WOULD YOU BELIEVE MORE PARIS

It was a beautiful day and a trip to a museum probably doesn't sound like something you should do when the sun is out, temperatures are mild and there's a nice breeze.  But when you can visit a beautiful museum that has a lovely garden it's a grand idea.  Saving steps,we again boarded the metro.  We had a little problem but just switched metro stations and looked on our handy dandy app and found the station where we had to change lines -  Gare  Montparnasse.  Well, I'm not too sure if it wouldn't have been shorter to just walk to the museum from the first stop.  We walked underground for miles, I think.  Yup!  We were really looking out for Sharon's foot.  We did get on a moving sidewalk - miles long - and there was a sketch depicting the Battle of the Somme that ran the entire length of the moving sidewalk.  It is unbelievable.  It goes on forever as did the moving sidewalk.  The Battle of the Somme  took place in 1916 and is famous chiefly on account of the loss of 58,000 British troops ( one third of them killed the first day of the battle) and to this day remains the one day record.  

Fortunately our stop at the Invalides Metro stop was right at the Museum.

We had a very short wait to get in and than proceeded to the gardens first.  We walked around the courtyard and ...

(Now if Sharon's feet were made of this substance she probably wouldn't have foot problems, but could she find shoes to fit?)

found a nice path which we walked long

admiring the gardens

 and the statues and ...(You are probably thinking" Wow! What beautiful statues". But it's just Sharon and me!  I'll get to the statues later.)

spotted a little sign with a knife and fork on iit and we decided to follow it to see where it would lead.  Surprise, surprise, a restaurant.  We decided we'd be much happier if we put something in our stomachs so we got our lunch and found a little table and just enjoyed sitting in the garden.

We finally pulled ourselves up and started the walk around the gardens.

This area was just filled with trees and his works placed throughout the area.  Just a beautiful way to display his sculptures

Victor Hugo

The fountain with the dome of the Invaldes chapel in  the background.

Behind these arches there was a little playgound for children and people were sitting on the grass picnicing.   It was lovely.

The view of the hotel Biron, the home of the permanent collection, from the stairs at the far end of the garden.

Looking the other way.

Looking down on a part of the garden from the second story of the museum.

Lots of beautiful flowers...

Can you spy the not so beautiful flower?  Pretty well camouflaged!

Inside the museum were more of Rodin's works.  It was the life long dream of  Rodin to create his own museum.  As soon as he enjoyed solid recognition and financial affluence he pursued his dream.  He undertook long and fastidious negotions with the state.  At the ministry the testimonies of admirers piled up. A petition was circulated.  But Rodin once more confronted jealous hostility and the arcana of the administration.

Vilified by some, supported by others, Rodin gave the entirety of his collection to the State in three succeessive donations during 1916.  Finally, after heated debates, during the middle of WWI the Chamber of Deputies and then the Senate accepted the donation.  The National assembly then voted its approval of the establishment of the Musee Rodin at the Hotel Biron.  The delays due to the war prevented the sculptor from seeing his dream realized.  He died two years before the museum was finished in 1919.

In any case, Rodin made it possible to save the Hotel Biron from demolition by negotiating the terms of his donation with the State.  A vertible setting for all the artist's work, today the Hotel Biron is entirely devoted to the memory of the sculptor.

(Rodin had  lived and worked in the Hotel Biron for many years).

In the pictures notice not only the sculptors but the woodwork  and chandeliers, etc.

The famous "The Kiss".

By the time we finished looking through the museum we decided it was time for a treat -- a cup of coffee and to cool off a little bit of ice cream.  We returned to our spot in the garden where we first ate and enjoyed again the serenity of the museum.

We headed home to rest.  Dinner time arrived and out we went to a another little restaurant in the neighborhood on the Place Dauphine.We got to the restaurant early but we sat down and ordered a glass of wine.  I had a Chateauneuf du pape which was devine. While we sat we watched people playing boucci ball in the square.

The serious players.

And the kids and families.

This was the little restaurant 

  I had a wonderfully prepared steak that was accompainied by a risoto with parmesan cheese and parmesan cheese crisps.  Delicious!  Well, I should have quit there , but on the menu was my all time fovorite desert -profiteroles.  Sharon agreed to share the dessert with me. It was finger licking good!

And so ended another wonderful day in Paris.  Tomorrow is our last day and we have to pack and all that stuff but I'm sure we'll find something to do.  Stay tuned!