OMG. We went to the tax refund station, hauling our bags (which we planned to check—passport control at SFO means no waiting for your bags because you have spent 45 minutes in line before you can get to the baggage carousels). Tax refund process absurdly easy—you scan the bar code on the forms and zip, that’s done. So far so good! The signage to departures and baggage check is rather confusing but we knew it was one floor up and found an elevator. The sign at the elevator read as every other elevator sign in Paris, that it is only for the use of those with impaired mobility. We get in. Doors close. We push the button. Nothing happens. We push again…nothing. Again, again. Now I push the emergency button as we cannot open the doors. The small elevator is getting hot. The emergency person comes on, speaking rapid French. I respond in French that the doors will not open. She tells me the elevator cannot be operated without a badge. I repeat that we are in the elevator and the doors will not open. She thinks we are outside, trying to get in. It gets hotter. After some back and forth she tells me someone is coming. Perhaps 5 minutes later we hear scraping and pushing on the door…and a minute of struggle and the doors open to two security guys.
No, it wasn’t the badge problem, clearly, as one of them asks me twice what happened. “The doors wouldn’t open?” He’s confused, we are also confused, and the other guy was fiddling with the elevator as we left.
From that point we walked a long while on the floor above—this terminal is circular and we almost started over again looking for the United counter. Found it, tagged and checked our bags, and then it was another long and confusing walk (the signage is very poor—I had to ask where security was, something most airports are clear about), a line for security which turned out to be simply boarding pass/passport/facial recognition. Another long walk and we arrived at security where the queue for personal baggage was long and the scanning extremely slow. Bags were being pulled seemingly at random for examination, mine included, but he just wanded it and handed it back. But that was another 10-15 minutes. Then another long walk to the lounge; hung out and had some breakfast, long walk to the gate, another queue, Finally we were on board. As soon as we settled in the flight attendants came to ask us to change seats to accommodate a father and daughter, and we agreed. Attendants couldn’t have been nicer and kept insisting we would be compensated. I did have a request: “Will you help me get on wifi? Couldn’t do it on the way over.” We moved; attendant appeared after take-off and, following MANY confusing steps (“Okay, let’s try it on your phone. Huh. Let’s see if we can get on with your iPad…”) got me onto wifi. These big lovely planes…seems like they could do that part a lot better. I need wifi to write this blog, so that was great and we are on our way home!
P.S., against all expectations getting a Global Entry interview at passport control was incredibly easy and fast. Faster than getting in the passport control line!
I have been so looking forward to Monday…even though it’s almost our last day, this was the day for my baking class!! I am a sourdough baker and for special occasions I often make baguettes (have to eat them the day they’re baked so you need enough people to accomplish that). After umpteen youtube videos and cookbooks I have still struggled to shape them–they have a tendency to snap back instead of remaining baguette shaped. So this class was eagerly anticipated–a class on baguettes (mostly) and shaping croissants at a master bakery with a master baker. There were only five of us in the class, and yes, it was wonderful.
This baker is very, intensely opinionated, which was so helpful, and he explained to me that keeping the baguette dough chilled right up to the point you are shaping is the secret. And yes, it works!
Poetry in motionHe demonstrated many ways to shape dough and have funThere’s the baby’s bottom test, and…
While I was in class David took a walk (the class was 2 1/2 hours), during which our cell connection (which the eSim uses) disappeared! All of a sudden we had no google maps or directions, and we were in an unfamiliar neighborhood. However, this was day 9 of our trip and we knew a few things–like a bus that goes to Gare du Nord would connect us with a bus that goes to our hotel. So we hopped on, had a nice ride, and were back to hotel home in 45 minutes (rush hour). We felt so smart! The cell network clicked back on that evening and all was well.
After eating our fill of seafood at the Marche Couvert des Enfants Rouges, and shopping (in vain, it turned out) for a sweater for our son, we confirmed the site of the Paris No Kings demonstration and headed over.
It was a bit surreal but also fun in the way demonstrations can be–drumming, speakers, jokes, some good signs. We stayed for maybe 45 minutes.
Lafayette!I want to assume the police were there to protect protesters
Philip Guston Feast (for Catherine) and a little Picasso (for David)
I had seen a few posters in the metro for a just-opened retrospective of Philip Guston’s (ne Philip Goldstein) paintings at the Picasso museum. Guston is not a favorite of David’s, while I have always found his work compelling and intriguing. I also have read a bit about his life–he was an abstract impressionist, hanging out with Jackson Pollock, etc., but then swerved into more representative work. Boy, did the art world come down on him for the change!
