Well, it’s raining and cold.  Again.  So I’m doing museums again today, using the Museum Pass.  I paid about $50 for it and am determined to make it work for me, but at this point I’ll be happy just to break even.  Unless you are a diehard museum-goer, the pass isn’t worth it.

I start at the Musee’ d’Orsay.  It’s one of my favorites.    

Built in an old Bell Arts train station circa 1900 and modernized to bring in more light, it is at a human scale that you can actually see in just a few hours.  And it has some of my favorite art from the Impressionist movement, to include Monet, Manet, Seurat, and Van Gogh…not to mention our home grown Whistler as well.  There’s even a few from my favorite, Gaugin.  That one country could have produced so much talent just amazes me.

The ground level where the trains used to run has been turned into a tiered gallery for sculptures.  Here, you can view some works by Rodin and other lesser known artists, as well as take a load off your feet.

From the D’Orsay, I head to the nearby Rodin museum, which is quite small in comparison.  Here, you will find his famous “The Thinker” as well as other major works like “The Gates of Hell”, which looks like the devil would endorse it.  I take the time to do my best bathroom pose in front of The Thinker, wonder the grounds a bit, then head for the apartment.

I buy my groceries out since it is Sunday and the Market is open once again under the Metro, where I’d eaten some truly awesome flan for breakfast.  But there’s no wine there, so I head over to the local store and manage to struggle through a short conversation in French wherein I ask for the best bargain Bordeaux.

This guy turns me on to an excellent vintage for only $12.  Not bad for a fine wine in France.  Now, I also buy a Brut Champagne which is not such a great deal at around $45.  It drinks up to that price but not beyond it.

That’s it for today.  The rain just b=never really stopped.  Tomorrow, Versailles.  And a hope for better weather.