By now, I will be over jet lag and possibly grappling with surviving a surfeit of beauty and inspiration. \u201cStendhal’s syndrome<\/b> is a psychosomatic disorder that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, and confusion \u2026when an individual is exposed to an experience of great personal significance, particularly viewing art.\u201c Appropriately named after the epnoymous French writer who fainted when overcome by his contemplation of sublime beauty in Florence.\u00a0 As long as I am not actually swooning, I\u2019m good.<\/p>\n
Monday, April 7:<\/b> This is my day to buy a carnet of 10 tickets<\/b> from the closest Tabac or metro station (usable on the m\u00e9tro and buses). It\u2019s good for seven days, and the meter starts running on Monday. \u00a0I liked using the bus in London for the views of the city, as it lumbered from point A to point B. The online site that helped you plan your trip was so clear and specific that I had no difficulty finding my way.\u00a0 Guided by the experts on Tripadviser, I downloaded the free Visit Paris by Metro<\/b> app, the official application of the RATP. Online here – ratp.fr\/itineraires\/en\/ratp\/recherche-avancee.\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n I’ll figure out a go-to public transportation route from my door to the Louvre,<\/strong> unless it\u2019s raining, in which case I\u2019m calling Uber<\/b>. Fortified with a caf\u00e9 creme and a croissant, I\u2019m off to the Louvre<\/b> to explore the Salle des Caryatides<\/b>, the reception rooms of\u00a0 Anne of Austria<\/b>\u00a0 and bedrooms of Louis XIII in the Egyptian antiquities gallery<\/b>. I\u2019ve penciled in a walk through the Medieval section<\/b> before I follow the Louvre trail for European Renaissance<\/b>. It will be a full day. I have an interesting audiobook on the renaissance period on my iPod, which will make a good companion. Lunch in the museum, dinner picked up at the shops on the way back home, and feet up.<\/p>\n Tuesday, 8:<\/b> The Louvre is closed. If the weather is fair, I\u2019m heading to the Luxembourg garden<\/b> to walk and sketch, soak in daylight and sticky little green leaves of spring.\u00a0 If not, I\u2019ll visit Saint-Sulpice church<\/b>. At the time of the Revolution Saint-Sulpice ditched the Judeo-Christian God for a Supreme Being. Look for a printed sign over the center door of the main entrance that reads \u2018\u2019Le Peuple Francais Reconnoit L\u2019Etre Supr\u00eame Et L\u2019Immortalit\u00e9 de L\u2019\u00c2me\u2019<\/i>\u2019 (“The French people recognize the Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul”). Both Baudelaire<\/i> and the Marquis de Sade<\/i> were baptized here, suggesting the Supreme Being is pretty laissez faire.\u00a0 I\u2019ll find the two Delacroix murals<\/b> and soak in their glory. Around lunch time, I\u2019ll look for caf\u00e9s or bistro on the Rue Bonaparte<\/i> that leads off the square. I bought a necklace and ring on this very street in 1971 that I still wear today. I doubt the shop is in existence, but it will do no harm to look.\u00a0 On the way home, I\u2019ll stop in the Village Voice bookshop<\/b> on Rue Princesse<\/i> for a browse.<\/p>\n Wednesday, 8<\/b>: By now the spell has been cast and my ideas of what I thought I wanted to see in the Louvre<\/strong> may have become irrelevant. Nevertheless, it\u2019s good to have a plan A. Mine is to follow the Louvre trail of The Great Goddess,<\/b>\u00a0 and then pause for lunch and a L’Africain hot chocolate at the Le Caf\u00e9 Richelieu. <\/b>Afterwards,\u00a0 spend some quality time on the second floor of the Richelieu wing with the monumental works by Rubens<\/b> commissioned by Marie de Medici and then resume flitting around, following the audio guide for the Louvre trail of The Lion Hunt.\u00a0 <\/b>Alternatively, if the day is pretty, after lunch I’ll wander out into the Jardin de Tuilleries<\/b>, take a look inside the Mus\u00e9e de l’Orangerie<\/b>.