Stay in school, kids. It will get you free stuff!

...in Paris at least. Today, I had the wonderful pleasure of going to see the Musée de Rodin and the Musée D'Orsay completely free (after I showed them my Carte Etudiante).

At the Rodin museum, better still, I bypassed the extremely long line and just showed the person taking the tickets my carte. It was a risky move, certainly, but he let me in. The only nice thing about being a tourist is you can always play dumb when you break the rules.

The museum is quite lovely, because the main draw (the Rodin pieces) are located outside in a beautiful garden. It was a beautiful day today (even though it was a bit chilly), so it wasn't terribly crowded. And, of course, I got to see the most famous sculpture ever. A nice start to my afternoon.

I then proceeded to D'Orsay by foot, which was doable but not exactly my favorite in the cold. I did have to wait in line over there for the metal detector, but inside I just handed the woman my carte and she gave me a ticket.

The museum is really a must see for anyone who even remotely likes looking at art. My favorites were the stunning collections of Van Gogh and Renoir, but there were plenty of other impressionists and post-impressionists that were breathtaking.

One big difference between the Louvre and D'Orsay is that there's no picture-taking at D'Orsay. I actually really liked this, because it really makes the experience a lot classier. Instead of having everyone flashing their cameras, all the patrons are merely looking and admiring the artwork, which is the reason that they came after all. Of course, I did really like being able to capture the things I really liked from the Louvre.

Parts of D'Orsay were being renovated, but this gave me the opportunity to see literally every room available in the museum. It made me feel really acomplished, but extremely tired. All in all, a very fun day in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.

Here are some pictures I took of Rodin, and also some from the Champs the day before.

Ian

Fun fact: although Disney marketed their new princess movie as "Tangled" in America because they thought it would appeal more to boys, in France the movie is simply called "Raiponce" (Rapunzel).

Marché de Noel

Outside D'Orsay

It doesn't look too impressive from the outside, but the interior is gorgeous (no photo, of course).

I think the RER C is the nicest train I've been on in Paris (and I only took it for one stop...)