I must quote Wikipedia here–this is so illuminating: “Calling American abstract art ‘a lie’ and ‘a sham,’ he pivoted to making paintings in a dark, figurative style, including satirical drawings of Richard Nixon” during the Vietnam War as well as several paintings of hooded Klansmen,[4] which Guston explained this way: “They are self-portraits … I perceive myself as being behind the hood … The idea of evil fascinated me … I almost tried to imagine that I was living with the Klan.”[5] The paintings of Klan figures were set to be part of an international retrospective sponsored by the National Gallery of Art, the Tate Modern, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2020, but in late September, the museums jointly postponed the exhibition until 2024, “a time at which we think that the powerful message of social and racial justice that is at the center of Philip Guston’s work can be more clearly interpreted.”[4][6]
Two thousand artists signed a protest letter. I think the performative left wing needs to take a breath once in a while.
He died a few years ago. The exhibit included a documentary and it was icing on the cake to be able to watch two filmed interviews with him, one at SF MOMA, and hear him talk so vividly about being an artist, how he paints (e.g., one of his paintings he explains to the art critic was an experiment to see “if I could paint like I write, just start on one side and paint to the other”), how he selects colors (many of his paintings have a pink background). I was mesmerized. David tolerated it, and then while I sat on a bench and looked for a place to have dinner he wandered the rest of the museum. There is a small subset of Picasso work that I enjoy, but mostly it’s not for me especially while looking for a place to eat is very much me! Division of labor.
We left in light rain and happily ended up at Comptoir des Archives, which I wrote about elsewhere.
While we were here the shocking theft occurred and, though we had left the Louvre in the “maybe” column, this cinched things—the museum closed, and the morning of the theft our bus was rerouted to avoid the vicinity. Fortunately we had already selected several other museums to enjoy, and enjoy we did.
Musee d’Orsay
Musee d’Orsay…a train station transformed into a gorgeous, albeit confusing, temple to art—painting, sculpture, art nouveau furniture, and more. The building itself is massive, with some galleries by theme (French Impressionism) and some by donating collector. So you think you have absorbed all you can of French Impressionist painting…until you wander into another part of the building where a private collector’s donation includes even more. A great experience, utterly exhausting.
On the top floor are several lovely views of Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.
I snapped the smallest selection of stunning paintings, including this beautiful portrait by Singer Sargeant (the special exhibit and it was a stunner), two very different Renoirs, and one Van Gogh from his final few months of production. Re the Van Gogh, you can almost feel the manic energy he must have been feeling as he painted faster and faster.
Portrait by Sargeant of Violet Paget, who went by pseudonym Vernon Lee.Van Gogh, obviously, painted in his last year in his frenzy of production.This was new to me, and so sweet. Renoir’s Jeune Femme a la Violet. Epitome of zoftig. Renoir, of course.
Musee Jacquemart-Andre
This stop was a recommendation of a friend and it was different and kind of amazing. A wealthy man, in some decline in health, married a young friend of the family arranged by them so he would be cared for, and they built and filled an enormous, enormous mansion with art. Paintings, sculpture, frescoes—they traveled Europe buying things and when they died willed it to the city. The house and its hodgepodge collection is entertaining, but the real gem was the special exhibit—absolutely magical paintings by Georges de La Tour, whose work was completely forgotten after his death in 1692. He was not rediscovered until 1919, by an art historian who went on to curate Hitler’s (stolen) artwork. They had maybe 30 of his works, some quite large, and they cast a spell in the way he used candlelight to illuminate a scene. He also painted scenes of common people when this wasn’t popular, in addition to his (mostly) religious scenes. It was great, albeit the exhibit was very crowded.
Great, great, great! We saw lots of things we liked by artists we had never heard of. Like the d’Orsay, there are exhibits by era and also by private collector/donor. The first big room—a huge room-wrapping mural about the scientists who contributed to the development of electricity—is a stunner.
The Duffy mural and spider are stunningNu Couche by Tsuguharu Foujita, (inspired by the famous Manet) Studio paintings are always fun. 1904, Jean HelionOutside, the Seine. Inside, art. If I recall correctly this is Interdit est Interdit…forbidding things is forbidden. Who loves Matisse? Catherine loves Matisse!
Lots and lots of vaping, and still more smoking than in the US. Why?
Contraceptive vending machines are common in the metro, which seems, uh, handy?
People watching on the metro is great! And the metro is extremely fast. However, the bus allows you to see things and to stay, or get, more or less oriented geographically. The metro just whisks you along and boom you’re in another part of the city. Our rules: If it is rush hour, take the metro even though it is crowded because it is so fast. If not rush hour, try to take the bus for its sightseeing benefits. And while the metro is too noisy for conversation, I had a few lovely conversations on the bus.
