Museum of Decorative Arts

We tried our best to get to a park on the outskirts of town today, it being so hot and all. But, alas, the transfer we chose for our Metro (from the 11 to the 7bis) was inhabited only by three very lively homeless men. No harm was intended, but we decided to cut our losses and get back on the 11 and head to the Museum of Decorative Arts.

And we are glad we did so.

What an amazing collection of furniture dating from the early 19th century through the 2000's. Isabella's favorite was the 60's and 70's becuase of the shapes and colors. I leaned more towards the 40's and 50's.

There was a small exhibit where you could sit on some of the chairs (see at left) and they showed a movie with lots of clips from French movies that had fantastic decor displayed.

The museum also has a toy collection and a two floors of fashion. The fashion included a lot of early 80's French designer's pieces, which was shown in front of fashion show video footage. It was really interesting and Isabella got to see real pieces up close.

She also really enjoyed the 1800's exhibit poster lithographs that were on display.

Really, so far, I think we found this to be one of our favorite spots.

Louvre: Complet

We headed back to the Louvre today to see the rest of the collection. There are three wings, and we thought we had only seen one. Turned out, though, that we had seen two (which is why we were so darned tired after our first trip), and so a leisurely walk through was had.

The gentleman at the left cracked Isabella up, his beard being the funniest to her. We looked at all of the marble statues and went through Napoleon's apartment. It was amazing to see the rooms and imagine what kinds of parties that little man might host.

A few other items we liked were some of the portraits in the late French paintings, especially those that featured children.

This day's walkthrough was much more relaxed and less crowded than our other visit. If'n you are heading to the Louvre steer clear of the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo wing until the end. It's totally worthwhile to deal with the crowds, just know there is way more available that most of the people aren't bothering to see!

I know we are fortunate because we are able to be here so long that we can go back to places if we haven't finished looking around, so it's fair to say, if you only have on day, deal with the crowds, but make time for the other wings, too.

Charming

Isabella found something special to spend her own money on. Grandma Judy and Bill (thanks!) gave her some Euros to spend and she ahd some American money she had earned doing chores at our house.

She chose a bracelet and some charms.

There is a nice jewelry store here called Agatha. They sell all sorts of cute things, but mainly, they have dozens of sweet silver charms.  The quality is great and the choices are really nice, too.

Isabella had enough for the bracelet and one charm, the Eiffel Tower, of course. I helped out and got her the sunglasses and the Agatha license plate.

And then, Gran Fran told her to get herself one more on her (thanks!).  She chose a yellow spool of thread because both she and Gran Fran love to sew.

She is already plotting how many chores she will have to do to fund more charms. It's a great keepsake for her, and since I, too, am a charm bracelet fan, I fully support her efforts.

PointWC

Remember how I mentioned that you have to pay for publice toilets here?

We found the top-of-the-line of pay toilets in the mall below the Louvre (which happens to be at a central Metro station for the past few days' adventures). It's called PointWC.

It costs 1euro for each person (yes, this includes strollers or toddlers who need their parents help). There are about 3 attendants on duty at any given time. One takes your money, the next holds the line and the other one is busy wiping down each stall after each use.

These stalls are like no other. The toilets and all the fixtures are for sale. It's like going to a Kohler showroom and being able to test-drive the toilets and sinks. There is mood lighting in each stall, and they are impeccably clean. And, a Dyson hand drier extraordinaire is situated just behind the bank of custom sinks.

I'd say it's well worth our money for the fanciest toilets in Paris!