Reveillon

 

I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. Good thing I fell back asleep again - I succeeded in sleeping right through the wettest part of the day! Over a nice cup of coffee, some fromage frais with a swirl of apricot jam, and slices of baguette, we made plans for the day. I wanted to stop at the local Surgelés Picard store to chose our Christmas meal(think of a high-end M&M store, offering all manners of frozen items). Mario wanted to visit the Rodin museum, one of the places we did not get to on our last trip through Paris. Sounds good, so off we went!

The Rodin museum is located right next to the Hotel des Invalides. Its gilded golden dome, thanks to Louis XIV, the sun king of France, shone brightly next door. Back at the museum, we first toured through the sculpture gardens, filled with Rodin's bronze pieces.
The main attraction of the museum's garden is the Thinker, set apart at the front of the property, high on a pedestal, in a grove of well-sculpture trees. A winding path leads further, behind the museum, through trees and flower bed, past a reflecting pool, all studded with sculptures. I took lots of pictures, as the sun peaking out ever so slightly from the clouds made for some beautiful lighting in some cases, and not so great lighting in other cases.
We got up close with the sculptural details, observing how Rodin often had a more "sloppy" look to his bronzes, though I blame this on his use of terracotta clay for the models, which can result in a "melty" look if not structured properly. We found evidence of this in the museum, where a plaster model was clearly structured using long nails, clothes hangers and a pieces of 2x4. It's true.
The museum is housed in the old Biron Hotel, where Rodin had set up his studio/apartment. When he bequeathed his works and a good deal of his collected art to the city of Paris, his only request was that they be exhibited in a museum set up in the hotel. So, as you are walking through the halls of the museum, looking at works by Rodin, of Rodin, inspired by Rodin or gifted to Rodin, you walk through the rooms that once held his studio and atelier, his clay and tools and studies, where he met with models and artists alike. Pretty cool.
Afterwards, we walked along the esplanade des Invalides to further admire the "bling dome" on the central building of l'Hotel des Invalides, and crossed the pont Alexandre III to catch our traditional first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. With the sun out in full force and the sky a patchwork of blue and white, it would have been a great day to ascend to the top of the tower. Oh well - we are going to visit on Christmas Day, as it is one of the few things open. Hopefully, the forecasted rain doesn't interrupt our fun!

Onward we continued to the Christmas Market on Champs Elysees, taking in the sights and sounds of the holiday rush - the spicy scent of mulled wine and the savory richness of a good Tartiflette(potatoes and bacon sauteed with cream and cheese...) wafted by as people passed us with arms full of bags and packages. Sometimes it's easy to forget what the rest of the world is up to when you are on holiday, but I guess it really is Christmas, isn't it?
Again we experienced this hurried pace and bustle of shoppers when we returned to Montmartre, where families were out gathering their last purchases before the big day tomorrow. There were lines out the door at the bakeries, people crowding into the chocolate shops, counters overflowing with a multitude of oysters at the fishmonger. One last lonely Christmas tree sat outside the florist, waiting to be taken home, while people left the shop with bouquets in their arms. We joined in the fun, picking up the pieces of our Christmas dinner - a poêlée of capon in foie gras sauce(ready to be heated), fine green beans, a still-warm baguette(which I promptly bit into) clementines for our "stockings", a panettone for breakfast, and two little buchettes de Noël for dessert. They don't make a 2-person buche, unfortunately.

We came home for a relaxing supper in, before heading back out to Notre-Dame Cathedral for the Christmas choir performance and midnight mass. After all, how can you turn down the opportunity to attend Christmas mass at one of the great Cathedrals of the world?

Merry Christmas, everyone.