<\/p>\n Thursday, 10:<\/b> Today I am going to the Mus\u00e9e D\u2019Orsay. <\/b>I have my e-ticket, purchased online. It\u2019s open until 9:45 today, and my strategy is to go in the late afternoon, when the crowds have thinned and stay until the moon is rising.\u00a0 To that end, I’ll sleep in as late as I can, then take care of a few domestic chores. By now, it’s time to do laundry. I’ll be hanging it up on folding racks in the studio apartment to dry. If the weather cooperates, I\u2019ll do the Walk & Talk Paris<\/em> tour of les Marais, an area known for its charm and little shops. After a bit of window shopping I’ll dine at Le Gorilla Blanc<\/b>, 4, Impasse Guemenee <\/i>or\u00a0 Ma Bourgogne,<\/b>19, place des Vosges.<\/em> Then back to my apartment for a big fat nap before I head over to the Mus\u00e9e D\u2019Orsay <\/b>around 4.\u00a0 Eat in the museum restaurant\u00a0 M\u2018O<\/b> at 7-ish, and back out to feast on the art. See the Degas pastel room. View the Renoir on one side, the Monet on the other, and watch the the Eiffel tower light up straight through the window.\u00a0 Think how lucky I am to be in Paris. I\u2019ll leave when guards herd me to the door at 9:30 or when my eyes give out, whichever comes first and call Uber<\/b> for a swift and secure ride back to my apartment.<\/p>\n Friday, 11:<\/b> Back to the Louvre<\/b>. It\u2019s open late today too, but doubt I will do back-to-back late nights. I am an earlybird by custom and inclination. Today\u2019s Louvre trail is In Search of Ideal Beauty<\/b>. My feminist sensibilities bristle, but my artist is curious.\u00a0 After lunch, this time in the Louvre’s\u00a0 Caf\u00e9 Marly<\/i>, I will do the Sculptures<\/b> Louvre trail and sketch \u2013 something about marble pulls me to do that.\u00a0 I’ll leave by mid-afternoon and walk back, along the Seine. I’ll pick up a simple dinner from the shops.<\/p>\n Saturday, 12:<\/b> Hoping for sunny weather because I want to explore the outdoor market March\u00e9 aux puces de la Porte de Vanves,<\/b> open from 7am-2pm on Avenue Marc Sangnier.<\/i>\u00a0 After browsing and dining nearby, I\u2019ll pop into the\u00a0Mus\u00e9e<\/b> Delacroix,<\/b> situated in a courtyard with a garden, 6 rue de Furstenburg<\/i>, open 9:30-5. The artist\u2019s memorabilia, sketches, drawings, are of interest but it\u2019s his studio that I want to see. If the weather is not too frigid and my stamina holds up, I\u2019ll walk to the nearest Pont at 8:30 and watch all the bridges and the Tour Eiffel light up in succession.<\/p>\n \u00a0Sunday, 13:<\/b>\u00a0 Good weather and I\u2019m heading to Parc Monceau, <\/b>35 Boulevard de Courcelles. Cold or raining, and I have my choice of three small museums. Mus\u00e9e<\/b>\u00a0Nissim de Camondo <\/b>63 Rue de Monceau, 10 -5:30, \u00a0would be new for me. collection of eighteenth-century French furniture and art, <\/b>including portraits by \u00c9lisabeth-Louise Vig\u00e9e Le Brun<\/a>, landscapes by Guardi<\/a> and Hubert Robert<\/a> and hunting scenes by Jean-Baptiste Oudry<\/a>. Mus\u00e9e Jacquemart-Andr\u00e9<\/b> 158, Blvd Haussmann \u00a0I have seen before, but it is so exquisite it would be a pleasure to revisit. Mus\u00e9e National Gustave Moreau<\/b>, 14 Rue de la Rochefoucauld, is another combination of an artist\u2019s home, and his atelier. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By now, I will be over jet lag and possibly grappling with surviving a surfeit of beauty and inspiration. \u201cStendhal’s syndrome is a psychosomatic disorder that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, and confusion \u2026when an individual is exposed to an experience of great personal significance, particularly viewing art.\u201c Appropriately named after the epnoymous French writer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-preparation","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7OBxc-1G","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=104"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104\/revisions\/107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}