Thanksgiving in Paris, part 2

I returned to Oxford last night, but I still need to talk about the rest of my trip to Paris!

On Saturday, my aunt and I went to a museum called L'Orangerie. The main exhibit there is 8 of Monet's Water Lilies paintings. The museum specially constructed the two rooms that the paintings are in according to Monet's specifications. He apparently was quite specific about how he thought the paintings should be displayed. The museum also used a special lighting system, which was mostly natural light, also according to Monet's specifications. The effect on the paintings was incredible.

We then saw the other works of art in the museum. They have a very large collection of Renoir paintings. Perhaps the most famous is Two Young Girls at the Piano. It was amazing to see these paintings in person. The museum also had paintings by Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, Modigliani, Soutine, and others.

After this we went to an exhibition of Jesse Fernandez's photographs at the Latin American House. Jesse Fernandez took photos in Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, New York, London, and Paris. Some of his pictures, especially in Latin America, were of daily life. Once he reached New York, London, and Paris, though, he seemed to mostly take pictures of famous artists and writers. The most interesting pictures, in my opinion, were those of Cuba right before the revolution. Fernandez managed to capture several pictures of both Castro and Batista.

Next we went to the Luxembourg gardens, which are behind the place where the French Senate works. Because it is nearly winter, the gardens were not as pretty as if it were spring or summer. Most of the leaves from the trees are gone and many of the flowers dead. Still, it was a nice place to walk around and explore.

Yesterday, I went to my aunt and uncle's church, an English-speaking Catholic church not too far from their apartment. The priest who led the service and gave the homily is actually American, from Georgia. After that, my aunt and I went to the airport, got lunch, and I flew back to London.

A huge Christmas tree near the Orangerie museum.

The place where the French House of Representatives works.

Me on a footbridge. It was pretty cold so I was wearing a thick coat.

A painting at a cafe of US president Barack Obama and French president Francois Hollande.

The front of the building where the French Senate works.

The back of this building, and the start of the Luxembourg gardens.

Luxembourg gardens.

My aunt with a small model of the Statue of Liberty, which was constructed by a Frenchman.