Paris: my six year old metro tickets still work!

We're in a quiet quarter; after all, it's close to the Montparnasse cemetery, always quiet there except on full moon evenings. Reminds me of a hand-written sign on the entrance to the cemetery that I saw several years ago: "Jim Morrison is not at Montparnasse; he's at Pere Lachaise cemetery". 

I did some shopping with our Paris hosts at the Motte Picquet market this morning...oysters are in the cards for dinner tonight. Virginia slept for a few hours In the morning, and I got in about an hour of jet-lag rest before lunch. Then it was on to the Musee d'Orsay...free on Sunday! But it seems like all of Paris knows this. Long lines, but it moved quickly and we found the J.F. Millet gallery immediately...just where I had left it 6 years ago! Although my favorite, "The Sower" wasn't on display, "The Gleaners" was there, along with several others. I've always liked the strong, hard working field workers shown just at dusk. Enough light to see the main features, but dark enough to make the overall effect one of a somber ending of a day. Contrast these with the bright, and sometimes very cheerful Van Goghs in the collection, and your day is right again. Add a dash of Gaugin, and you are dreaming (fantasizing?) about south Pacific islands. No, you don't even have to imagine it, because you pass through a Gaugin  carved wooden door frame declaring "a day of joy and desire".

So, yes, Dorothy, this is Paris, and we didn't even click our heels.

Cheers,

David