Louvre and Orangerie - Paris

It's Fall in Paris and the leaves are turning yellows and reds. Every day seems to get more colorful. This photo was taken in the Tulleries while walking from the Louvre to Orangerie.
The day was rainy as we walked on rue Montmontre to the Boulangerie to have the morning pan au chocolat, stopped at the Tabac Cafe (a little place) for an espresso, and then on to rue de Louvre. It wasn't a hard rain, but a gentle downpour that was enough to warrant an umbrella. Our umbrellas were bright and colorful: one blue with white flowers and the other black with bold red, orange and yellow women's shoes. We entered the Louvre from rue de Rivoli on the northeast end of the building. This took us into a courtyard, Cour Carree. I had to walk carefully across the cobblestones and kept my eye out for an easier path. We rounded the corner and the glass pyramid was in front of us. A small devise was working its way up and down the glass to clean (clever...always wondered who cleaned the glass). I directed the walk to the pedestrian passage way on the north side of the building to the entrance for the Museum Pass holders. The guards told us to use the main entrance to the pyramid and just go right in. We returned to the pyramid, looked at the long line, then went to the open entrance and showed our passes. Straight through, past the long line, and down the escalators. The main lobby was filled with people waiting in line for tickets, but we zipped right past them and up another escalator to the Denon Wing. It was easy to find my favorite sites: Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and Liberty leading the people (a woman my own heart). We stopped for a lunch break at Cafe Mollien and enjoyed salade du frommage and wine (because it's Paris!). We left the Louvre and crossed under Arc du Carrousel. I stopped to talk photos: eastward towards the Louvre and westward across the Tuilleries towards Place de al Concorde. (Photos are in another format and I'll add them when I return.)
The Tuilleries were glistening after the rain. The open air cafes, nestled in the trees, were empty as we strolled by, and warmed only by the glow from the kitchen. I heard them yell out to me as I walked by "Stop and have a cafe creme!!" But, I had to keep moving towards the Orangerie Museum.
We walked up the ramp to the museum. As we reached the top sidewalk, the Place de la Concorde with all of hustle and bustle activity drew our attention. Cars, busses, motorcycles, bicycles, all whirled around the monument obviously heading somewhere very important. The Tour d'Eiffel appeared in the background with the top section hidden by the fog. Statues and lampposts glistened with the wetness from the rain. (Yes, there is a great photograph...on the "big camera" so stop back later.)
Musee de l'Orangerie houses eight very large Monet paintings from the time spent at Giverny. I took a lot of close up photo to use as screen savers on the computer. I had seen these the first time I visited, before I went to Giverny. Now the photos came to life as I imagined being at the house and the pond, with the long branches of the trees hanging down into the water, and the reflections from the surrounding plantings mingled in with the flowers on the pond.
I had intended to take the Metro, or at least a bus, back to the apartment. But the traffic was going the wrong way! and so were the busses. We ended up walking through the shops on Rivoli, enjoying all of the sights and the sounds, and made our way back to rue de Louvre and the neighborhood. I was exhausted and went straight up to the apartment. Dinner was a yummy selection of cheese, baguettes, grapes, and wine...of course.