We were up early, eager to make the most of our last full day in Paris. We had only a short walk to the Metro, but got side-tracked when we realised that many of the tiny shops along the street behind our hotel sold fur and leather goods. No customers were in evidence but it was too early for French shoppers. I couldn’t resist closer inspection, so we pushed open a few doors and wandered around, but soon discovered that they were all wholesale distributors. Nothing was marked, of course, and when I asked for the price of a divinely way-out feathered hat (a couple of hat wholesalers there too) we nearly choked and made a quick exit.

Consequently, our arrival at the Musee Marmottan, a longer journey on the underground than I anticipated, meant that we had a long wait in the queue. Standing in the rain for two hours was not part of my plan–on a previous visit this museum was still a hidden treasure and I’d gone straight in. When we eventually reached the ticket office we were confronted by a grumpy woman who refused to smile, or to excuse my poor attempts at French.

Despite the less than delightful start, we wandered around, entranced by Monet’s superb paintings. I had difficulty locating the gallery with the large waterlilly scenes, which I remembered as making me feel that I could walk right into the lake and pick the flowers. As this is a privately owned gallery, the staff did not feel obliged to attempt to understand or respond to my request for English directions, but with lots of smiles. ‘S’il vous plaits’ and attempts at describing the gallery I wanted, we retraced our steps and eventually stumbled on the right room. No photos permitted, of course.Continue reading→