2025 - (Part III) Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, The Netherlands on AmaWaterways AmaStella and Paris!!

jcapurro1
Nov 27, 2025
7 min read

Updated: Jan 6

Wednesday, November 26 - Paris, France

A self guided tour of the Musee D'Orsay was scheduled for the morning. We all walked the long trek and stood in line waiting for the museum to open. I am walking the soles of my shoes bare!!!

This was a much anticipated visit for me. The D'Orsay is my favorite museum of all that I've seen in the world. The collection of Impressionists is without equal - so beautiful! After we got into the venue I headed up to the fifth floor. Went through the impressionist galleries six times!! Have now sated my appetite for the great painters of that time - at least for a while. Such genius, mastery of the art, glorious color and unique interpretations. One of my favorites, Caillbotte's "The Floor Scrapers", was hanging there in all its glory. This is the third time I've been to the D'Orsay, and only the second time that painting has been there.

The Floor Scrapers, 1875, Oil on Canvas. Rejected by the jury for the 1875 Salon, this painting turns the spotlight on workmen in a middle-class Haussman-style apartment in Paris Certain critics felt that the subject matter was vulgar, and condemned its.realism and working class focus. The crisp draughtsmanship, restricted jpalette of browns and greys, and a perspective with a high horizon line are all typical of Caillebotte's art. The painter became a member of the impressionist group, as well as collector of their work and a patron.

This is a very small painting, and if memory is correct, I believe by Edoard Manet.

Berthe Morisot, Bourges 1841 - Paris 1895. Jeune femme se poudrant, dit aussi Femme a sa Toilette 1877 - Huile sur toile

Vincent Van Gogh - Groot Zundert, Pays-Bas 1853 - Auver-sur-Oise 1890. Fritillaires,s couronne impériale dans un vase de cuivre. 1887 - Huile sur toile. (sometimes, the description was not in English!)

The Starry Night - 1888 - Oil on Canvas. In April, 1888, Vincent wrote to Emile Bernard that he wanted to paint a starry sky - a subject which preoccupied him for several months before he set to work on it. In September 1888, working by candlelight, he painted this view of Arles illuminated by gas lamps and the Great Bear glittering in the sky. In the foreground, a young couple conveys a romantic vision of love. A few months later, just after he had committed to a psychiatric hospital, he painted another version in which the whirling trajectory of the stars reflects the infinity of the cosmos.

Mademoiselle Gachet in Her Garden in Auvers - 1890 - Oil on Canvas - Van Gogh loved gardens. He was sensitive to the vertical power of trees, the wind rustling in the foliage, the colors of the flowers. He found the same secret force of nature in the Japanese prints that were very much in vogue at that time. In Auvers-sur-Oise, he painted several gardens as spring moved into summer, including that of Dr. Gachet, in whose home he spent several days. The figure in the white dress could be Marguerite, the doctor's daughter, peering at the artist out of the corner of her eye.

These are just a few of my favorites - there is so much more that I could recount of the impressionists, but will try for something further.

A replica and smaller version of our Statue of Liberty

Three grandsons being stalked by a polar bear! Joe, Trent and Alex

A former train station, the Musee D'Orsay is an extraordinary piece of architecture and design.

In the evening, we had a 6:30 time scheduled at the top of the Eiffel Tower for champagne, though those plans changed slightly, and I believe for the better. This would be my first time in and up the Eiffel Tower. In previous visits had only had the courage to stand beneath it!

Tonight is champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Like many famous spots in the world, the Eiffel Tower's security is intensive. There were two major seurity checks, walking through sensors, searches of bags, while others just look you up and down and then nod to pass you through to the next search. It's a sad world when even churches and synagogues must have these safety measures.

We finally gained the entrance to our elevator (more like a funicular), only to be there for perhaps thirty minutes while we watched the car try for its final ascent and empty its passengers so we could get on, but it was stuck. This sometimes happens in cold weather. We were finally redirected to an coveyance at another leg of the tower and up we went, first to one level, then to another. Finally we were at the top. Rather daunting knowing we were at the skinny end of this great tower. It was very cold up there - frigid! But beautiful Paris lay beneath us, all aglow on this cold, clear winter's night. The idea of champagne there wasn't so cozy, so we opted to go down to a lower level where we could enjoy our glass of champagne and one macaron. This came with the tickets we'd purchased.

We were not ready to leave the Eiffel Tower, but rather, were able to secure a beautiful table area in the restaurant, where we could relax, drink some very good wine, and listen to an entertaining Grimm-like fairy tale, created by Sandi and AI, about our trip thus far. So much clever fun!

