Musee D'Orsay and Arc de Triomphe

We started the day at Musee D'Orsay, French art from 1848-1914. It is a beautifully remodeled train station, transformed into an art museum. The museum is undergoing renovations and so things were a bit congested. A wonderful collection of impressionist and post-impressionist work is the core of the collection which covers all movements and styles within this time period.

In early afternoon (another hot one!) we walked over the Sein to Place de la Concorde, a beautiful plaza and central point for the north/south and east/west axes of Paris. This is the site of the Egyptian obelisk and also historically the site of the guillotine during the French Revolution's reign of terror.

We took the Metro up to Champs Elysees and then walked up to the Arc de Triomphe. You'll see some views from the top amongst the pictures below, and if I was successful getting it to load, at the bottom of the post, a video that shows a view plus some crazy traffic in the round-about that surrounds the Arc.

Today was Stephanie Cunningham's birthday so this evening Stephanie B, Jordan, Samantha, Rachel, and Megan surprised her with candles on ice cream and cake. They had to settle for "virtual" flames on the candles when neither a lighter nor matches could be located.

It rained this evening and has cooled off nicely. Tomorrow (Wednesday) promises to be more comfortable than the last two hot sticky days. Our itinerary: Auguste Rodin Museum, chateau and grounds, Les Invalides (Church of the Golden Dome--Napoleon's tomb), and then back to the Louvre in the afternoon. Thursday is a free day and it appears most everyone is going to Versailles.