Musee D'Orsay, Musee Rodin and Napoleon's tomb

Our only day of rain during the visit.  Not much of a handicap since museums keep you inside.  Well two out of three did. 

Musee D'Orsay forbids pictures in the museum of any kind.  That worked much better for crowd flow.  Although it was evident that no does not mean no to several people, most patrons did not take pictures inside the galleries.  People are free to take photos in the café, gift store and outside, but museum staff gets in the face of those who try to sneak in a quick selfie or a pose in front of a Monet.  I don't know why people want those kinds of images, but they do.

Musee D'Orsay puts its entire catalog online and you are free to download any of the paintings in their collection.  Seems civilized.

The museum is in an old train station that is retasked for this new purpose.  Clocks are a prominent feature as a result.  Inside the café you can see the inside of the clock.  Jan and I kept expecting Marty McFly to appear.

The front of the museum faces the Seine river.  Boat rides come in handy later in the week.

Here is some sculpture sitting on the front steps of the museum keeping an eye on some very expensive real estate.

I told you. Any picture.  Any time.  You can download it.

If you really need to see yourself in front of a priceless piece of art you can always use Photoshop.

Our second chance to use our all access museum pass came at the Musee Rodin.  The sculptor's house is the museum site.  Many pieces are outside in the gardens.  For some reason, not certain why, the curators put speakers in the tall bushes and there were people singing somewhat frightening music and laughing. 

One of the most famous bronze statues serves as his headstone.  He is buried beneath "The Thinker."  The original carving is about 3 feet tall.  The outdoor version is a replica.

Since we are in France, "Do you hear the people sing?  Singing a song of angry men."  Technically the bust below is the person who inspired those lyrics. 

And the final stop on the tour today (daytime version), is Napoleon's grave.  It is inside the rotunda of a magnificent church.  Jan wanted to know where Josephine is buried.  Not here.  They split before he died.  She is in another part of France.

Story tellers claim that Napoleon's crypt is below the floor level so that visitors that come into the church to look upon his tomb will bow as they look over the edge.  In death we are still bowing to the former Emperor.  Personally, I think that's just a nice tale.  It isn't the original resting site of the remains. 

The church houses the burial sites of several other famous people from French history including other Napoleons.

Tonight we are checking out some other parts of Paris with a guide, who is also the person who drove us from the airport to our apartment and will take us to the train station later this week.