Paris - Musee d'Orsay and Trinity Church

Deena and I had a little more difficulty locating a place  in which to worship on Sunday, but we discovered a Missionary Alliance Church that listed a 3:30 PM English  service—perfect for travelers getting off to a late start.  We all got up slowly and took time to enjoy the comfort of our new accommodations, especially the glorious shower.  Our last hefty morning spread was in Ireland, so we went all out with scrambled eggs, crusty bread grilled in butter, and fresh strawberries bobbing in Yop, a delicious yogurt of medium viscosity.  I’m still suffering instant coffee, but I’ve learned to make it taste pretty good with the right strength, sugar level, and fresh milk.  The girls have become accustomed to their hot tea with milk and sugar, while Joseph still prefers his caffeine cold and fizzy.  After breakfast, we packed lunches and made plans for our first full day in Paris.

Getting to church was our main goal for the day, and the secondary goal was to visit the Musee D’Orsay located along the banks of the Seine.  This museum is well known for its beautiful architecture and collection of impressionist paintings, and on the first Sunday of the month, admission is FREE.  The Trinity Missionary Alliance Church was located a little over a mile from the museum, so with temperatures predicted for the low 70s, we thought walking to church later in the day after a museum visit would be refreshing.  

It’s been a long time since Deena and I have been in a place where English is not the primary language spoken, and I’ve forgotten the state of frustration and helplessness of being in that situation.  I agree with Steve Martin’s assessment of the French, and I’m almost 100 percent certain that they have a different word for everything.  By using my powers of inference and the remnants of French classes I endured in school, I have the ability to boldly lead my family into open sewers rather than metro stations or other important destinations.  Despite my limitations, we were still able to figure out the subway fairly quickly, and before long we were speeding toward the central area of Paris.  Looking around at our fellow passengers, I was distressed to see that wearing a sweater tied loosely about the shoulders is still a thing for men here, one of the great tragedies of fashion right up there with flip-flops.

Deena and I visited Paris for a week over twenty years ago, and I still remember the feelings of wonderment I experienced emerging from the subway for the first time and beholding the streets of Paris, and I was curious to see look on the faces of my children in the same situation.  As we walked up the stairs from the Concorde metro station, we could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, the Jardin De Tuileries in front of us, and the distinctive buildings of urban Paris all around.  To my delight, both children were looking around with wide eyes and wide smiles—there’s no other city in the world like Paris, and it takes captives quickly.

We took our time and walked down the Rue De Rivoli, crossed the Seine on Pont Neuf, and made our way up to the plaza in front of the Musee d’Orsay, which is situated on the left bank of the river housed in a former rail station built at the turn of the twentieth century.  We had anticipated dealing with a lot of people since admission was free on this day, but the crowd was manageable and we gained entrance quickly and picked up a free map to help plot our course.  The artwork at the Orsay is displayed on separate floors. We were focused primarily on level five, which contains the work of the impressionists.  We also wanted to see the works by Van Gogh displayed on level two.  Before we left the US, a dear friend had described her enjoyment of the architectural beauty exhibited in the construction of the museum itself, and we were immediately enamored with it as well.  The ceiling soars and curves down into halls and rooms packed with objects that bring instant joy to the patron.  Standing behind the enormous clock face looking out over the Seine and the city was an extra treat that we all enjoyed.

We made our way up to level five and for the next two hours, we were lost in galleries with walls graced by some of the most beautiful, engaging paintings I have ever witnessed.  I won’t go on about everything we saw, but I will describe a few of my favorites at the risk of losing my macho tradesman persona.  About a quarter of the way through, I happened upon a corner wall that displayed three paintings by Claude Monet from his Cathedrale Rouen series.  In 1892, Monet rented studio space across the street from the cathedral in Rouen, Normandy, and during the next year, produced over thirty paintings based on the front of the cathedral each with a different light perspective.  The ones on the wall in front of me were stunning, and here’s the kicker:  right next to them on the adjacent wall, was Haystack at End of Summer, my favorite of the whole Haystack series which I have seen only in books until observing the texture of Monet’s brushstrokes today.  I don’t know if it was leftover weariness from travelling the day before, the fact that my children were viewing world-class art in Paris, or that I was standing in the presence of as much beauty that a human is capable of producing, or perhaps a combination of all that, but I lost my composure and stood there with tears running down my face unable to speak to my wife.  There, I said it - I’m four-thousand miles away, judge me if you will.  My children looked upon me with pity, then took off running toward the corner that made me cry—no doubt hoping for some revelation of their own.

