Wednesday in Paris

We started today at Hotel Biron (hotel, in French, refers to a residence), one time home of the sculptor Auguste Rodin. This wonderful jewel of a museum combines a beautiful chateau and gardens with the sculpture of this great master: The Burghers of Calais, Le Pensur (The Thinker), The Gates of Hell, and The Kiss are some of the major pieces we saw today.

After lunch at the outdoor cafe at the museum, we crossed the street to tour Les Invalides, the golden domed church that stands out in the architectural profile of the city. It was designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart, architect for Louis the XIV, and adjoins the Hopital des Invalides, built in the late 17th century as a home for old and disabled soldiers. It also serves as the resting place for Napoleon I, the "little general" who nearly conquered all of Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. You can see his sarcophagus in the pictures below.

We finished up the day returning to the Louvre to visit the Sully wing to trace the history of French painting and the Richelieu wing where we followed the sequence of Northern Painting (Dutch, German and Flemish).

Tomorrow is a free day. Most of the students have rail tickets to visit Versailles where their museum passes will give them free entry to the chateau and the gardens. The weather has turned nice and cool and it should be a great day for them.

Signing off! ML