Today we headed for the Musée ď Orsay which has always been one of my favorite spots here.  Not too big, great impressionist collection and a beautiful building (an old train station).  But holy mackerel.  I don’t know whether to skip spring break or Easter week travel in the future.  There were way too many people and that kept it from being an enjoyable experience.  While still a great collection for us amateurs, the line (which Konnie fortunately figured out how to skip with our multiple museum tickets) and their being part of a new trend to not allow pictures of the building put a damper on the day.  The crowd was especially disruptive to it being as enjoyable a day as it otherwise would have been.  Since one guard gave me permission to take some shots, I did manage a few before being shut down by another.

But our walk home was also interesting.  Isabelle found some good shopping for both herself and others.  Then we met a gentleman on the street who thought we needed help and turns out he used to work for a biking operation in Boulder.  He started rattling off names of people he worked with in biking, including Lance Armstrong.  I said I didn’t know you could still say “Lance Armstrong” in France.  He proceeded to tell us how there were three things you couldn’t talk about in France…what happened to the Jews and Armenians and Lance Armstrong.  So Lance Armstrong’s sins were so bad he manages to fit in with two massive ethnic cleansings.  Talk about a fall from grace.

Anyway, it was time for school to be out with many children being escorted home by their Moms (very old fashioned here).  What was fascinating about this was that ALL the bakeries along our route (and they were numerous) were full with lines of Moms and kids extending out of the front doors.  Then there were little children hanging out on the streets like gang gatherings while eating their pastries.  I assume they have this routine most school days but none were obese.  So I guess it is the sugary drinks after all.