We started out today with a long walk down to the Marais neighborhood to explore some of the older streets in the city. Our timing was off and shops weren't open until later, so we missed a lot of good chances to spend money. The shop windows really call out to us here, and it's a good thing I don't know enough French to read or we'd never get past all the bookstores we pass.
The rest of the day was devoted to catching up with family. Ilene's aunt, who we hadn't seen in more than 10 years, lives in Germany with her husband, who we hadn't met before, and they took the 3-hour train ride to come visit us. We had a very nice time getting re/acquainted and swapping travel stories as we covered a lot of ground together around the city. We had lunch at a place they recommend near the Eiffel Tower and then walked along the Seine back to the Tuileries gardens to the Orangerie. (Sunny and in the low 50's today.)
The Orangerie is a seemingly under-appreciated little museum with two nice reasons to visit -- a small collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings in a very nice space and the 8 panels of Monet's Nymphae. They are enormous paintings that he designed especially for this space, and they have a powerful effect in the 2 large oval rooms. Again, we felt quite privileged to get the chance to see them.
Next we went across the street to have coffee in the smart shopping district north of the gardens and the Louvre, to do some more window shopping and then say goodnight. Ilene's aunt and uncle are joining us on a day trip to Chartres tomorrow, which I expect to be the highlight of the trip.
-Robert
