paris getaway: musee d’orsay & brunch

last year this time i lived near paris

just far close enough that day trips were possible

but it was far enough and i was busy enough that those were a luxury

one day, when grad school, family commitments and a global job hunt just weighed me down very hard, i spontaneously checked my schedule and decided i had time for about one half day of utter indulgence & breathing space

i was mildly resentful of having been to paris a few times before and lived near paris for 6 months and still haven’t had seen the musee d’orsay

so i hopped on a train to Paris after an recruiting event at 10pm

when i got off at gare de lyon, i booked myself into the next holiday inn and then took a long bath

(with hotel soap – not so terribly luxurious)

i got up super early in the morning and just wandered around, indulged in a great brunch

at a wonderful art noveau style corner restaurant

and then made my way along the banks of the Seine to the Musee D’orsay

it was magical – less so for the crowds around my favorite paintings or that infamous view of the clock

but more for how utterly indulgent it felt to have stolen some much needed me-time

how do you get away from it all on those days where you simply feel the need for some breathing space?