Paris - Day #1

Being the mean parents we are, we took our kids to Paris for the weekend. (Aaarrrggghhh!) The poor things hated the food and worried they would starve. John immediately claimed the half-eaten tube of Pringles as his to help him survive the weekend.
We started off with the Rodin museum which was just amazing. The museum was actually created while he was alive (early 1900's) which is interesting because when you look at the source of many of the pieces in the museum, Rodin himself donated them. There is actually film of him on display. Another interesting thing is that his most famous sculptures are display outside in the garden. The Thinker, The Burghers of Calais, The Gates of Hell, and Balzac are outside. How strange! Pictured are The Thinker, The Burghers of Calais, and the two hands are called The Cathedral.
'The Burghers of Calais represents a true story. The French port city of Calais was under siege by King Edward III of England. The king of France told them to hold out at all costs. The French king was unable to come to the rescue and the city was about to starve. The English king told them that if they could get six of the city leaders to surrender to him, nearly naked with nooses around their necks, bringing the keys to the city, he would spare the city. So they did, and he did. Later the pregnant English Queen asked her husband to spare their lives, killing them would be a bad omen for the baby's birth - so they lived.
After the Rodin we went to the d'Orsay museum, which is the sister museum to the Louvre. The Louvre has all the really old art and the d'Orsay the more modern pieces by very well known artists such as Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Toulouse Latrec, Gaugin and Degas. The building itself is also interesting as it is a converted train station. One picture is of the main gallery and the other is one of the world's most famous painting by Degas ... or Monet ... or Manet??? No idea, but I liked it.