmartre.

The long lines at the Musee d'Orsay
-Easy Pass Tours (Where the pic was from)

The Museum

Van Gogh

Montmartre is named as such because Saint Denis was beheaded there and became a martyr thus giving Montmartre its name of the "martyr mountain". We headed to the Sacre-Coeur which had many gypsies, actually only about four as far as we could see, and took in the sights of the wondrous view that greeted us at the church. There are many worries of scammers and pickpockets on the steps of the Sacre-Coeur but we encountered no problems except for the said gypsies which ironically enough, one of the gypsies was trying to hide a pair of Michael Kors shoes. The church and the views it provided were breathtaking with its fresco of Jesus and his disciples. As we headed down from the church, we stopped by Tutti Sensi for some gelato and water. Another warning that I forgot to mention is that water here is expensive: it can range from 2 to 5 euros.

The Sacre-Coeur

Votive Candles

After that we stopped back in the apartment and headed out again by metro to one of our favorites in New York, Le Pain Quotidien. There we enjoyed Soupe de Tomate Piment Doux, a grilled chicken tartine, a steak tartare tarine, and a smoked salmon tartine, all of which were delicious. Laura and Nicholas made there way back to the apartment while my mom and I went to enjoy the sunset at the Luxembourg Gardens.

A smoked salmon tartine at Le Pain Quotidien
-Le Pain Quotidien

Standing in front of a fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens 

Paris: Day 3 Giverny and Le Comptoir

We woke up at 9:00 to meet our tour guide Antoine. He drove us to Giverny which is a small town, about an hour away from Paris made up of mostly artists. On the way there, our guide gave us a great deal of information involving the history of Giverny which involved Claude Monet and his family. At Giverny we were able to witness the French and Japanese gardens that Monet drew inspiration from as well as his house which was filled with his works and the Japanese prints that also inspired him. In the garden we saw the water lilies that he painted in Les Nympheas and other scenes which he painted in his paintings such as the rose arches.

His house was filled with vibrant colors such as the yellow in the kitchen and paintings of his own and other impressionists.  After visiting his house we walked to the church where Claude Monet was buried, and Antoine taught us about, how he began his career, and how he became an accomplished artist. We then walked around the small town, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the hills and rivers and then payed our respects to him at his grave. We left and once we had finally arrived in Paris (the drive is about an hour) we stopped by the arc de triomphe to take some pictures.

Once we arrived back at the apartment wen took a long nap and woke up just in time for dinner. For dinner, we went to eat at a restaurant called Le Comptoir du Relais which was recommended by the New York Times, but the restaurant was packed, so we had to wait for about an hour. While we were waiting we got to converse with some people that were originally American but lived in New Zealand. The wait was worth it, because the food was amazing. I had the daube boeuf (beef cheek stew) and Laura had the demi-poulet (baby chicken). The beef was very chewy and soft with the delicious pasta that accompanied it. The chicken had a soft texture as well and it was served with mashed potatoes on the side which complimented the soft texture of the chicken. Finally, we ended our day with a pot du chocolat for a dessert that tasted divine.

Paris: Day Two, An Organic Market, the Notre Dame, and Le Comptoir

In the morning, we woke up and headed out to the local farmer's 
market in St. Germain des Pres called the Raspail Bio Marche. At 
the organic marche we bought delicious bread, cheese, eggs, fruits, pasta, and vegetables; and of course some pastries to satisfy our craving for sweets. On our way back to our apartment, we decided to stop by to one of the most well known patisseries in Paris called Pierre Herme which is praised for its unusual and ordinary flavor combos such as olive oil and mandarin orange and milk chocolate and passion fruit. Once we got back to the apartment, my mom and I made a pasta and salad from our buys at the market. As we were still jet-lagged, we took a LONG nap and later headed out to visit Notre Dame in all its magnificence. After taking a myriad of pictures we headed to an English bookstore called Shakespeare and Company due to Thomas's love of reading. For dinner, we went to Le Comptoir, which was highly recommended by the New York Times. Unfortunately, we had to wait in the rain since it was full when we got there. Although, we had to wait in such horrible weather, we did meet some people and were rewarded with a Parisian meal. That sums up this post so pleased stay tuned for more upcoming news.