Tuesday we decided our main excursion would be a trip to the Musèe d’Orsay, one of our favorite places in Paris. We love the building as much as the art and just hanging out there is always a pleasure. Built in an old railway station (the Gare d’Orsay), which was decommissioned in 1939 because its tracks were too short for twentieth century trains, I sometimes wish they hadn’t put all the new walls in because you lose the scope of the original tracks, but if you use your imagination, you can still “see” the space as it once was.
Current space:
What it once looked like
I’d never heard of the “Nabis” before. According to the info at the exhibit, “Nabi” is a Hebrew and Arabic word meaning prophet. The Nabis saw themselves as prophets “of a new art form based on an interpretation of Gaughin’s ideas”. Members of the group included Pierre Bonhard, Marice Denis, and Edouard Vallotton among others. This one, by Bonnard - Crèpuscule (Twilight) caught my fancy - especially how the figures blend into each other (I couldn’t distinguish one from another in some of them close up - only after stepping back).
I also loved this one, especially the pair touching noses in the center. Also by Bonnard, it’s called “L’Apres-midi bourgeoise” and is a portrait of the artist’s sister and her husband with their children and friends.
We had hoped to have lunch at the cafe behind the station’s huge glass clock (somewhat reminiscent of the one at the Eagle Warehouse in Brooklyn), but it was too crowded and I needed to sit rather than be online. It used to be possible to go out on the terrace next to the cafe which has an amazing view of Monmarte and and the Sacrè Coeur on the hill. Sadly you can only see it through the window now - so I couldn’t get a really good shot. The sky still made it dramatic though.
As usual, Linda often spends a fair amount of time photgraphing the building, it’s angles, it’s views etc. In this case there was also netting over the window - for those of you who have followed her, you know she loves to shoot through screens/scrims/grids, etc.
Afterwards we had lunch at a cafe across the street - on a VERY windy day. A flying umbrella almost took me out. Here I record the fact that the waiter seemed more concerned with rescuing his umbrella than ascertaining if I was OK after it smacked my noggin. The food was very good though, once the umbrella was secured. I had what they called a Poke bowl - not like any I’ve encountered, but tasty. Linda had a gallette - like a crépe, but made from buckwheat flour (farine de sarassin). In this case, filled with tuna, goat cheese and vegetables.
By then it was time for the afternoon snooze, followed by a walk in search of dinner. We really lucked out by finding a fabulous cozy Indian restaurant right down the block from our hotel. We had no reservation, but were able to get a table by promising we would be out before the folks with a reservation arrived. It ended up being packed and we heard the owner turn several couples away. Not hard to see why - the food was excellent and included an appetizer we’d never encountered before - Dahi Puri, little toasted cups filled with chickpeas, coriander chutney, tamarind sauce, pomegranate seeds, and other stuff I can’t recall. Crispy on the outside and then sweet/tangy/aromatic inside. Our waiter said we’d love it and we absolutely did. Their chicken Tikka Masala and Biriyani were also delicious. Lovely end to a beautiful day.
