This trip to France is a first for many reasons, one of which is that I left my DSLR at home, which felt weird at first. However, with the iPhone having a more and more capable camera, I realized that is quite ok. This is a shot at Place Vendôme with the famous column in the very center taken with the 0.5 wide angle lens.
Paintings of Clause Monet are found in museums all over the world, but none are as hidden as Musée Marmottan Monet.
The paintings found a home in the basement of a magnificent townhouse and they are some of the most impressionable. For what ever reasons, this is our first time here and I would definitely recommend a visit.
Paints of Clause Monet are found in museums all over the world, but none are as hidden as Musée Marmottan Monet. The paintings are in the basement of a magnificent townhouse.
We never felt the need to go to the Musée Rodin either, but this time we did go and it was amazing what Rodin was able to create besides the famous Thinker.
This bronze bust from Jules Dalou is a wonderful example of what the artist was capable of producing.
The main attraction was to stay at the Trianon Palace in Versailles. It is located right next the famous gardens where kings and other royalty took strolls.
The swimming pool was underground and offered a welcome atmosphere to cool down and relax. We had a fantastic dinner on the terrace facing the gardens watching sheep, probably descendants of those that Marie Antoinette petted, roaming lush meadows.
Visiting the Palace must have been so exciting when the king with is court was still here. Nowadays, the hallways are filled with other people that have the same idea. Early birds are rewarded with empty corridors and bedrooms.
The COVID protocol is still in place, which requires one to make a reservation and request a specific time slot. Since we stayed in walking distance to the entrance, we picked the earliest time and although there was a long line already, we made it to the Hall of Mirrors in no time with very few other people. It was such a great experience.
Because it was a beautiful day and we spent the better part of it walking in the famous gardens. The village that Marie Antoinette built, was out of place. She must not have liked being the queen, why else would you pick a peasant lifestyle over luxury?
The grounds even features an manmade grotto where Marie Antoinette was found and consequently arrested in 1792.
The grounds of the royal gardens are so vast that there is plenty of space for other palaces. I guess, just in case the king wanted a change in his life. They were smaller, but still very nice for that time.
Back in Paris, we visited a museum about modern colonialism and native art from all over the world. It is named after the former French President Jacques Chirac, who apparently liked foreign cultures so much that he built a modern building right next to the Eiffel Tower to house his huge collection of native art.
The lighting is great and allows visitors to focus on each and every piece that mean so much to people where it came from.
As you can imagine, it was a great vacation during which we experienced so many firsts.
