It sounded too good to be true: free admission to all museums in Paris for one night, with most staying open until midnight or later. Turns out it was true after all, as we realized after standing in line for forty-five minutes in front of the Grand Palais, waiting to see an exhibition of Turner's paintings and works of other artists who influenced him. This was one of the few museums not covered by the pass, but as big Turner fans we were willing to pay full freight--and we mistakenly thought that, since the Grand Palais only houses temporary exhibitions, it would be open late like the other museums but would still charge admission. As we neared the front of the line, a young Japanese woman overheard our conversation and joined in, informing us that it was indeed a freebie; she'd lived in Paris for six years and had attended several of these free museum nights. When we continued to express our disbelief, a young Frenchman in front of her chimed in and said, in English, "Believe me, it's free." Okay, we were convinced. And the closed ticket windows inside said it all. We very much enjoyed our evening with the Turners and especially liked being in a huge museum with le tout-Paris until after midnight.
And take note, big-shot Impressionists: Turner's 'Calais at Low Tide' predates Monet's
'Sunrise' by more than forty years:
Now that we're halfway through our stay, we're happy to report that the weather has changed for the better; the sun has managed to break through the clouds and temperatures have soared to sixty degrees. We took advantage of the improved weather by riding the metro out to eastern Paris and strolling along the Canal St. Martin. We followed the canal for about a mile before it disappeared underground, then continued along the boulevard Richard Lenoir where a greenway of gardens and children's play areas in the center of the boulevard stretches for at least another mile, nearly all the way to the place de la Bastille.
The canal:
The greenway:
No comments:
Post a Comment