Weather in the fall was perfect for us. Cool, one or two bits of light rain, and the gradual turning of the leaves was very pretty.
I recommend having a few shopping quests that will take you to non-tourist places and activities.
I speak almost intermediate French (i.e., not a lot), but I have a very good accent. Hence my French was complimented virtually every time I had even a short conversation. Made me feel wonderful! Learn a little French, and also never forget, I mean never, to say “Bonjour” to initiate a question or conversation. One of our first days we got flustered in the metro because our passes didn’t seem to work, and when I approached the agent I launched into our problem. He smiled and said “Bonjour, madame” and I realized my mistake. “Pardon, bonjour monsieur, mais le billet ne marche pas” and he smiled and helped us. I cannot emphasize enough the magic of being polite in the local language.
Paris has the typical amount if street work which in a city of lots of buses means bus stops move temporarily. Several times I had to ask a local for help, which, (see above) was given with a smile after the requisite “bonjour.” Once a clerk even left his post to come out onto the street to help us find it. Fortunately the transportation system is excellent and missing a bus means maybe a ten minute wait in most cases. Breathe.
Enjoy seeing dogs in restaurants!
Save time to simply wander a neighborhood.
We use an eSIM on David’s phone and I join his hotspot. Monday while I was at baking class and he was walking around the cellular network went down. Yikes! We had been in Paris for 8 days and knew enough to make our way home by getting on a bus that went to a major train station and finding a bus there whose route we knew would get us back. This was only feasible because we had been there long enough already. As a backup, block key routes (we use google maps and google lists, very functional if often annoying) out on your phone and take a screen print.
We have yet to conquer the problem of getting verification codes via email OR text. They just don’t show up…until you’re on the plane heading home. Sigh. So try to get all apps loaded while in the US.
Thursday was the first day we had no museum timed tickets, no things we had to go see, just an open day and thank goodness for it. It was lovely to dawdle over breakfast and hang out.
We did have assignments, though. Our wonderful daughter had given us, as she did in April, a list of skin care items only available in France, and two fun things that she hoped we could track down. One of the fun things was at a store “Merci”, which was noted in France as “the hottest concept store in Paris” and I’d say from the activity around the store (tourists were photographing the outside of the Merci used bookstore/coffeeshop as we walked up) yes, it’s hot. Concept store is a phrase we have seen around Europe which seems to describe a store that is not built around one particular consumer category (clothing, household goods, coffee beans) but is the more eclectic kind of store that is so common around where we live. Merci is anchored by its clothing, but has housewares–very trendy and cute–lots of accessories, handbags, etc. We were the oldest people in the building.
Our assignment from Merci was to find a tote bag, apparently something that went viral and comes in a bunch of colors and is not expensive. Sure! Then we agonized over the colors but settled on brown with the name Merci in dark blue. As we were ringing up I asked the (of course lovely and sweet) young woman at the counter where we could get the skin care stuff. When she saw the list she said any “Pharmacie” would have it all. Super! Our other assignment was to find a Kutjen store–tiny boutique stores that sell cashmere things. One of them is in Le Marais, so off we headed to our favorite wandering- -around neighborhood. We were, it turned out, on the edge of Le Marais so decided to walk.
Within two blocks we found a a pharmacie and though it didn’t look very big what the heck. The store security guy was an older man who was able to point us to a particular brand we were looking for, and as we pulled things from the list he appeared with a basket. So nice. We had one last item we couldn’t find but the young woman at the cash register knew exactly where it was. We also grabbed a few more tubes of Homeoplasmine, a magical skin irritation ointment that for some reason only exists in France. It’s pretty great. We crossed the 100 euro mark and got our tax refund forms, and off we trekked to find the Kutjen store.
Again, tiny store, super nice people working there, and they had exactly what our daughter had requested. It was delightful.
It really does help you explore and enjoy a new place if you have a quest or two! We would never have gone into these stores, never would have had such pleasant interactions, without a list of stuff we had to find. I recommend having a few of these for the times you don’t have plans and want a little guidance in your wandering.
Onward
After our delicious falafel lunch (see post on restaurant notes) we thought we’d better at least walk by the Eiffel Tower, so took the metro out to the banks of the Seine and a lot of people taking pictures. We stood there for ten minutes, looked up at the tower which is so big and quite ugly, watched tourists, and that was that. But, wait, isn’t there something else we could do or see in a drizzly late afternoon? Notre Dame! We hopped on the RER (the train) and were there in a few minutes. Stood in line 10 minutes and we were in. WOW. So glorious, clean, light…it was just fantastic. And at the last chapel there was a plaque that this was where Charles deGaulle and his generals came the day Paris was liberated for a singing of the Magnificat. We learned more about this at the Musee Liberation de Paris. It’s so cool to learn how things unfolded back in the day when the US was a hero.