I was especially happy to see this wine on the menu and remember a wonderful visit to Chateau La Nerthe in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Just as delicious as I remembered and enjoyed by everyone.

Thursday, November 27 - Paris, France . . . HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A bit of shopping at an outdoor local market (in the rain!), more walking and a rest before our Thanksgiving Dinner tonight. The fellows did a bit of hiking through the city. They are covering a lot of ground.

My friend, Martine, in San Francisco, recommended Brasserie La Lorraine on Place du Ternes. Martine was born and raised in Paris, and whenever she and her husband return here, this restaurant is on their list.

A beautiful place, near the Arc de Triomphe, teeming with people enjoying good food, excellent service, and an expansive wine menu, albeit, this restaurant specialized in fresh fish! No turkey for us today!

Our waiters and sommelier were so much fun! The only person in our group who speaks a bit of French is grandson, Alex, and he had a chance to show off for us. But most everyone spoke some English, so we were good. We began (and continued) with two very good French wines - a delicious Sancerre (forgot to take a photo) and a Cote de Beaune, which turned out to be the best Pinot Noir any of us had experienced.

We shared a pate, mussels gratinee, and best of all, everyone had at least one escargot - some for the very first time!

Choucroute - pig knuckle, pork, smoked sausage, potato and sauerkraut

A very memorable and unique Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday, November 28, Paris, France

Today we have another very wet day, so although I did a bit of a wander in the neighborhood of our hotel, have chosen to stay in until later. Am catching up the blog.

Tonight we have dinner reservations at "Baca'v Boulogne par Emile Cotte". But before that we will pay a visit to the Musee Marmottan which I believe has a permanent collection of about one hundred paintings by Claude Monet.

Musee Marmottan was very good, but felt that the Monet collection included any canvas to which Monet had touched a brush loaded with paint! Had a similar experience many years ago when I went to the Tate Museum in London to see the large collection of Turner paintings. Wonder what the artists would think seeing their collections diluted (my opinion!) with all sorts of canvasses, some perhaps not finished, some experimental . . . some an idea that never came to fruition. Just my thoughts, however, there were a few that were memorble.

The colors in these two paintings were magical.

Saturday, November 29, Paris, France

Inaugurated in 1962 by General de Gaulle, the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation, at the tip of the Île de la Cité, is one of Paris's major memorial sites. Designed by architect Georges-Henri Pingusson at the request of the association "Le Réseau du Souvenir", it evokes the suffering, isolation and inhumanity experienced in the Nazi camps, while paying tribute to the deportees. In 1975, an educational trail was added to combat Holocaust denial and raise awareness among younger generations. The current museography, redesigned in 2016, sheds light on the evolution of collective memory and explores the specificities of the different deportations, with a view to unity and reflection. A sober, striking place, essential to understanding history.

In 2016, this Memorial was completely renovated and changed from the simple cave with lights representiing each Jew taken from the Marais in the middle of the night by the Nazis and never seen again. Although, the changes brought much more depth to the experiences of those taken, by combining testimony, artifacts telling the horrific stories, and historical data during World War II. A very sobering visit . . . will the world never learn from the past?

Lining the walls are 200,000 crystal rocks representing the number of Jews taken from their homes in the Marais during the middle of the night and sent to concentration camps.

Packing . . . .

Meeting the gang at Musee Rodin, 2:00 p.m., then walking to dinner at Le Souffle . . . walking back to hotel - totally soaked from steadily falling rain!!!

Musee Rodin is another re-visit for me. Also a changed venue. The collection seemed more extensive than my first visit nearly twenty years ago.

WHAT A WAY TO FINISH OUR DINING ADVENTURES!

Sunday, November 30, Paris to SFO . . . all good things must come to an end.

Grands left early this morning. Alex and Trent had a flight at 9:30. Joe and Sofia flew out of Paris at 10:30. We will be following with our flight at 1:30 this afternoon.

A last breakfast in "the dungeon", as John refers to it. A small but pretty coffee room in the hotel basement.

. . . and the final time on the treacherous stairways of our wonderful and historic hotel. Navigating these stairs was a great occasion for prayer.

All flights to and from were on time. Everyone is home safe and sound. Fabulous trip, and a wonderful three weeks spent with family.

1 Comment

mark

Jan 14

Your Paris extension sounds absolutely magical! The Musée d'Orsay is truly special, and that Thanksgiving dinner at Brasserie La Lorraine with escargot is such a unique twist. Since river cruises involve crossing borders between Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands so frequently, staying connected can be tricky. For your next European adventure, I highly recommend this Europe eSIM. It works seamlessly across all these countries, so you don't have to worry about switching SIMs while enjoying your trip!