Yesterday we spent the afternoon wandering around the Luxembourg Gardens which are not far from our apartment. It was another public holiday here, VE Day, so the Gardens were full of Parisians enjoying the day off with their children and spending time beyond their apartments. The gardens are part of the Luxembourg Palace which now houses the Senate of the government. I am not sure exactly how the government works here and if the senate has the same role as at ...

Yesterday we spent time at the Pompidou Centre and then just wandering around the streets of Paris. Pompidou is another art gallery but this time full of modern art. It is an amazing space with escalators and all the pipes for electricity, air conditioning etc on the outside of the building. Some of the art was interesting and some of it was challenging but it was good to visit as I had never been to this Centre before. After our visit there we wandered aroun...

Yesterday we visited the Musee Rodin. This museum is full of sculptures created by Rodin and his students. It is in what used to be his house and many of the sculptures are in the gardens which are beautiful. Photos in album show some of the main works. Also revisited Musee d'Orsay to see works by Monet, Renoir and other impressionist painters. Our museum card has been good value as we have been able to come and go from the various galleries and museums and ...

Yesterday we visited two famous art galleries, the Orangerie and the Louvre. First stop was the Orangerie where there are two rooms of Monet's waterlilies. It is a beautiful museum which has been closed for a number of years for refurbishment. Now that it is open again it is set out the way Monet designed it with an anti room leading into the waterlilies galleries so that the rush and bustle of Paris can be left behind while you contemplate waterlilies at vario...

Today we spent most of the day at the Palace of Versailles. Again the crowds were plentiful but well managed so it didn't seem too bad. The Palace if vast with some 700 rooms, 67 staircases and 50 fountains. An audio guide was included in the entry fee which kept the crowds moving and also gave us access to a number of areas we had not seen before. After touring the palace we decided to have lunch there so we found the restaurant and, although not amazingly ...