By the time it was evening and we were back in our hotel we decided to return to Poni, where we had eaten our first night in Paris, and had another very good meal. What a great place. As I paid the bill I mentioned we had been there a few nights earlier, and the man said of course he recognized us and pointed to the table where we had sat the first night. “Bonne nuit!”
Hottest concept store in ParisLe Marais L’As Fallael’s eggplant entreeWe saw several carousels in random placesGleaming restored Notre DameWe saw more about this at the Liberation museum The scale of Notre Dame…where work continues on the exterior
From the metro stop to the museum was a walk in a large park. Almost there!
Oooh, this was a delightful surprise. I have in truth seen enough garden and water lily Monets in my lifetime and was unenthusiastic thinking it was all Monet. Yes, there is a large Monet collection but the special exhibit was L’Empire de Sommeil…an entertaining collection of paintings from many eras of people sleeping. We loved it! The accompanying book was too heavy to bring back so I am ordering it when I return, I hope. This is one of the museums a bit off the path and you do not need a time of entry ticket–just show up. So glad we did.
So poignant.pre-Rafaelite romanceThe painter’s wife and newbornA miniature—the collector’s bedroom
Le Bois, our lunch find
Hungry after such a wonderful dose of art, and the lovely walk through the park, we happened on Le Bois. Best hamburger of my life…David was more restrained and had a Caesar salad with smoked salmon. Lunch was in full swing, and the noise level climbed as more conversations launched around us. The service was great. Very warm and welcoming. Sated, we decided this was the day to explore Montmartre so we hopped on the metro and headed to the LaMarck station.
Montmartre–lovely and insane
While our hotel, which we were very satisfied with (Joyce Hotel, an “Astotel”), is at the bottom of Montmartre we had yet to explore the hill itself. Famed for its artistic history, it’s vineyard, some cool clubs, and the enormous Sacre Coeur at the tippy top, it is also a climb, with stairs, winding streets, more stairs, and even a funicular. I can imagine in the summer this place is almost unnavigable, but in the fall it was manageable and had a few nice surprises.
David’s research was great, again, as he knew there was a metro stop way up, perhaps even at the top of the hill, LaMarck-Caulaincourt. Well, it’s not quite that high, but high enough that instead of a few stairs or short escalator there is a continuously running elevator which goes from the metro platform up two stories to a street level exit. We emerged and were immediately confused about where we were and which way to go. Google maps are great…but sometimes getting your bearings takes some concentration. We wanted to wander enough to see the pretty spots, then check out Sacre Coeur, and perhaps wander all the way down to our hotel.
We walked by the famous Agile Lapin, a small club–it was named at one time A Gill Lapin (Gill was the owner) but it devolved into its current name. La Maison Rose, the vineyard, and zig zagged up and up, finally reaching the touristic insanity of Place du Tertre (jammed with artists doing caricatures and more serious portraits) and around to Sacre Coeur. It was wild how block by block this small area changes completely.
Agile LapinWhat a great shop!Working vineyardSacre CoeurLa Maison Rose
After emerging from Sacre Coeur we wandered down, down, and within a few blocks it was tranquil again. I had been looking for a local artisan store to buy earrings for our beloved dog sitter, and suddenly we were in a village-like section where I found La Fabrique du 18, the perfect place to find-and I did-the perfect earrings for Roni. As I was completing the purchase I asked the proprietor if she knew of any place that sold authentic, all wool, made in France berets for children. We had been looking everywhere but all we found were made in China. Her response? “Around the corner.” Literally around the corner was a small shop, Laulhere, that sells ONLY made in France berets and knit caps, and the woman ushered us to the children’s section where we found one for our granddaughter in a bright dark pink. Adorable.
We continued to wander down, through the former red light district, now full of musical instrument stores and lots of young people, Pigalle. We passed countless tiny food options–like kiosks built into the buildings, some just takeaway, some with two or five seats–and found ourselves a half block from our hotel. A lovely afternoon. We celebrated by going to a restaurant at the end of our block, Le Comptoir Boutary, which was spectacular. I looked it up afterward to find it is consistently rated five stars and Michelin listed. A lucky find. We drank an entire bottle of wine with dinner and were glad it was only half a block to our hotel.
Boutary version of boeuf tartare was magicalYes, drank this entire bottle.
