Wednesday, July 1

We saved the best for last! The Louvre! To see such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo was a once in a lifetime experience. We also enjoyed exploring the cooking and serving equipment that was on display. Some of our favorites were a filter dated 1550 B.C. , beautiful Egyptian pottery from 1295 to 1069 B.C, and royal serving dishes from the 1700's. Our next stop was the Orangerie Museum in the Tuileries Gardens. The highlight of this gallery is the eight Water Lillies paintings by Claude Monet. The paintings are displayed in two oval rooms that were designed to house these remarkable masterpieces. Our last stop of the day was the Museum Gourmand du Chocolate. The displays and videos were very informative about the history of chocolate.  We learned lots of interesting facts such as that chocolate actually started as a spicy drink instead of a sweet one, tasted many types of chocolates, and watched a demonstration on candy making.

Tuesday, June 30

Today we explored the culture of France. We started with the Museum of Fashion and Textiles which had a display on the history of buttons in fashion. Since we also teach fashion and design this was a very informative exhibit. We then traveled on to the Orsay Museum which houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings in the world. Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, oh my! It was jaw dropping to gaze upon these masterpieces in this beautiful converted railway station. Next we were off to the Rodin Museum. Auguste Rodin is one of the world's greatest sculptors and we were awed by The Thinker and The Kiss as well as many other masterpieces. Our last stop of the day was the Galleries Lafayette which is an upscale department store in the center of Paris.  It was opened in 1912 and is a beautiful building with a Art Nouveau glass and steel dome.