Paris Musee d'Orsey

#paris #museed'orsey #france #impressionists

After a busy week we arrived back Paris for the last stop on our cruise.
There was a choice in the morning of two trips, we decide to take the coach tour with views of the main sights as it was several years since our last visit and this seemed a good way to plan our afternoon free time. Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe where after being warned about pickpockets we got out for a photo stop, before continuing our tour. After this it was a little disappointing as our only other stop was for a break in a rather uninteresting park. Lots of shops were pointed out as well as several buildings which were of limited interest, a shame as you would need several days to explore these, and the main attractions were just quickly passed by. Talking to people who went on the other trip to Montmartre this had been disappointing as well. A shame as everything else on the tour had been so successful.

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In the afternoon we decided to visit the Musee d'Orsy as we had been to the Musee de l'Orangie on our previous visit and there wasn't enough time to do both.
Deciding to walk seemed a good idea at the time but it proved further away than we expected and finally arriving we first headed for a much needed drink.
We decided to go to the top floor to view the Impressionism exhibition and this proved well worth the long walk. It was impressive to see all the painting that we had only seen in magazines before. In reality the paintings were quite moving. 

To be able to see so many famous paintings by these greats of the Impressionist movement, Van Gogh , Monet, Cezanne and others,  in one gallery certainly made our day. 

Having spent so long in this area we didn't really have much chance to view the other artists and sculptures.

It was well worth a visit and we could have spent several hours here if we didn't have to get back to the boat. 
 A long walk in the heat and a surprise at the end as the boat was no longer moored on the jetty. After a small panic attack we walked on along the river and eventually found the new mooring point and were able to relax before our evening meal and the delight of packing our cases.
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To sum up our first river cruise is difficult because with it only being seven days we felt a little rushed at times compared with longer sea cruises, plus they are a little more expensive. We were lucky with Riviera as it was an anniversary year and we had several free upgrades. The organization was excellent apart from a couple of small problems and the two coach tours in Paris not being what people expected. The cruise director certainly knew his audience, keeping us entertained, and with only about 140 people of similar ages on board there was a very friendly atmosphere.
We would certainly look at river cruises again in future but possibly with a stay at the end.