Thanks to David’s excellent planning and ticket management we were outfitted for our Eurostar train mid-morning Sunday and without a hitch were boarded and on our way. Surprisingly there was no electrical or USB support but we were charged up and had our trusty little backup battery. Never travel without one!
Gare du Nord, our introduction to Paris
David had also researched the bus-metro pass options and combined with my French we bought just what we needed at the train station in Paris—a one week pass good for every mode. The trick is knowing it runs from Monday through Sunday, so David knew we needed a bus pass for just the one trip from Gare du Nord to our hotel. Seemed like a few moments and we were checking into the Joyce Hotel in Montmartre. Great location, pleasant hotel with warm and helpful staff, comfy room and bed. The first night, though, the room was waayyy too warm and we got little sleep. The next morning I sorted it out with the front desk and since then we have had a cool room and good sleep. Fortunately bcause we have been kicking it every day!
Here are the highlights for days one and two.
Sunday
We were tired, we were hungry, we were disoriented. After unpacking, such a joy since we are staying in one place for 10 nights, we found a close-by bistro and went to dinner. I laugh as I write ’close by’ because I don’t think you can throw a stone in this city without hitting a bistro, a brasserie (bigger, bigger menus), or a boulangerie (bakeries that usually have savory things too like quiches and sandwiches). We landed at Poni, a very friendly place that takes walk-ins and has a wonderful vibe. When we went back a few nights later the guy behind the bar remembered us and where we sat and as we left said “see you tomorrow.” I had ‘salade cobb’ as I was hungry for veggies after Amsterdam, David had his first of so-far 3 boeuf tartare. The salade was enormous, the wine just fine, the tartare very good.
Poni’s salade cobbBrioche Perdue came with 3 scoops of whipped creamGreat vibe, so friendly
We dragged ourselves back up the hill and fell into that first too-hot night and thus crummy sleep.
Monday
At 11am we met in Le Marais for a food tour through Viator. First stop, a classic boulangerie, everyone got either pain chocolate or a croissant. You know David had the pain chocolate as he has had every morning since. Following a little talk on boulangeries, historic preservation, and a some Le Marais background we walked to a fromagerie, Laurent Dubois. The owner also ages cheese for other cheese makers (I have read about this—you must have very specific attributes to age cheese…temperature, ambiance, skill). The owner has won the annual award for excellence several times, and has cases of his special creations out front. Our guide bought two cheeses, a comte aged 25 months (not exactly the same as what we get at Costco!) and a creamy, mild blue with two ribbons of hazelnuts, probably 5” high. You cut it like a pie. The guide had bought two baguettes at the boulangerie so we expected cheese and bread at some point. He walked us to a wine shop/restaurant, Vins Des Pyrenees, another award winner. A table was set for our group of ten, each place with two wine glasses. Uh oh. It was about ten minutes to noon! As soon as we were settled every two people had an enormous croque monsieur delivered, fortunately cut in two to share. I personally could eat about half. THEN we had two wines, something red I don’t remember (very good) and a delicious viogner. We were presented with the two cheeses and sliced baguettes! So much food. The blue with the viogner was recommended and yup, so good.
Historic boulangerieNot ready for what was comingThat is a half croque monsieur; couldn’t finish itOh, that comte…and the blue!ALMOST finishing up…still had meringues to goWhat was called a townhouse, later taken over by workers during the revolutionOpposite the house, a building for growing tropical plants and trees
Next we were guided through hidden gardens and picturesque streets, with a bit more history, and paused in the small Jewish area where our guide sadly told us the falafel place he wanted us to sample was closed for Sukkot. We groaned—so much food! But he had a consolation prize, a nearby chocolate shop where we each got to pick 3 chocolates and/or macarons. I am not a macaron fan but these were ethereal, and it was easily the best chocolate I have ever had. We walked some more, learned more about the neighborhood, and then a last stop at a meringue shop. I passed, David popped one down, and we hurried off to a 2pm entry at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre.
Le Marais streets
It was a bit of a trek, with a long walk and a bus ride, then more walking, and we hopped into the “avec billets” line. This is an enormous mansion, donated to the city, and as such has the large, old rooms filled with objets d’art, the original furniture (it was built at the end of the 19th century), lots of paintings, and an exhibition space which, when we visited, had a pretty breathtaking collection of the paintings by Georges De La Tour, 1593-1652. He was a successor to Caravaggio, then all but forgotten after his death until he was rediscovered in the 20th century. His work is beautiful in many respects but especially for his use of dark and light. Many paintings are illuminated by a single candle. Worth a look.
