3 Museums, a Garden and a Bridge

Every first Sunday of the month is free access for the Parisian museums, so I took advantage of this and went to three of them. What a cultural and exhausting day! First we went to the very famous Louvre.

Obligatory pyramid shot

Inside Le Louvre

MONA LISA SO MANY PEEEOPLE

Honestly, Le Louvre was too large and crowded for me to enjoy. It also housed a lot more statues than paintings (or maybe I never found the paintings…), which I did not prefer.

On the way to the second museum, we saw the Pont de l’Archevêché, which was COVERED in all kinds of locks. Lovers are supposed inscribe the lock with their names on it, lock it on the bridge, and throw the key into the Seine river to symbolize everlasting love. How romantique! I had a lot of fun looking at these locks!

Overlooking the Seine River

There were unique locks like this one

even bike locks! I guess they could throw the combination into the river?

well, shucks

awww

attempted artsy shot
got a couple in the background
win!

We got sidetracked again after the bridge. We went through the Jardin De Tuileries, which was beautiful just like the Luxembourg gardens.

oil painting filter

There was an exposition going on there associated with Le Louvre. A Korean photographer named AHAE took thousands of pictures, all from his window. The exposition is called “De ma fenetre” or “Through my Window” They were amazing shots of nature. I don’t know how he got such a wide range of magnificent photos through just one area.

At last we reached Le Musee de l’Orangerie. It is most known for its huge Monet water lily paintings in the oval shaped rooms upstairs. A must for any Monet fan!

My favorite painting in l'Orangerie: La Niece du peintre assise by Andres Derain

And third, Le Musee d’Orsay, which is not as famous as Le Louvre but it was the best museum in my opinion. There were so many impressionist paintings. Unfortunately photography was not allowed but I did write down a few of my favorite paintings and googled them for y’all.

Les Glacons – Monet

La Maison – Leo Gausson

Clair de lune - Felix Vallotton

Dan le lit - HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: Originally I wrote his name down because he was THE painter to go for Parisian nightlife (Moulin Rouge, bohemian style, etc), but I saw this painting and loved the intimacy and simplicity of it. I’ve read contradicting things about the painting; one website says it’s a painting of a couple, another says it’s actually two women, one with short hair, protecting each other from the harsh life of the Moulin Rouge.

After seeing all that art, I felt the need to create! My artistic contribution of the day:

I call it "Girl in pink with dandelion." Hope it makes me famous!