Mathematical History Tour (Plus): A Few Days in Paris

There is beautiful and amazing produce on EVERY corner! There are fruit stands EVERYWHERE - even in the metro (underground!). Every tiny market, and they are tiny, has a huge display of fruit outside, which makes it convenient for me to try to eat healthily!

I'm continuing to pack in venues as if each day is a tight-fitting jigsaw puzzle. On the positive side I'm seeing a LOT! On the negative side I hardly have time to process it and live it while I'm here. Tomorrow should be a slower day, though, and once I'm in Germany the pace slows considerably. Whew!

I was disappointed today when I got to Monmartre and realized I had left the SD card for my camera in my computer back at the hotel. Actually, I'm surprised that hasn't happened to me more often, but I guess Monmartre and the Salvador Dali Museum will just have to remain in my own head - though if you want to see imagines you can easily search online! Monmartre was very pretty; in my opinion it's the prettiest area of Paris that I've seen so far, so I am sorry not to be able to post pictures. I have pictures of plenty else to post, though!!

The Orsay Museum as seen from the Tuileries near the Lourve; note the clocks on the top floor.

Looking toward the Seine and the Louvre from the Orsay

Monmartre from the Orsay

A popular spot inside the Orsay!

The Rouen Cathedral Series by Claude Monet

Toulouse Latrec

Ours Blanc by Pompon

This Monet kept catching my eye: Coquelicots

And then there is the Louvre just across the Seine from the Orsay. I was at least as impressed with the outside as I was with the inside, which will be evident in the ratio of the number of photos outside to inside.

This place is HUGE! It was overwhelming to know where to begin, so like everybody else I made a bee-line for the Winged Victory of Samothrace and - you know what's coming next - The Mona Lisa. As you'll see in the pictures she's about as hard to get to as the Queen of England, but at least she stays put and people eventually do move on.

Honestly you would need something like two weeks spending all day in here to begin to really grasp the content! Here are a few other pieces that caught my attention:

Also by Leonardo da Vinci - Portrait of a Woman

Jacques-Louis David

Renoir - La Lecture

I visited a different sort of museum today as well - The Musee des Arts et Metier - an industrial design museum housing The National Conservatory of Arts and Industry (CNAM). I had planned only to zip in and out and take pictures of their collection of pascalines (early computing devices invented by mathematician Blaise Pascal). Once I got in there, however, I was sad I had packed my day so full. I could have spent at least half a day in there. I'll post some pictures today, but some I should save for my post on Pascal. Oh, and I had forgotten something that I knew before I left home, and that is that Foucault's Pendulum is here as well, which was really cool!

This is what I came for - more in a later post -

They had sets of Napier's Bones here too!!

They had nice displays for children as well - big, functional objects - abacus, Napier's Bones, etc.

Everything was just displayed so beautifully

And there was cool stuff like this Monochord with keyboard (?!)

Also, they have the laboratory equipment of Antoine Lavoirsier!!

And Foucault!

Foucault's Pendulum - housed in St. Martin des Champs Church - part of CNAM

St. Martin des Champs Church - home of Foucault's Pendulum

St. Martin des Champs Church with CNAM on right

Yesterday I began the day by going up in the Eiffel Tower, but I've already put up pictures of that in my post on Sophie Germain and in my first Paris post. I'll try not to put up repeats.