Angieneering

The walk from the train station was quite an energy zapper! Thank goodness for the two-day museum pass for I wait in a shorter line to get inside Musee d’Orsay.

I must say the crowd here is less frenzied. There is a sense of order, respect, awe and hush as I admire Van Gogh, Seurat and Gauguin’s work, along with the few in the room with me.

But as I walk through the rooms, the stillness in the air changed as I entered the Impressionist exhibit.

My heart palpitates as I set my eyes on Claude Monet’s work. He inspires me to no end! Makes me want to whip out my sketch pad and draw haystacks or towering poplar trees.

The other Impressionists somehow do not move me as much, I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because since college I have been fascinated with Monet and his style.

I went back to view Van Gogh again hoping that maybe he will inspire me. But the crowd has grown and the noise level has increased. Too noisy to be moved and the guards are more strict (than at the Louvre) when it comes to photography. Loudly, they reprimanded adults like little kids and for all to turn around to see, when they spot a smartphone taken out taking aim at a painting! Wow. Authority at its best here.

I feel very tired at this point. Yawn; must be from the earlier walk here. By 12.15pm I came out from the museum! 4080 steps, 1.43km and only 79.7 calories. Could it be the speed of 0.9kph that is causing the tiredness?

After grabbing a quick baguette bite, I dispensed with stereotype and took out my mini umbrella to shield me from the intense heat as I make my way over to the other Musee de l’Orangerie. But alas! It’s closed. Disappointed I had to change plans.

And from here on, things started to spiral downwards. My pedometer was not on for the last hour and a half. So earlier figures are way off!!! And suddenly the skies are turning grey with rain threatening.

I find myself wandering towards the Eiffel Tower and detoured to Musee du quai Branly in case it does rain.

Branly is pretty cool from the architecture point of view. Funky walkways, curvy and no straight walls. But a bit psychedelic if you asked me. You have to really watch where you walk else you might walk into a display! The displays… gosh, they are pretty creepy. Artifacts are not my cup of tea. Back to the building and its shades. Man it’s really playing on your eyes or it is really dark outside.

I peeked out a window and yikes, it is raining! I guess I am staying put for awhile…

It didn’t just rain, it poured. For situations like these, I am so glad I am wearing boots. Taking a risk, I made my way to the Eiffel Tower. The rain has subsided to a drizzle and like yet another sucker for the ‘been there, done that’ syndrome, I had to take a picture of me and the tower. Pretty dramatic sky in the background.

By now, my options to continue on seems rather uncomfortable. The bottom half of my pants are drenched and the energy sapped even more. The appeal of the cooling temperature is not enough. It is only 3pm and I want to crawl into bed to rest….

But the spirit persisted and I sauntered on to the Trocadero! Along the way, I discovered Musee d’Art Moderne and enjoyed more paintings. When I was done, I came out to hot weather. Eeeks. The mini umbrella proved to be useful in rain or shine conditions. So glad I brought it along.

Anyway, I made my way through Champ-Élysées and got onto a train and headed back to the hotel.

What a day! Despite missing an hour and a half of data captured, today I walked 19,877 steps and close to 7km, burning 391.8 calories.

Dang, I need a beer!

Tags: Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Art Moderne, Musee d'Orsay, Musee du quai Branly, Neo-Impressionism, Post-Impressionism