The Marmottan Museum and St. Etienne du Mont

I thought we had conquered the jet lag but we were awake at 4 am and then suddenly it was 9 am.  I was able to convince Kate to get up a little earlier today than yesterday.  We are hoping tomorrow is better.
We went to the Marmottan Museum to see a special exhibit of Impressionists paintings called "Les Impressionnistes en Privé."  It was so hot inside!  We did not stick around long. There were over 100 paintings that are all in private collections by Morisot, Manet, Monet, Caillebotte, Pissarro, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne and more.  There was even a little statue that was a model for Rodin's The Thinker and the ballerina statue by Degas that you see at the Musée d'Orsay.  We also got to see our favorites at the Marmottan, including Monet's "Impression: Sunrise" that gave the Impressionist movement its name, and several Monet water lilies.  There was also a Chagall in one of the rooms that was pretty cool of a woman and her fiancé.

La Danseuse

Chagall















Impression:  Sunrise

 

We have come to realize that the French just don't know how nice air conditioning can be.  We haven't been on a métro yet that is air conditioned.  Some have little windows open up top and you get a little bit of a breeze.  But others have no windows that open and it is stifling.  Only when the train is stopped at a station and the doors are open can you breathe just a little.  And the odors everywhere!  Those particularly annoy Kate.  I asked her if she liked Paris better in the bitter cold like we had last time or this heat.  She said neither!  It was about 85 today and it wasn't humid so I guess it could have been worse.  Tomorrow rain is coming so we'll get a bit of a break.

Kate thought that after the Marmottan we should go to the Latin Quarter and see the church St. Etienne du Mont.  I had not been inside yet and my friend Sande said it is a must.  We saw this interesting mural on the side of a building on our way to the church after we got off the métro.

Here is the view from the back of the church as we approached.

St. Etienne du Mont

Kate in front of St. Etienne du Mont

We were disappointed to find that during the summer, the church is closed from noon to 4 pm.  Talk about a long lunch break!  So it is still on our list to go back and see the inside. 

Detail of Front of St. Etienne du Mont

The gargoyles on the other side of the church were pretty cool.


Gargoyles

By this time, we were exhausted and hungry and found our way back to the apartment for a nice cold Oragina (Jeanene), Pepsi (Kelly) and Dr. Pepper (Kate).  Speaking of Dr. Pepper, it has been rare in Paris in the past.  But today I stumbled upon it at the Monoprix grocery store.  It wasn't with the sodas by the Coke and Pepsi but on the foreign aisle with the Mexican food.  So I had to buy a can.  Kate said it was a little different than Dr. Pepper in the U.S. but really good.