I took a trip to the west side of Paris for a little culture and market shopping. My morning began at the Marmottan Monet Museum. I hopped on the metro to La Muette and walked through a refreshing park to reach the museum. The Marmottan houses several Monets along with other impressionists’ work and a variety of art. The former townhouse is a remarkable setting for the bequeathed paintings. If you can’t get enough of Monet’s water lilies, then you will love this place. If you are short on time, I recommend the D’Orsay and Orangerie before visiting this museum. I enjoyed the Monet’s and other Impressionists’ work more in those locations. (Sorry, no pictures inside, so I can’t share the artwork with you).
After seeing the beautiful color and light of the impressionist style, I was ready to get outside and see some of my own. I took a walk from the museum up to the Trocodero. One of my favorite moments in Paris happens when you turn a corner and all of a sudden the Eiffel Tower is peaking through. Sometimes you turn a corner and it screams at you because you are a lot closer than you realized. I walked down through the Champ de Mars past the Ecole de Militaire to a market called Saxe-Breteuil.
The open air market has a variety of products, but I went to stock up on my produce. After taking the cooking class last night, I am ready to do some cooking at home. A lovely French woman helped me select the freshest foods. She did not speak English, so we mumbled our way through figuring out what I wanted. I was going to get peaches, but she said the nectarines were much sweeter. She helped me select the perfect tomatoes and “bella” lettuce. I grabbed some cherries that I will candy and put on ice cream, goat cheese, or maybe some pork… I feel so adventurous!
At this point I was getting pretty hungry, so I walked up to Rue Cler for lunch. This may be one of the best places to eat lunch simply for the abundance of people-watching opportunities. It was finally time I ordered a croque monsieur, so I did. I opted to save a little money and have my cafe and dessert at home. What a beautiful day to get out and wander.
Liberated Traveler 
The Marmottan is wonderful, I agree. The Saxe-Breteuil marche is ondeed gorgeous, especially with the Eiffel tower views. How many scarves did you buy? Thanks for the marvellous photos.
So far I’ve only bought one scarf on this trip, but I know more are coming. My favorite store, Diwali, has some enticing scarves that I will probably purchase towards the end of my trip. Thank you for reading and viewing my photos!
Kind of fun to see the painting that Impressionism is named after, but also a little disappointing, no? The big paintings in the basement I found amazing. Also, it was interesting to see some of Monet’s personal items like his palette, glasses, and some personal writings on display there. I had never seen such items, made him seem more like a real person.
Have you been out to Giverny? I loved seeing his home. I would move in any day.
I still have not been to Giverny, it is on the to do list!
Your pictures are wonderful as is your writing I have never really wanted to go to Paris but you have given a different view and caught my attention
Paris is about 95% amazing and 5% overwhelming. I’ve seen the amazing on this trip, but I’ve also seen some of the darker side. I just try to ignore that. I know some people that would probably be interested in going with you if you ever decide :).