More Pics from Paris!

After the bus tour and going up the Eiffel Tower, we went on a river cruise down the Seine.
~Grace

Interior of the boat

Wait a minute....

What city are we in again?!?

We had a blast waving at people onshore. Usually, they waved back! Parisians (and tourists) are loads of fun!

For lunch, we ate at a tiny crepe restaurant (we barely fit! Usually the first order of business before we settle on a restaurant is to make sure they have room for all eight of us!). Most of us got crepes, and it was all delicious! 

I think  Collin's enjoying his lunch... but I'm not sure... 

Wait, yep, he is!

Yay for French crepes!

Clare and Paul in the crepe place

Collin thanking this creepy statue for our delicious lunch!

I can't believe she was willing to touch it... that statue gave me the heebie-jeebies!

After lunch, we headed to the Musee d'Orsay, a former train station built during 1898-1900 for a World Fair. It houses many Impressionist paintings by Monet, Renoir, etc.; we saw quite a few awesome buildings on the way there!

This is called Les Invalides, a complex of buildings containing museums, monuments, and a hospital and retirement home for war veterans.

The Grand Palais des Champs-Elysees is a large historic site, exhibition hall, and museum complex. During WWI, it served as a military hospital, and during WWII, it was the site of two Nazi propaganda exhibitions.

Strolling down a Parisian street.

Now for a selection of the many, MANY photos we took at the Musee d'Orsay:

A painting by Claude Monet of his gardens in Giverny.

Mom and Clare snapping a selfie in front of a Monet!

A famous Renoir.

A bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin with that dude in the striped gray shirt feelin' fantabulous in the background.

The following four paintings are by Monet; his subject is La Cathedrale de Rouen, which he painted during different times of the day. The result is a unique church in each painting based on his interpretation of available sunlight throughout the day. See if you can figure out at what time of day each canvas was painted!

My favorite Renoir.

Another Monet.

The famous "Little Dancer" by Degas.

The interior of the Musee d'Orsay.

Vincent's final self-portrait.

Some beautiful Van Gogh's!

A lovely painting called "A Starry Night Over the Rhone", but not THE "Starry Night" as I heard many tourists calling it. An Art History major could tell you that; who says it's a pointless major? You gotta get your evening paintings correct! Don't mind me, I'm merely being a bit dramatic.... But seriously, I almost prefer this one to Starry Night!

The massive clock inside the former train station.

One of the many parks of Paris.

St. Joan of Arc

Mom, Dad, Collin, and I ended the day at a nearby bar that served us some decent food (and beer).



And thus ends our first full day in Paris! Stay tuned for Day Two!
~Grace