So, today (Friday) after breakfast (croissants, ham & cheese, fruit and tea/hot chocolate) we took bus #63 from Place St. Supice to the Alexander Bridge (the most ornate of the Parisian bridges) then walk for about 10 minutes along the Seine to one of the newest museums in Paris- Quai Branly- a museum of African, South American, Pacific Island and Asian cultures. A facinating museum both inside and out. To enter the museum, one walks along pathways leading through a sea of grasses and wild plants. You would never know you were in the middle of Paris, more like being in the grasslands of the pampas. To see the exhibits which were beautifully presented and well marked in both ENGLISH and French, one walks up a long curving ramp on which the names of all the cultures are flowing like a winding river.... white words moving like water on a black ramp. It was a very effective presentation of the movement, multiplicity and diversity of the cultures represented in the museum.
We first visited the special exhibit- the Mayan Culture, which was full of information and artifacts. The exhibit was on loan from the National Museum of Guadamala on loan for several months. After that we made a general tour of the other exhibits which was so extensive and facinating that we said we would have to return and do it in short visits. It was visually overwhelming and after a couple of hours we were saturated. Beautiful objects from places that we know so little about ( their native cultures). I especially enjoyed seeing the native art of Australia and New Zealand as well as the Pacific Islands.
Home for a 2:00 mid day dinner, then a bit of time writing. We are finding this visit quite a relaxed one with J & P. We have now spent enough time together that everyone is pretty relaxed. The language is flowing better: both in french and english- we use french most of the time but lapse into english from time to time. Its good for all of us to have a chance to practice!
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