Paris: Tips and Tours Part 2
The Louvre has many restaurants and coffee shops, and nearby is the Carousel du Louvre underground shopping mall. It is just east of the museum, with a wide variety of restaurants. Today we wish to sit in the sunshine and watch the people of Paris walk by. We stop for a light lunch at one of the sidewalk cafe's in the area. People watching here is in itself an interesting pastime. The Parisians dress, well and are very well groomed, especially the women.
If I could only see one art museum in Paris, it would be the Rodin Museum. After reading a biographical book about this famous man, many years ago, I vowed that one day I would see these works that had been sculpted with, such, emotion, such passion. I almost feel as if I know his work, even though this is the first time I have seen them in person.
See link Musexpo le Monde for great pictures of The Kiss, Thinker and hands Rodin sculptures
Auguste Rodin, (1840-1917) influenced 20th century sculpture, more than anyone else. He not only portrayed beauty, but the weakness and foibles of men. Powerful, realistic, magical his works are absolutely stunning.
The museum is housed in Hotel Biron, in Paris where he lived and worked in the latter years of his life.There are 500 works exhibited here. His most famous works are The age of Bronze, the Thinker, The Kiss, *The Burghers of Calais, I was also struck by his exquisite sculptures of **hands. The whole exhibit was donated by Rodin to the French government and remains placed as Rodin set them.
Rodin was one of the most prolific, sculptors of his time. He also did thousands of works in plaster, photographs and drawings included.
The museum also houses his own extensive art collection, which includes antiquities, and paintings by the impressionists, Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Rodin died in 1917 and was buried in Meudon, where there is another Gallery of his art.
After a short rest tonight we are going to again splurge a little. We are dining at the oldest restaurant in Paris, La Tour D'Argent, whose specialty is duck. We enter through the downstairs entrance, where there is a small restaurant museum. Upstairs, we are given a table facing the river, with a view of Notre Dame in the background. Here we partake of an exquisite meal, with many courses of our duck. As we prepare
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