Back to Paris and a Visit to the Orangerie

My mother passed away earlier in January and we left Paris for 10 days to go home to Utah for her funeral and burial. We had a lovely service with lots of friends and family. It was a beautiful February day with a gorgeous blue sky--the perfect day to honor my mother. I wore my favorite Tiffany blue coat that my mother gave me.

Sally Finch
1934-2002

My Dad, David Finch, and siblings
Susan, Barbara, Beverly and Brad

Provo Cemetery, Utah

My Family
Andrew, Kelly, Kate and Carter

My parents loved to visit us in Paris. The last time they were able to come was in 2018 before my mother's hips started to bother her too much and her dementia had progressed too far. So when she passed away, my dad decided to come visit us for a couple of weeks and enjoy some Paris time. He arrived on Saturday, two days after we returned to Paris. We were so happy he could spend some time with us here.

The first thing we did after he arrived was walk to the Marché Avenue de Saxe near us to get the essential produce and other supplies.

Snails Anyone?

Eiffel Tower View

Dad waiting with the grocery cart

while I ran back for Roquefort cheese

I set up Dad with a makeshift desk at the dining room window where he could people watch on the street below while he worked on his computer.

Dad's Computer Station

This picture also captures a bit of our Paris apartment life. The kitchen is down a long hallway from the rest of the apartment and we are constantly walking back and forth with food and dishes, etc. So we keep dishes at the end of the dining room table to minimize the steps up and down the hall.

We went to church in person for the first time this Sunday. We had hesitated to attend earlier because we were trying to avoid crowds. We knew we would have to test for Covid before we could return to Utah for the funeral and did not want anything to prevent us from going. It was so good to be back at church.

Dad and Kelly at the
LDS Chapel on
rue Saint Merri

We took a nice long walk Sunday evening. Sunset is now after 6 pm, compared to before 5 pm when we first arrived. We are enjoying the longer days that are a bit warmer now.

Kelly, Dad and me on the 
Apartment Stairs

Dad and Kelly in
front of Les Invalides

Sunday evening walk

Today Dad and I decided to visit the Orangerie to see Monet's waterlilies. It was a beautiful morning.

Entrance to Jardin des Tuileries

Place de la Concorde
Eiffel Tower View

Dad at Place de la Concorde

Traffic seemed much calmer in Place de la Concorde. In 2021, the mayor of Paris banned through traffic on certain streets in the center of Paris, including on the rue de Rivoli up to the Place de la Concorde. The ban still permits access to those living in the restricted zone (including short-term hotel guests), to people with disabilities, to buses, and to vehicles used for deliveries or services. But the new rules make it illegal to drive across the city center without stopping. About 55% of traffic or 100,000 cars a day were through traffic in the center of Paris. We have noticed the reduced congestion and increased calm along rue de Rivoli and like how Paris is becoming more pedestrian friendly.

As always we enjoyed Monet's water lilies at the Orangerie.

I was a bit surprised at how busy the museum was first thing on a Monday morning. Paris seems to have more tourists since we returned.

The museum had a special David Hockney exhibit, "A Year in Normandie." In March 2020 during the national lockdown in France because of Covid, Hockney, the British painter, was at his Normandy retreat. He made his house and the surrounding landscape the main motifs of his painting. 

Water Lily Pond in Normandy

He captured the effects of light and the cycle of the seasons for over a year. He painted the images on his iPad and assembled them into a frieze that was over 90 meters long that he then printed on paper. The idea came to him as he contemplated the Bayeux tapestry, which tells the story of William the Conqueror, and ancient Chinese and Japanese painted scrolls.

Below is a small sampling of portions of the frieze. It wrapped down a hallway and back, beginning with spring and ending with winter.

I loved the half-timber farm buildings, the flowering trees and bushes (some in the rain), the irises, the rolls of hay harvested in the fall, the leaves changing color and the woodpile stacked up near the house. It really was charming.

We are so happy to be back in Paris and I am loving the time here with my dad. I'm so glad he could come and enjoy Paris with us once again.