Musee d'Orsay

Sad to say I was disappointed.

The slides I'd seen back in my college art classes were just as good as seeing most of them in person. Most are covered with protective glass, which diminishes the up-close-and-personal experience of the paint textures and brush strokes.

So much so that I actually skipped the Louvre.  I already knew the Mona Lisa was very small, and so many guide books showed just how far away you were only allowed to go up to it -- add that to the crowds that seem never to be gone from it  -- and I felt I didn't need to see it.   Did a lot of research on other stuff there and to be honest (oh my uncultured self) was not interested enough to endure the crowds and knee pain of all the walking.

And I am not about to see something or go somewhere just to say I have done it.  What a waste of time that is.

But here are some of my favorite paintings, works of art, and other miscellaneous fun stuff from the visit.  And the old salvaged train terminal itself which is now the Musee d'Orsay was very cool!

(Click photos to enlarge.)

(Skipped the lines by having acquired the Paris Museum Pass beforehand.)

This one is an adultress, hands bound, crouching in fear.  Oh sure, it's always the woman that gets blamed.

Part of the interior.

The famous clock window.

Looking across the Seine at Montemarte.

Or just taking a break.  (These last three, I think, are my favorites.)