Our flight was fine, but of course sleep was on/off and we arrived quite tired. I have always assumed everything works better in Europe, but we landed in a humid airport and a long walk to a 50-minute line at passport control. Lots of people and a high-pitched alarm somewhere that was extremely annoying. All for the literal 15 seconds of passport examination; leaving we approached the source of the alarm which was deafening as we ran through the exit doors. Outside the humidity climbed and poor David was sweating as we got into a waiting, and crowded, bus. Several nice people reshuffled so we could both sit down. I guess we looked pitiful.
It was a long ride into the city where we were bleary, hot, tired, and grumpy looking for our street. It turned out to be a very short walk and we got there without mistakes thank goodness. Nice hotel—The Catalonia Vondel. There are so many small hotels in this part of the city we had trouble deciding where to book but this was a reasonably good choice. Nice staff, an elevator, and lovely room which alas we had to change because the tub-shower walls were SO high it was literally treacherous to climb into and I kept picturing the trip ending with a rush to the ER. We moved the next day to a room with a teeny bathroom but a walk-in shower. Our last 24 hours have a few issues [no maid service, very difficult to adjust the water temperature in the shower] so I cannot recommend it unequivocally. We found the location, on the edge of the museum district, just about perfect.
The Stedelijk Museum of Contemporary Art
Stedeljik Museum was our first stop because we didn’t have to book an entry time. We have gradually come to really enjoy contemporary art and this place is pretty great all around, with one masterpiece that we returned to our last day to see again. It is a short [45 minute] film by Wael Shawky titled Drama 1882, telling the story of the rebellion against the British in Egypt, ultimately crushed by the British. It is an opera, with a hauntingly beautiful score, subtitled in English thank goodness. We both loved it…so much we went back Saturday, our last day and the last chit on our museum pass, to watch it again. It is so poignant, so sad, as the citizens are betrayed by European powers and their own people [“Traitor 1, Traitor 2, Traitor 3”]. The entire film is a masterpiece. I have scoured the net looking for where else it can be seen but after a month long installation in LA I found nothing. It premiered at the Venice Bienniale last year.
The Seafood Bar
Oooh, so yummy. I suppose I should have taken pictures but we were immersed in eating and drinking. Started with 6 oysters, easily equal to the best we have ever had. Then shared the Plateau, a small lettuce salad and huge serving of smoked and cold fish and shrimp. Delectable. Then we shared an order of mixed grill, a tower of fish and shellfish grilled perfectly. We ate every bite. It was a ten minute walk from the hotel and we practically staggered back and fell into bed.
Day 2: RijksMuseum and Indonesian Dinner
Well, this place is justifiably highly recommended in every guidebook…it is enormous, the building is fantastic, the layout fairly easy [though we had to ask at the information desk where the exit was!] and the audio tour essential. The first stop on the tour is the Great Hall, a beautifully adorned, immense space with massive murals that were part of the original construction. I mention this because not long after the museum opened styles changed and all the walls were painted over in white. The audio tour device allows you to “paint” the walls white to see this travesty of modernity over beauty. As the narration explains, years later it was decided the white walls were a mistake and fortunately all the original decorations and murals were intact under the paint which was meticulously scraped away. Phew.
The title is Puck—the dogA corner of the great hall with smocked school group on the leftThis is the library. No talking. Another school group examining a ship modelThe Night Watch undergoing restorationThe galleries are so beautifulThe massive Rijksmuseum
Of course the Dutch masters are well represented and their works remain as appealing as ever. The Night Watch is being restored and behind a glass wall—but visible behind the wall and a reproduction is in the next room over so one can see the details. The tour had ample explanations of why these masterpieces of the 17th Century are as wondrous today as ever. Still lifes that entice you to reach in and take a piece of cheese; interiors (e.g. The Milkmaid) that are inviting and colorful; group portraits, such as The Nightwatch, that transport you to the scene. We loved it.
Afterward we wandered across the canal to a sweet little restaurant, Cafe Mankind, and at 12:30 we were the first people to sit down for lunch. I had learned from the massive sandwich I had had the day before that a half would suffice so we shared a smoked salmon on brown, thin, warm toast. Yummy. We returned to our room for a nap, then had a very good Indonesian dinner in honor of the colonial past and staggered back to bed.
Day 3: Haarlem Food Tour and Frans Hals Museum
We had booked a food tour in the city of Haarlem, a very short train ride, and ever worried about making our way to unknown locations on time we were an hour plus early for the tour so stopped in a nice coffee place with wifi. Thirty minutes in an American sounding guy sat next to us, a talker but an entertaining one. He was born in Indiana but had emigrated to Canada years ago and was now a Canadian citizen. Show off. We had a fun time mostly listening to him, getting in words as we could, as we explored traveling, being Canadian, his time on vacation in Haarlem (which I recommend highly…stay there and take day trips into Amsterdam) , and so forth. It passed the time and then we walked a few more blocks to the food tour.
