Day 9 (Tuesday 11/5/13)

Today is our last full day in Paris.  We decide that a really yummy truly french brunch is in order followed by some art/culture at d'Orsay! We head back to the Montmartre area - this time we stay at the bottom of the hill - to a little place called Coquelicot.  Its a bakery and bistro and offers what looks to be an amazing brunch with tons of pastries.  We both order the Coquelicot brunch and it was more than we could have ever expected.

adorable wooden Pinocchio watches over the bakery counter

our view from the table

Umm Ill take one of everything please!

absolutely the best hot chocolate I have ever had!

stairs going to the 2nd floor

Smoked salmon on fresh baked bread with butter and a lightly dressed salad underneath, a soft boiled egg with bread to dip, a lemon madeline, french fry nuggets, housemade yogurt and fresh squeezed OJ.  Not bad for our last breakfast in Paris.

Jeremy enjoying his brunch - so cute!

This was an epic meal.  We proceeded to buy some lavender and cherry candies, a chocolate bar for my dad and a few snacks to take with us to d'Orsay.

I finally got a GOOD picture of the Metro station entrance! This was gorgeous and if you know me at all you know one of my favorite art movements was Art Nouveau and its everywhere you look here!

love how all the metro stations are do different - they all have their own little personalities

We are off to Musee d'Orsay!!
Here is a little history on the museum that we found really cool!

"The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first "work of art" in the Musee d'Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914."

 It was really a gorgeous building...  I wish we had been able to take more pictures but there were no cameras allowed once inside the gallery spaces.  We even saw one of the guards pull a woman off to the side and made her show him that she was deleting all the pictures she took on her camera. YIKES!

exterior of the Musee d'Orsay

exterior detail of the architecture!

Since I wasnt able to take my own photo, I found this one of the interior so you could all see how amazing it was!

 There were several floors but we decided to start with the post-impressionists since Jeremy knew my love for Van Gogh.  The first piece we saw was La nuit étoilée.  Then his self portraits, then The Siesta, and so much more.

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)  La nuit étoilée  1888  Huile sur toile

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)  Self-Portrait  1889  Oil on canvas

There was a moment, when I stood in front of this painting... I was so overwhelmed.  I was mere inches away from his brush strokes.  I could feel the emotion that he painted with... I felt like my heart was going to explode as I felt tears streaming down my face.  I looked at Jeremy as he wiped my tears and all I could say was, "I never thought I would see these in person.. and here I am.  He was such a master and I am in such awe.  Im just overwhelmed."  

He smiled at me, "I know... I know."

We walked around in silence for the most part - from room to room just in total bliss - through the Gauguins, Seurats, the Rousseaus, the Pissarros... amazingly gorgeous paintings that have come to life right in front of us.  It was a dream come true for me.

We made our way up to the Impressionists area but not before taking in the AMAZING view from the top of the building!

view of Le Sacre Coeur from the main dining/cafe area

view of the gardens across the Sienne

There was so much to appreciate - inside and out of the musee.  It was hard to believe this was our last day here.

We walked through a great hall where the walls were lined with Monets, and Manets, and Degas', and Renoirs and Cezannes...  I didnt even know what to say.  There was so much to see and absorb. I think we could have stayed in that one room all day and not seen everything the way I really wanted to.

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)  Apples and Oranges  Circa 1899  Oil on canvas

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)  The Ballet Class  Between 1871 and 1874  Oil on canvas

Edouard Manet (1832-1883)  Olympia  1863  Oil on canvas

And last but certainly not least...

Claude Monet (1840-1926)  London, Houses of Parliament. The Sun Shining through the Fog  1904  Oil on canvas
This is my favorite Monet... I don't know what it is about it, but it makes me happy every time I look at it.
And it was breathtaking to see in person.

This was an amazing museum... I could have stayed here all day. 
By the time we left it was around 3.  We still had to clean the apartment and pack.

We started walking down the street and Jeremy mentioned trying to make it back to the records store that was closed on monday and I have to admit... I lost it.  I picked a fight about how we didnt have time and that i felt guilty about not being able to go there... that there were other things I wanted to see that we didnt get to do...  And in the middle of the street I broke down.  I looked at him and I apologized for being so silly.  That deep down my anger was coming from the fact that we couldn't stay in Paris... that we were going to have to get on a plane and leave in the morning.  It hurt my heart to think of leaving and not knowing when we would come back.

After I pulled myself together Jeremy said something to me that really hit home with me...  he told me to look around, to take everything in and enjoy every last second we had, every last rain drop, every last bit of architecture and history and smell coming from the cafes...  And to never forget it.

I never will.  We never will.  And we try to keep it will us every day.

Side Note: There will be one more post of the apartment and some places around our neighborhood before we say goodbye!!!