Day 7: 16 October 2009, Friday
For our final day in Paris, we had the morning and afternoon free to explore what’s left of the French capital, before catching our evening train ride back to London. At about 10:30am, KP, TH and I headed over to Musée d’Orsay, located along the left bank of the river Seine.
Musée d’Orsay is located in a building that was formerly a railway station called Gare d’Orsay. Inaugurated in 1900, it allowed travellers from the southwest of France to reach the capital. There were also a luxurious hotel and grand reception room located within the building. The station was eventually abandoned as its short platforms were unsuitable for the longer trains that were being developed for mainline services.
In 1977, the French government decided to transform the building into a museum, and Musée d’Orsay was opened in 1986. The museum displays painting, sculpture, decorative arts, photography and drawings created between 1848 and 1914, a short but productive period. It has the world’s largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist artworks. While none of us are art aficionados, the opportunity to see some of the masterpieces by Van Gogh, Monet, Degas and Cézanne was not to be missed. We bought our admission tickets (€8 / S$16.56) and entered the museum excitedly.
The artist that we were most familiar with was Vincent van Gogh, so we went to his gallery first. The Van Gogh Museum in Netherlands holds the world’s largest collection of Van Gogh artworks (over 200 paintings and 400 drawings), rightfully so, as the Netherlands was his birthplace. Nevertheless, among the 24 Van Gogh paintings displayed here at Musée d’Orsay were some of his most famous ones, including Starry Night Over the Rhône, Bedroom in Arles and two of his self-portraits.
Van Gogh’s distinctive style was easy enough to identify. However, we were stumped when it came to the other artists. We couldn’t tell a Monet and a Manet painting apart, much less the difference between a Matisse and a Signac. Even though we were handicapped in the language of art, it was still enjoyable to walk among the galleries to see those beautiful works on display.
Aside from the art, I really liked how the railway station was repurposed into a museum. Much of the station’s interior has been preserved, including the grand clock by architect Victor Laloux and the stunning glass roof. It was a perfect fusion between the classic and the modern to create a special home worthy of some of the most esteemed artworks in the world.
We ended our visit around noon time, then went back to QM’s apartment to pick up our bags. Following that, we made our way to Le Défense to return QM the keys to his apartment (his office was located there). It was really great to have QM host us for the past five nights in Paris. Besides helping us save on accommodation, he also gave us an insider’s view of Paris by showing us around the city and bringing us to some really good restaurants. Thanks QM for making our stay in Paris so memorable!
La Defénse is the business district of Paris, where most of the city’s skyscrapers are located at. The district lies at the end of Axe historique, the historical axis that starts at the Louvre and runs through Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. The centrepiece of La Défense is La Grande Arche, a modern, 20th century take on the Arc de Triomphe.
Completed in 1989 and standing at 110 metres tall, the Grande Arche has the appearance of a large cube with a hollow centre. Viewed from afar, the building looks like a minimalist arch, devoid of elaborate statues and carvings that adorn the Arc de Triomphe’s façade. Maybe it was because we just visited Musée d’Orsay, but I thought the building kinda resembled a large frame with its painting removed. It was impressive to see the building up close.
After that, we took the Metro to Saint Sulpice, as KP wanted to buy some macarons from Pierre Hermé, which apparently sell the best macarons in Paris. Macarons are a type of French pastry made with meringue, egg white, sugar and almond powder. There is a sweet filling between the two rounded cookies, with flavours ranging from classic ones like chocolate to strawberry to fancy ones like foie gras.
True to its reputation, there was a line outside the Pierre Hermé store. We queued for about 25 minutes before it was our turn. The store was very small so I waited outside. I didn’t buy any macarons because I found them rather expensive. Besides, they were a little too sweet for my liking. After that, we popped in to Église Saint-Sulpice, a 17th century Roman Catholic church, for a quick look before heading to Gare du Nord.
For the return trip to London, TH had booked a different train with a later departure timing so KP and I left Paris first. Our Eurostar ticket cost £29.50 (S$70). We departed Gare du Nord at 5:13pm and arrived at London’s St. Pancras station about 2 hours and 20 minutes later at 6:34pm (London is an hour behind Paris). KP and I then went back to our respective apartment/hostel to pick up our remaining luggage before rendezvousing at Euston railway station at about 9pm, this time with TH too.
From London Euston, the three of us boarded the 9:43pm train and arrived at Coventry at 11:11pm. TH had pre-booked the train tickets and the fare worked out to be £8.67 (S$20.40) per person. Somehow, two of the tickets cost £9.50 while the remaining ticket was £7, so we just split the cost evenly.
The reason why we went to Coventry was because TH was working there at the time. He had rented a room from a local, so we gladly bunked in at his place for the night. There wasn’t enough space in TH’s room for the three of us, so I slept on the sofa in the living room downstairs. It was only for a few hours so it was alright.
Tomorrow would be a super exciting day as we would be travelling to Manchester to watch Manchester United play against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. We had bought our match tickets much earlier and we were pleased that they had arrived safely at TH’s place. It wasn’t so straightforward getting tickets – we each had to sign up to be One United members for the 2009/2010 season before we were allowed to buy tickets.
Each of us were given a membership pack, which included a Member’s DVD, an Official 09/10 One United Membership Card, a 2009 yearbook, a pen, a pin and a keychain. The Membership Card can be used to apply for match tickets throughout the season, and it also entitles us to receive Members’ discounts in the Megastore, Museum and Red Café.
The one-year membership cost £30 (S$68) and our match ticket cost £43 (S$101). Therefore, we each paid S$169 to watch a match at Old Trafford, comparable to the price of a pop/rock concert. Theoretically, we could recoup the cost of the membership by buying tickets for other matches and selling them away, since the membership allows us to apply for tickets throughout the season. However, it would have been too much of a hassle for TH to manage. Ok, time to catch a few winks before we visit the Theatre of Dreams tomorrow!