At Peace in Paris, June 27, 2011

-       Awoke at 9:30am to discover 90-degree weather and that the Palace of Versaille (today’s proposed adventure) is closed on Mondays.  Back up plan: l’Orangerie, a gallery recommended to us by the girl behind us in line at the Eiffel Tower.

-       Had a pleasant stroll with some minor moments of “Margot, are you sure we’re going the right way???” but after walking through the Jardin d’Tuilleries, we made it to l’Orangerie

-       L’Orangerie: pre-entrance vestibule of just a white room to clear your mind in silence. Each of the two rooms on the main floor had four of Claude Monet’s water lilies, each one spanning the length of a wall, with an ovular bench in the middle. Peace. Of. Mind. If you’re open to it. Just you and these massive, swirl-and-color-filled masterpieces of art. And the basement contained pieces by Picasso, Cézanne, Renoir, Sisley, and an exhibit on Gino Severini, a neo-classical futurist with a brilliant eye for color. A much needed moment of breath and relaxation, just as Monet intended.

-       Ambled through the gardens afterwards wherein there is also a carnival during the summer. It was amusing to see the juxtaposition of these classic marble sculptures and fountains against the glitz and gaudiness of the rides.

-       Lunch beside the Seine, then on to Shakespeare and Company for the rest of the afternoon. There is a piano on the second floor next to the beds, played beautifully by a beautiful Frenchman, surrounded by books. Autumn found a book by David Mamet and got lost in Eugene O’Neil in the not-for-purchase, but amazing upstairs section. Margot found a book by C.S. Lewis, David Mamet, and Shakespeare’s sonnets. Margot really truly wants to move in and live there permanently, or someday dedicate three rooms of my house to such a bookstore.

-       After spending two hours in the bookshop, we walked to Fred and Georges’ for a lovely dinner and lively discussion of books, movies, and politics. We are in the process of exchanging book/music/movie selections and could not be more excited.

Today was so full of moments good for the soul. I mean, every day here has been, but today between sleeping in, finding our own way around, being in the presence of such beautiful paintings and books and in the company of such wonderful people we felt a real sense of ease here. As of tomorrow, we’ll have been here one week, Margot finally earned her blisters, and we are finally over our jet-lag. Also, street musicians here means accordian players, violinists, and pianists. We commonly see people roller-blading or fire dancing around Notre Dame at night. Life is great.

Paris, j’taime.