Musee d'Orsay, Rodin Garden and Les Invalides

On our last full day in Paris, Zach, Stacy and I got out the door pretty early. We had another full day of walking ahead of us and we were excited.

Eglise de la Madeleine

We started at Eglise de la Madeleine, a massive church built by Napoleon. We grabbed delicious croissants and took the metro to Musee d'Orsay--our second try.

Musee d'Orsay

Beautiful statue in front of the museum

This is my favorite museum in Paris!

Just so beautiful

The museum is in an old train station!

Love this

A cafe in the museum

We spent all morning and noon there. It was extensive, and located inside an old train station. I do think it's my favorite museum in Paris. The inside kind of reminded me of the movie Hugo a little bit.

The art was really cool. Lots of sculptures and some really neat exhibits. After spending too much time downstairs, we went upstairs to see the Impressionist art and a special exhibit on van Gogh. I got to see Starry Night and Self Portrait!

After a quick lunch to rest the feet, we headed towards the Rodin gardens and Les Invalides (try #2 there as well!)  But on the way, I realized we were actually on Rue de l'University... the very street chef Julia Child lived on. I think I mentioned that I had been reading her memoir My Life in France during this trip, so I was *right* at the part where she was living there. I even had her address!

Julia Child once lived here!!

So we walked to the place where she once lived. There's no sign making its place, but I knew that was it. So it was very very cool. I loved that book, and fell in love with Julia because of it.

Onward to the Rodin museum. The garden was again closed, but the staff graciously let us see some of the garden for free!  We got to see The Thinker and The Gates of Hell--the only two things I really wanted to see anyway!

Do you see the Eiffel Tower peeking out?

We finally made it to the giant Les Invalides. We walked through an armory and the knight armor was exquisite. It was worn by kings!

We visited Napoleon's tomb--so extravagant and over the top. We spent 1.5 hours at Les Invalides, but it wasn't nearly enough time to see everything in the Army Museum. They had an extensive exhibit about the two World Wars, but we didn't get to see all of it because they closed early (Note to travelers, visit this museum earlier in the day!). It was an amazing museum and beautiful on the outside.

We met back up with Jason and got coffee, then the Gulledges could get the keys for their new apartment (!) and went back to their apartment at Les Halles to pack.

We all met up with Claire and Corentin for dinner at their favorite restaurant l'Epi Dupin. It was a small place, but the food was AMAZING. Such different tastes and flavors! I would call it a gastronomical adventure for sure. It was probably my favorite meal this trip to Paris. The waiter read us the menu, and the menu changed everyday based on food available at the market.

We were served a cold cauliflower and coconut milk soup with chutney sorbet to start. I had a puree scallop/sweet potato soup for an entree (appetizer). My meal was a fish on top of cubed potatoes with a side of mashed potatoes. My dessert was an apple stuffed with a prune on an orange cake, soaked in orange juice with fennel ice cream. The food was good, but the company was even better.

amazing food!

The group

Stacy, Claire and I

Zach, Corentin and Jason

We were sad to say goodbye to Claire and Corentin. And the next day, we said goodbye to Stacy and Jason, who had been such wonderful hosts, and made our way home.

I'm reading my journal and we didn't know if we'd ever return to Paris... But if you know us and our lives, you know we have! Travel is in our blood and it's a family value for Zach and I. So... stay tuned to the blog. I have lots more travel photos and recaps of adventures coming in the future!