Haarlem, a manageable amsterdamOur wonderful guide explaining chocolate Narrow residential streets where the city promotes greeneryThese enormous houses were built primarily by beerPlenty of canals…this is an actual riverThe former cathedral, now Protestant, is a jumble of buildings smashed togetherDutch cheese is similar to parmesan in that it is non-perishable meant for long sea journeys as they became a colonial power.
This food tour was more a walking tour through old Haarlem and its history—our guide introduced the tour by going through all the Dutch-American connections, place names, etc.—a walking tour with great snacks! It turned out the group was the guide, the two of us, and 3 of his buddies. We had a blast. Old Haarlem is gorgeous, with lovely restored buildings, NO CHAIN STORES as a result of city government policy, plazas, canals, narrow alleys of original buildings, built for warehouses and businesses but now residential, filled with greenery (also government policy to keep things cooler—oh, huh, is global warming a thing?), hidden gardens, little green squares surrounded by small row houses built specifically for elderly women or the disabled…everything on a small scale with no more than 3 or 3 1/2 stories per building. I yearned to go shopping in these lovely local businesses but luckily no time. Snacks started with coffee and little savory bites, then a cheese store, an outside market where we ate smoked eel (delicious) and salted herring with onions and pickles, warm donuts filled with raisins, chocolate at a local chocolatier, local craft beer and bitterballen, everything delicious and just right. The tour, we suppose because it was a group of (delightful) friends and the two of us, was four hours! We left the group at another restaurant/bar built on the top of a parking structure with a great view of the city—we had timed tickets to the Frans Hals Museum. We shook hands and left for our next immersion in Dutch painting.
Frans Hals Museum
We liked it. All on one story, surprisingly large, but by the end I felt I had seen as many Hals and Hals-adjacent portraits I would ever want to see. There was a nice surprise at the end—several rooms of the life and work of Coba Ritsema, an amazing 20th century woman painter we had never before encountered. I was sad that the only book of her work on sale was entirely in Dutch. She is worth tracking down.
We really loved Ritsema’s workThe one-story museum on a typical Haarlem street. Charming.
We headed back to Amsterdam thinking we were on a bus to the Haarlem train station but it turned out to be a bus to Amsterdam South Station. A hop onto a tram and we were back in our neighborhood. We redeemed our champagne coupons (a very generous pour) and wandered across a few canals to have a fast burger and fries supper. Easy and fun—we were worn out and looked forward to bedtime.
Last Day: Van Gogh Museum! And a return to Stedelijk for Drama 1882 redux
Oh boy. We had 9:30am tickets to the Van Gogh Museum so after a stop at our favorite bakery for rolls and coffee we hurried over. It was just opening and the line was long, but these major museums have maximum tickets/day and timed entries so while there were a lot of people it was manageable.
So many of his paintings are iconic and well known. I did my best to not take pictures of his work unless it was new to me—his chairs and a small country scene that kind of stunned me.
We like Van Gogh but here I realized how little I knew of him. (In April we had spent a few hours in Arles, his second-to-last home, so we knew a little bit about the events of his life.) This museum is fantastic, not to be missed. It is huge. We got the audio tour which was well done, and the first special exhibit was all about his time in Arles where he painted this particular family over and over and became very close with them. Van Gogh had decided to be a portrait painter and it was here, with these models, that he learned his approach. You have seen his pictures of the Roulin family if you have ever seen anything of his. He painted a version, e.g. of Postman Joseph Roulin, and then painted multiple versions; the same for his wife, a beautiful rendering of this beloved friend, over and over with subtle changes. He did the same with his self-portraits, changing the colors of the background and clothing. They are wonderful. That he was already struggling mentally adds a dimension to understanding his work in this era. He also wrote hundreds of letters to his brother Theo, fortunately and lovingly preserved and transcribed by Theo’s widow. He wrote with intensity and awe about art and what it meant to him and, he hoped, to his viewers. Many of these letters were quoted in the audio tour and wow.
I had not known that painters of this era in France, where he went to learn to paint, were excited to experiment with new science of color. Van Gogh and others used dabs of many colors to let the beholder’s eye blend into another color. In the museum they have extreme (via microscope) close ups of one of his paintings to show in detail how the shapes and colors of these dabs create depth and interest. Also little grains of sand in a painting he did at the seashore. So cool.
