The Musée d’Orsay and Invalides

June 4, 2019 — Day 26 (Tuesday)

Supposed to be warm and wet so we left coats at home and took umbrellas. It almost worked. We walked up and took the #83 bus to Solferino-Bellechasse and walked to the Musée d’Orsay. We were met with fairly long lines but like the Fondation Vuitton, the longest lines were for those who bought tickets ahead. However, we all waited because they delayed the opening twenty minutes. When they finally opened, the lines moved very quickly. We’ve noticed this in the past too.

We went directly to the Millet exhibits and discovered these galleries were nearly empty. My husband loves Millet and we always make a Millet pilgrimage when we're in Paris. The Impressionists are on the fifth floor which was a zoo because that’s where everyone went. We went up looking for a particular painting and ended up fighting our way through the crowds and back down to the second floor for the Van Gogh–Cezanne Special Exhibit. We found everything we wanted to see so left and had to stand in line to get out. The revolving exit door will only allow five people out per circuit. Not great planning . . . [Musée d’Orsay, 1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur; tel: +33 (0)1 4049-4814; Click here for the Musée d'Orsay web site]

We left the museum looking for lunch and walked up Rue de Bellechasse to a favorite café. Alas, it was no more. It had been replaced by a trendy restaurant that did not seem at all appealing. We reversed course back toward the Orsay and turned along Rue de Lille checking the various restaurants. Nothing looked very appealing and then a waiter approached us and announced they had a great selection of hamburgers. My husband laughed and told him we didn’t travel five thousand miles to eat hamburgers at which point, the waiter told us what else they had and it sounded pretty good so we went into Tabac d'Orsay and found a seat at the back. It wasn’t fancy but the food and service were good and we did not get hamburgers! I got the confit de canard, Ed got the salmon and we shared a pichet of red wine. It worked out well.

We walked over to Invalides and went through security yet again and entered. We got our tickets and started in the chapel before going into the Army Museum. They’ve completely redone the Army Museum since our last visit and we were shocked to discover absolutely no mention of Jews, deportations, concentration camps and deaths. They have effectively erased history . . . shameful history, but history that needs to be acknowledged. No wonder the far right political parties are making gains. This is frightening. There used to be exhibits on these that were quite vivid. The first time we visited back in the 1990s, I walked out in tears. This time we left from shear boredom. They have dumbed it down to the point of meaninglessness. I guess it's all right if you enjoy looking at old uniforms in glass cases. [Invalides and the Army Museum, 129 Rue de Grenelle; tel: +33 (0)1 4442-3877; Click here for the Invalides Army Museum web site]

We made the obligatory visit to Napoleon’s Tomb and then a fruitless search for the #83 bus stop. It is elusive so we took the Metro home, stopped for cereal and bread. We got a loaf fresh from the oven. Then as we walked home, a very windy thunder storm hit. We tried Ed’s umbrella and managed to keep the bread dry but both of us were drenched. As soon as we got home, the storm stopped. Crazy!