Claude Monet is the mack-daddy of the impressionist movement, but there are others worthy of mention whose work was on display as well.  Matinee d’Automne by Camille Pissarro was the painting I chose to use for explaining impressionism to the kids.  The only hard lines in the painting are from the buildings in the rear. The light on the soft colors of the fields and flowers are painted from the perspective of a glimpse of beauty on an autumn morning. The combination suggests an escape from the harsh realities of daily life that are always in the background—perfect. Not a bad breakdown from a dude that paints houses, huh?

Matinee d’Automne

At one point in our visit, we came around a corner and Eduard Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l’herbs was there in all its glory.  That's the painting that shows a naked lady looking at the viewer while having a picnic with two well-dressed gentlemen as another lightly clad lass is bathing in a stream behind them.  Deena said that it reminded her of every nightmare she's ever had where she showed up naked to a well-populated event.

Auguste Renoir is a heavy hitter as well, and his 1875 portrait of his friend Claude Monet is a cool artistic association and one of the works I enjoyed most today.  The fact that the two were friends is obvious in the way the piece is painted, and Renoir worked in a few jabs at his buddy by painting the oleander leaves to suggest a wreath of laurels and painting his hat to resemble a halo.

Renoir's Portrait of Monet

By the time we made it down to the galleries housing the Van Gogh pieces the crowd had grown, but we were able to squeeze ourselves in and view the famous Self-Portrait, September 1889 and the compelling La Chambre a Coucher with its pairs of objects, striking color, and simple composition.

La Chambre a Coucher

Whew, what a time we had in the Musee d’Orsay —the kids got a massive art appreciation lesson, and we all enjoyed seeing the historic and definitive works of the impressionist movement.  After eating our lunch on the steps of the museum, we started the mile walk toward Trinity Church through the streets of Paris weaving in and out of neighborhoods and ducking under awnings periodically to escape some light rain showers.  After a few wrong turns, we eventually made our way to the arched doorway of the church and quickly found the sanctuary, which was small but a second story made it appear larger.  The room was painted a creamy off-white and trimmed with robin's-egg blue columns and wainscoting—it felt a bit like sitting in the middle of a wedding cake, or maybe I was just hungry.  

Once again, we stood out as visitors and Pastor Al introduced himself to us before the service began.  Al is an American whose long tenure in France has resulted in strong command of the language.  The congregation had representatives from many races and people were listening to translations from English to French through headsets.  The room was full by the time the service began. We sang many familiar hymns led by a worship team consisting of a drummer, two excellent guitar players, and a female singer who sang the verses in French and English.  Pastor Al preached a powerful sermon about the historical, cultural, and personal reliability of the Bible, and it was clear from his examples that truth transcends time and all human perspective.  After the service, we went to the fellowship room for coffee and excellent snacks, and it was the first time since we’ve been at church overseas that no one made an effort to talk to us.  This kind of situation is a big deal in the US where churches worry themselves into a frenzy that a visitor might be put-off by a perceived lack of outreach on a given Sunday—we were not.  I think the burden is primarily on the visitor to take the truth which he or she just heard from the pulpit and go do something with it, and so we shall.

 

Trinity Church

We walked to the closest metro station, took the train back to the Bercy neighborhood in the 12th arrondissement, walked a few blocks to 6 Rue De Madagascar, and called it a day.  We spent a good bit of time today walking streets lined with seven-story buildings capped with slate hip roofs, a design by which Paris is known.  We liked that look, and we’re anticipating more.