Dutch Lunch
We had lunch reservations at The Pantry, a tiny, famous, old restaurant a 10 minute walk from the museum. Fun and yummy.
Drama 1882 Redux
David and I were so enchanted by the movie the first time we visited Stedelijk we wanted to see it again. I wish it were widely available, e.g. on YouTube or venues in the US, but I have scoured the web without finding anything. It played at the LA Museum of Contemporary Art for a month this spring.
We had one more museum left on our pass and we chose to use it to return to Stedelijk. Friends, I cried. It is so moving, so beautiful, so very unusual. We were so happy we could see it a second time. A masterpiece. Wael Shawky. Remember that name.
Fancy Dinner with our beloved niece
We had reservations at Bak, a place that occupies a corner of the top floor of a warehouse on the river (not a canal!) renowned for its tasting menu. We had to deposit 40 euros per person to hold the reservation, and we hoped it was worth it.
In the top floor of a warehouseAn almost thrilling roseDon’t recall what this was other than deliciousDitto. And…ditto.One of 3 desserts, an orange sorbet, I think, with sherry jelly on top.
It was. These kinds of meals are such fun, and perfect for a long evening of conversation. Lauren joined us and we talked and ate for hours. Service is attentive and unfussy, food delicious, and when they didn’t have the (least expensive) rose they substituted a spectacular French rose for the same price. After gin and tonics, all that food, all that wine, we were sated to say the least. To complete the luxury of the evening we shared Uber with Lauren (we of the always take the local transit habit) and returned to our room feeling as if we had enjoyed our narrow version of Amsterdam sufficiently.
As I write this we are on the fast train to Paris for another ten days of sightseeing, museums, and food.
Munich is a lot. Three stand out as the most thrilling experiences–we were able to go from room to room in a state of delight. Peak art museum.
We had so much fun simply staring at paintings and sculpture we had never seen in books, in a special exhibition, never anywhere. And wows as a percentage I would put at 30%, off my personal experience charts. I cannot stop thinking about the wows. Thank you, Janina, for your guidance. The city has so much and you helped us prioritize.
Love of art and fascination with the artistic mind are mysterious preoccupations for me, a not-artist. I am not a skillful enough writer to use words that would convey even a bit of the awe I felt.
Our top three, and what we loved about them:
Stadtische Galeries im Lenbachhaus
I had heard of the Blue Rider school but knew nothing about it. I assumed I’ have’d seen examples simply because of all the art museums we have visited. Wrong again.
The museum itself is in a lovely space. The early Kandinsky’s, as well as Gabrielle Munter and August Macke, blew my mind. Icing on the cake–so to speak–is the excellent museum cafe that we returned to for a second lunch a few days later.
The link below is to an online selection of the Blue Rider collection.
This very early Kandinsky wowed me. I am not that fond of his late abstract work, but this experiment using a palette knife is lovely.
Pinakothek der Moderne
Turns out there are three Pinakothek museums, and we went to two of them…and “der Moderne” was a revelation. Big, tall galleries, each with a theme that is explained on a poster as you enter; mixed media, paintings, video, posters, sculpture, mixed into the theme in eye-popping ways. The building itself is tall, wide, with an enormous lobby full of fun kinetic seating that was well-exercised by the many kids of all ages. Note: Seems in Europe there is much more expectation and tolerance of small children in art spaces, which was great in our opinion. Get your kids to a museum!
This museum is best known for its industrial design collection, but frankly we were so overwhelmed with the other galleries we decided to skip that floor and head over to Alte Pinakothek across the street which was great but missed being in our top three. The competition was tough.
Always fun to see a Magritte1938 self portrait, Florence HenriGiant fantasy room
Glyptothek
We are Roman and Greek history and mythology nerds, so when we mentioned our interest in this museum to Janina and she told us how much she loved it we put on the must-visit list.
First, the building itself is impressive, with tall, domed, coffered ceilings, giant windows, and plenty of room between items to wander and circle them. We noticed everywhere in Europe the art is rarely behind glass or in cases–you can get right up close and really see the work. For these ancient sculptures this made our viewing experience feel personal–you can walk around a piece, no barriers, and it frankly was hard not to reach out and touch them (we did NOT).
The phone app they offer added so much to our understanding of what we were looking at, as did the posters in each room explaining why certain pieces were displayed together and what they represented. There was too much to absorb in one visit. And every now and then, a gasp–as in the room where a bigger than life size Apollo looks down on us mortals and even in his purely arts-patron guise is freaking powerful and impressive.
I told David I felt as if I’d just completed a masters in classical sculpture by osmosis.
Inescapably Rational 