Paris 2018. D'Orsay, lunch, Basquiat, Home

I mentioned we got tickets to the Picasso Blue and Rose show that was at the D'Orsay. Well, it was sort of a mess. It took 1/2 hour to get into the museum because of security, and this was with priority tickets. And then the exhibit was really crowded. They allow photos, no flash, but I only took this one. There were tons of people taking hundreds of photos. I just wanted to be in the moment. Oh, and take this photo of Doreen in a Picasso frame.

Very cool:

We relaxed in the D'Orsay (which has rebranded itself as the D'O. Sounds like a Homer Simpson thing to me)

Here we are, taking a break:

Then we walked to a wonderful place for lunch, L'Ami Jean. It is so good! And fun besides. We had the "business lunch" four courses for only €35. Here is the Chef at the pass:

Lots of Gemütlichkeit  in that place.

 This is a typical street scene in Paris.

The next morning we went back to the Hotel de Ville and got tickets to the Basquiat show that was at the Fondation Louis Vitton. We had been to the building before, but it looked much different.

It was quite a show. Much of his art is in private hands, so it must have been quite a deal to pull it all together.

He was a troubled young man.

The grounds has white peacocks.

On our way home, we had lunch on the Rue de Martyrs, a street described in the book, The Only Street in Paris by Elaine Sciolino. A fun read if you like Paris.

Later we walked over to the Galleries Lafayette, the biggest department store in Paris.

It was really crowded!

But it was cool.

For our last dinner in Paris we ate at Chez la Vielle - a new Daniel Rose restaurant. We loved his place Spring, since closed. This was a tiny, tiny place - maybe ten tables. I am never sure how Doreen gets these reservations, but she does. It was great.

Then we walked home past the Louvre, and took in this big old glass piece.

Crazy.

 Then we flew to Washington, DC (IAD) on a 787:

and had a very easy transfer - one of the best I have ever had.

Then we came home on the last leg in a little 737:

The home was welcoming:

and all was right with the world again:

Paris 2018, a museum and a surprise dinner

The next morning we walked over to see if we could get into the D'Orsay museum to see if we could get into the (supposedly) sold out Picasso "Blue and Rose" show. 

We could not get in.

But we walked over to the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) where they have a tourist bureau, which sold us tickets for the next day.

So  then we walked to the Picasso Museum, newly reopened.

On the way, we saw our only indication of the Gilet Jaunes, or yellow vests. And this was really about squatters. The sign says something like, "Mr Macron, stop punishing the poor!" which sort of sums up the Gilet Jaune argument overall.

We got to the Picasso Museum, and it is amazing. Completely redone from the last time we saw it. The sad thing is that the last time you saw a lot of the house that was the museum, now that has pretty much disappeared behind the art.

The are was great.

This is about all you saw of the building:

Doreen loves goats.

and so, apparently, did Picasso:

This is the Hotel de Sens, which we passed on our way back to the apartment. It's very old.

We love this city.

That night we tried to visit a restaurant run by a friend. He happened to be on vacation, but we did get to see the Champs Elysees:

and the, of course, the Eiffel Tower.

 Cool.

Since we had no dinner reservations, we decided to stop at a place in the Quai Branly Museum called Les Ombres, which I think means "The Shadows". It had quite a view!

We were there long enough to see the Eiffel Tower light show twice:

A nice day.

Paris, 2018. Christmas

We rented an apartment in St Germain again, a place we know right well. This place was huge, and had great windows. It was beautiful and owned by some very wealthy folks. Louis Malle's daughter-in-law, to be precise. (You know Louis Malle, right? Married to Candice Bergen for a while, as I understand it. My Dinner with Andre was his big hit in the US.) 

The apartment had a great kitchen:

and wonderful views of the streets of Paris:

That night we had dinner reservations at L'Atelier d'Joel Robuchon. A great place to pass the time.

This place just feels great, and the food is fantastic:

I only took this one food photo, of Doreen's dessert:

But I should have taken one of the following dessert. They gave her six little tart pieces and then sang Happy Birthday in French! Tres Bien! 

Paris doesn't go in for lights the way London does, but it was still pretty:

and we love Paris!

The apartment was very close to St Sulpice church, so we stopped in on Christmas eve.

As it was Christmas Eve, there was no Baby Jesus in the manger:

And  the church was empty. It was eerie.

 The Place St Sulpice:

 More decorations:

On Doreen's Birthday, better know in some quarters as Christmas Day, we started with the Christmas Service at the American Cathedral (Episcopalians!)

It was a lovely service. The priest was from New Orleans!

Then we had a late lunch at the Bofinger, an old-fashioned Paris Brasserie. Oh what fun this was!

 We had fireworks!

 and champagne!

 in a beautiful room:

You can spot us each the the above two pictures.  This should help:

Our only sunny day in Paris, and it was pretty chilly. We walked home past Notre Dame:

and stopped in to St Sulpice to insure that Baby Jesus had arrived:

and made it back for a nice, quiet evening.