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.