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samedi 8 mars 2003 |
guillaume in the place de la concorde at the beginning of the avenue des champs elysees, with the arc de triomphe in the distance.
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after crossing pont de la concorde we walked to place de la concorde. it was early on a saturday morning, the weather a cool 48 degrees. this spot was the heart of the reign of terror during the french revolution, where the guillotine stood and mobs watched public executions. late in the 1800s an obelisk, recently liberated from egypt where it had been for 2,000 years, was relocated here and the square was renamed, in an attempt to partially cleanse its bloody history.
our goal on this walk was now in sight: the musee de l'orangerie in the corner of the jardin des tuileries. it was a tall, narrow old building, standing like a small chateau inside the garden wall. margueritte purchased a hot crepe from a sidewalk vendor. we walked through the main gate into the garden and found the entrance to the museum from the garden blocked. thinking the museum entrance must be on the quai des tuileries, a busy traffic artery outside the garden along the bank of the seine, but close to the other side of the museum, we went back out the garden gate and walked along the perimeter wall looking for an entrance to the museum. this was a mistake. we followed the wall to the far end of the garden, by the musee du louvre. we came back through the entire length of the jardin des tuileries to the corner where the musee de l'orangerie stood, blocked by barricades. we finally realised the museum was gutted. scaffolding could be seen clearly through the windows. it was closed for remodelling.