We explored Paris on several levels-
‑ on the level of art, the Musee d’Orsay where I concentrated on Gaughin and van Gogh, the Orangerie with Monet’s waterlilies and seemingly endless Renoirs, Brancusi’s studio, the Musee Marmotan with the exhibition Monet et l’Abstraction, and the jardin and museum Rodin. What struck me was that all these artists had an unerring sense of their own importance…the oval rooms at the Orangerie were built for Monet's waterlilies to his design ; Brancusi gave his studio to the state with the direction that it be recreated for the public; much the same story for Rodin.
Most interesting of these was the studio of Brancusi: he created his own world and recreated it until it found perfection in his eyes – each piece relates to its neighbour – the whole is not complete without each individual piece. Take one away and the whole is destroyed.
But at least as important as the art was the food:
From the humble breakfast at our hotel with its croissants and baguette, to the incomparable chocolat at Angelina, to the Relais Louis XIII, with the 8 course meal that took four hours to consume, two days to digest and will live forever in our memory- Paris was a culinary delight. No talk of locavores, diet, vegetarian....only good rich satisfying food......ahhhhh!
Now in Kassel, the lunch at the Orangerie was a delight as well....but then any meal with rarely seen cousins is a treat...
more later...
heidi
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