Musée d'Orsay

We had a fun day yesterday exploring a new section of Paris. We decided to roam the area of St-Germain-Des-Prés also known as the 6th Arrondissement. Beth had a craving for a museum so we decided to go to Musée d'Orsay which displays art between the periods of 1848-1914. Specifically we were interested in the impressionists which included Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, etc...The highlight of the museum was seeing the famous Van Gogh self-portrait seen on the right through Beth's camera.

We left the museum, and unknown to us, we were about to have our worst dining experience in Paris. We decided to eat at an Indian restaurant that we had seen on the way to the museum. We have had such great Indian food lately both in Montclair and during our visit to the UK, that we had high expectations for more. This place had a posh interior full of very authentic Indian art and decorations...it all hinted toward great food. WRONG! The waiter was coughing, wheezing, snorting, and wiping his nose. All the while he was handling our drinks, silverware, and food. I was squirming in my seat and wanted to run. Our food didn't resemble any Indian dish we have ever had, and my chicken was pink (raw). I saw myself contracting some grotesque mutation of Salmonella H1N1. The waiter saw my distress with the chicken and he took it away and brought the dish that I had actually ordered. Any way.. $75, later we left. Oh well!

We found a cafe and sat outside with drinks and took in some people watching at the base of Pont Royal. Feeling like Parisian veterans, Beth reminded me of our cafe experience on the first day....We were at a cafe and had finished our drinks. When the waiter brought our check, in my best and most confident French, I asked him for a pen. He looked at me confused..so I repeated "Avez vous La plume?" as I motioned writing with a pen to get my point across. Irritated he said "Le Stylo"!!!  and walked away. I quickly pulled out my dictionary to discover that I had asked for a "feather" instead of a "pen"! Ouch!....  Back to the present. After the cafe, we walked along the Seine under 9 bridges from St-Germain all the way to Ile St-Louis, across the small Ile St-Louis and then took the metro back home.

After some down time we went out to meet Sjoerd and Jayne back in the 6th Arr. The place was transformed at night into a lively and hip area full of cafes and restaurants. If felt as if it was Saturday night. We went to a great restaurant "La Jacobine". It was great fun meeting Sjoerd and Jayne. Sjoerd's stories about his LCB experiences last year had us laughing. The food, drinks, and company were all excellent.