Impressionism Round 2: Vosges and Savoir-faire; Night Biking

 I visited the Musee D'Orsay in Paris which reputedly has the best collection of Impressionist paintings in the world. 

  And they did have quite a few of the most famous ones-

Quite a bit of confetti in one- maybe the French had just won the super bowl,  I don't know. 

I had heard that the Place des Vosges is one of the most stylish and fashionable squares in Paris and so being well known for my interest in fashion and style, I naturally headed there.  The square was originally planned by Henri IV around 1610 and some say was the beginning of the Paris most know today (i.e. the Paris of famous monuments, 5 story buildings, wide boulevards, large squares or 'places', grand baroque or neo-classical structures).  With my sense of fashion and style, French fluency and general air of Savoir-fare, it I thought I fit in well with the younger chic crowd and could have been taken for one of the locals lounging about the grass-

I discovered One American trend currently sweeping the  Parisian cafe scene that I had no hesitation in participating in-

Paris really is such a delightful city and one enjoys its many pretty venues just aimlessly walking  about (my speciality)-

I also visited the church of Saint Chapelle which was built by Louis IX around 1250.  The church- actually built by Saint Louis as a private chapel for himself and a few hundred of his closest friends- is famous for its stunning stained glass windows, 2/3rds of which are original from the 13th century.  And coming around noon with the sunlight hitting the windows was an awesome experience-

Pictures do not capture this at all.

And I strolled down this oddly named, but for some reason quite popular, blvd and stopped briefly at its most famous cafe-

And I observed a kid eating a well known French dish, which if you are going to see that anywhere, it will be on the Champs Elysee-

Later,I joined a tour for a very fun and informative bike and boat ride in the evening, which took us to some of the more off the beaten path and little known type places- 

Really, though, Paris is quite the place and, I think, deserves its lofty reputation.