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We've discovered that on the first Sunday of the month during winter, most of the museums have free admission. On the first Sunday of November we took the train downtown and made our way to the George Pompidou Center to visit the Musee national d'Art moderne. On our way there, on a cold and bright winter's day, we stopped at one of the several Starbucks (yes, Starbucks), and got ourselves lattes -- a treat indeed. While you can get cafe everywhere in Paris, not all of the cafe is good quality (i.e. tasty), and its unusual to be able to get a coffee to go.
Click here to get to the official site for the Musee d'Art moderne
http://www.cnac-gp.fr/Pompidou/Accueil.nsf/tunnel?OpenForm- with a great photo of the very controversial Centre Pompidou at night -- its architecture still baffles and delights (I count myself among the baffled,
in case you're interested!).
The Centre Pompidou is always a hustle bustle of people, no less so on this Winter's day. There are always hundreds of people watching various performance artists in the huge square, hundreds more in line for the Musee, and hundreds more milling around, eating crepes, or sitting at sidewalk cafes drinking a coffee or a beer. One of the lovely things in Paris is that many of the sidewalk cafes are still open in the chilly winter -- they use awnings and suspend heaters to keep the sidewalk-sitters warm. Keeps Paris bubbling with sidewalk life.
The Museum of Modern Art was amazing. My favorite part (pleb that I am) was the outdoor sculpture decks - amazing bronze works by the likes of Giacometti against a backdrop of pure blue sky and the whole of Paris at our feet like a carpet. The second photo from the top is taken from within the Musee, through one of the outdoor sculpture areas, and looks off toward Sacre Coeur, which you can see if you squint - or if you click on the photo - I believe the photo will enlarge . . .
This Sunday, we're off to the Musee d'Orsay to indulge in impressionist art.