Mons, Belgium: 6 August 2016
Day 37

Justin, Eileen and I had breakfast on the street in a little Parisienne cafe and then on to the D'Orsay.  Along the way, Eileen pointed out the most narrow house in Paris at 22 Rue Saint Severin.  It is home to a pizza shop now but you can easily see how, in days gone by, it was important to take advantage of all available space. 

 We then made a stop at Sainte-Chapelle.  Eileen saw that there were no lines so we headed there quickly...fabulous stained glass makes up almost all the walls in this church that was built in 1226 to 1270.  Initially designed to hold holy relics, the small building is actually two chapels on top of each other.  The spectacular stained glass survived the French Revolution surprisingly.  Eileen is used to being the leader when she goes to Paris with friends.  It was easy for me to take a back seat and follow along like a lemming just absorbing all the sights in the city.

Then on to the D'Orsay.  Again, we were surprised to see no lines.  Later we learned that tourism is down 70% in Paris now.  That meant fewer crowds as we roamed through the halls in the museum.  Justin is all about the Impressionists.  The collection in the Chicago Art institute is second only to the D'Orsay.  He was quite pleased to be able to jump in with both feet and soak up all the art.  And here we got to see Starry Starry Night up close and personally!  We were able to revisit favorites of Monet and Callibotte from earlier this summer as well as VanGough from Amsterdam.  Justin and I are both taken with Degas and we contemplated buying a print of "Dancers in Blue".  We have so much art work and not enough walls, but we don't have much that we have bought together.  We passed on the urge knowing that the purchase would remain in a tube in storage for the next several years.  We all could have spent more time so we will plan to return to the galleries at a later date. 

Buckwheat Crepes for lunch at another cafe.  Justin and Eileen had scallops with vegetables and a magnificent sauce.  My crepe had potatoes, cheese and bacon with slow-cooked onions.  We ended our respite with a Crepes Suzette and thoughts of childhood when Beverly made these at home.

Back in Mons, Lorayne was disappointed that she didn't get to see the AiChangs but Christina had called to chat so she was able to reconnect via telephone.  Another liquid evening for the five of us...