Art at the Musee d'Orsay

To delve a little deeper into my Paris trip, The Musee d'Orsay is a wonderful place to lose yourself for the day.

Just around the corner from the museum is the restaurant, Le Telegraph, which boasts 'art nouveau' stained glass.

We had a lovely meal which started with smoked salmon

 Off to the museum to see the wonderful works of art!

Manet's 'dejeunier sur l'herbe

'

Monet's 'The magpie'

double panel Monet 'luncheon on the grass

One of my favourite artists: Alfred Sisley

Even Whistler's Mother was there!

More masters....

Manet's 'Berthe Morisot'

Manet's 'Women with fans'

Degas' 'Dancers in Blue'

Berthe Morisot's 'Le Berceau'

Finally, an ode to 'food'

Monet's 'The lunch'

A Renoir classic

Dance at le Moulin de la Galette

Van Gogh's 'self portrait'

Given that the museum was originally a train station, it has a fabulous huge clock that is open to visitation

Ironically, you can see the Louvre from d'Orsay's balcony!

 If ever you are in Paris, the Musee D'Orsay is a perfect day's outing!

The City of Love

Travel back in time with me again, to visit the 

City of Love, Paris.

When I was in my early 20's, I lived in Paris for a year,

 working as an 'au pair' (nanny).

Although it had not been my first time there, I fell in love with it and relished any opportunity to visit again, as I did in 2009.

No visit to Paris is complete without a trip to the Eiffel Tower!

The ride up to the top was a perfect opportunity to snap the inner workings of the magnificent structure!

Although it was a foggy day, the views were still spectacular!

Paris is known for its museums, but the Musee D'orsay is different, as its origins were as a train station built in 1898.

The most well known, or course, is the Louvre, 

with its blend of old and new!

Items on display included the Mona Lisa and the King's jeweled crown

Art even exists on the streets

Joan of Arc

Another Paris landmark, Notre Dame

Luxemburg garden, which was built in 1630 by Marie de Medici, (widow of King Henry IV of France) features a picturesque fountain in her honour

as well as a 'lake' that hosts many toy boats

I enjoyed many wonderful meals 

guess what this is??

Not all meals were at restaurants.   One day we made a traditional Caprese salad and Toulouse cassoulet

While in France it is absolutely necessary to eat pastries

 and creme brulee

I can hardly wait to go back!

Cruising through the Panama Canal

As I continue to share my past travels, join me on

 Holland America's 'Zuiderdam',

cruising through the Panama Canal.

My first impression of the canal system was thinking: "How the heck are we going to fit this ship in that narrow space?"

Note how close the ship is to the side of the canal

The train pulley system

Once docked at Colon, Panama, I ventured into the Gamboa Rainforest and was treated to local wildlife sightings

A sloth

Walking to the top of this....

...netted this beautiful view

The next port of call was Limon, Costa Rica, where I rode a rickety old train through the uninhabited (by humans) countryside

Look up, look way, way up and watch out for the 'howler monkeys'.

They are known to fling their own 'poo' at you if they get agitated.  I felt using my telephoto lens was in order for this shot

 My most favourite part of the excursion

 was visiting a banana plantation

The bananas are wrapped in blue bags as they grow in order to protect them from insects, bruising and ripening too fast

'Hanging around' to get their first hose-down!

Before being packed into boxes by hand,

 they are thoroughly washed in huge basins

I will never take a banana for granted again.  The manual labour that goes into its journey from tree to table is truely unimaginable! 

 Here is a small taste!

Our last stop was in Curacao - Zuiderdam was majestic in port

We were lucky enough to have a balcony cabin - my roomie C.W. enjoyed the view

Where's Waldo, oops I mean C.W.

The dutch influence can be seen in the colourful buildings

One aspect of cruising is having to doll up for formal nights!

  How did I do?

I couldn't possibly make a post without including some aspect of food.  I joined the culinary team and head chef for a hands on cooking demonstration

Our finished product....

Cruising is fabulous.....new lands are visited, new experiences are created and being mesmerized by the calm waters is so soothing....