07 January, 2011

The Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées

We were très fortunate that Amy's father managed to snag the five of us tickets to the sold out Monet exhibit at The Grand Palais des Champs-Elyées...

Sooo fortunate, in fact, that two in our party with the stomach flu roused themselves from their sick beds just to go. And, let me tell ya, I later came down with that very same flu and wouldn't have been capable of that feat if Claude Monet himself had been there walking the step and repeat...

I left with a couple additions to my virtual masterpiece wish list; Les Dindons 172 x 175 cm, which made me want to jump up and down with glee...

And, La Rue Montorgueil 80 x 48.5 cm...

The rest of them are in a bidding war for the Red Kerchief. I saw snow through those french doors, stuck my nose in the air and walked on...

But, alas, we had one casualty at The Grand Palais. Mere minutes after I had been loving petting admiring Amy's mother's stole it was deftly slipped from her neck by a baaad person with good taste. Somewhere in Paris is a well dressed pickpocket...

Kindness of Mr. Fahrenkopf for getting us the tickets that allowed us to breeze past the queue of hundreds just hoping to make it in to see the exhibit. Now, had he known the cost of admission would be 12€ per person annnd a Louis Vuitton Mahina stole, there may have been a steep service charge for us freeloaders...XXOO

9 comments:

  1. It sounds like you had a fabulous time. Monet is my favorite artist. Should you ever happen to find yourselves in Paris in the Springtime (june-ish) you MUST stop by Nonet's garden in Giverny. It's like walking right into his paintings. Magnifique!

    The foodie in me wants to know more about where and what you ate too!

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  2. I remember my first visit to Paris at 18 and my Aunty telling me to watch for pick-pocketers....and not to smile. Monet's work makes me smile but not pick-pocketers. That would have ruined it for me.
    I want to believe that the Louis Vuitton shawl just slipped off her neck.
    pve

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  3. Thank goodness @girltuesday sent me off with a warning about the pickpockets. I was on high alert and, at the first series of paintings, where the crowd was the most dense, I actually felt hands moving all over me like I was in some kind of Madonna video. I immediately sent out a distress alert to Babe who moved his money clip from his back pocket to the inside, front zip of his Patagonia Better Sweater under his jacket. Poor Mrs. Fahrenkopf, who was using all of her energy to just stay upright, never had a chance. As an aside, her shawl was not only around her neck but, also under the weight of her coat. Seems Monet wasn't the only arteeest in the house that day...XXOO

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  4. quelle dommage! i'm so sorry to hear that poor mrs. fahrenkopf's shawl was snatched off her body (and while she was trying to convalesce through monet! shame). but i'm glad to hear that my tidbit came in handy and the rest of your merry party escaped unharmed.

    as i'm planning (plotting?) our bruxelles/paris trip, i'll be bearing this cautionary tale in mind.

    loving the entries this week--hope you're on the mend, chere! xo

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  5. You know, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in little old Richmond is fortunate enough to have been chosen to host this exhibit as well. All you have to do is drive on down, ooh and aah for a while and call afterward for a drink.

    Hope all is well
    Duck

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  6. Thank you for my virtual holiday in Paris. I'm enjoying every minute. So sorry about the lovely scarf. May the LV gods strike that pickpocket down in his/her tracks. xoxo

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  7. Quelle Horreur! Sounds like a scene out of Oliver Twist except in fancier surroundings.

    Now in Italy, on things like the subways and buses you will also feel hands on you....lots of pinching by Italian men, but not for purposes of stealing anything....just for their perverted pleasure. And unfortunately it's never the Eat Pray Love/Under The Tuscan Sun type of Italians that you might not object to. (sigh)... It took some getting use to.

    Did you go to that small but well known museum near the Louvre? I remember it has this painting of two huge fat ladies lying around eating. Those artists back in the day LOVED lots of plump, cellulite-y women lounging around eating Bon-Bons. I was born too late and in the wrong country. I would have made a fortune as a artist's model...

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  8. Love your posts on your trip! Thank you for sharing it with us. Can't wait to see your loot and your chic outfits!

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  9. Also looking forward to the loot report as well as the dining details!

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