The Museum Challenge hits Month 3

My museum challenge has entered its third month. As a recap, I have challenged myself to visit as many museums as possible in the last six months before I hit 26 and the museums of Paris stop being free. December is a crunch month as I'll be spending half of it far from Paris, home in the States for the holidays. To get things off to a good start, this weekend was a double header. Saturday's destination: the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Decorative Arts Museum), accompanied by Peter and my couchsurfer Lizzie.

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is a funny blend of topics. Our first wing was filled with different kinds of "illusions," from warped images whose reflections created recognizable images to Victorian era-corsets, bustles, and fantastic hats, to rooms filled with eclectic furniture all displayed upon a mirrored floor. Perhaps the only thing coherent about it was its incoherence. From here we ventured into historic furniture galleries and period rooms organized by decade. Finally we made it to a several-story open room filled with lots of old-time futuristic furniture centered around a small hill covered in all sorts of chairs. And all the while, we couldn't help but admire the view of central Paris as sundown as we caught glimpes from the museum windows.

A visual recap of our visit to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs

As I understand, the museum also has a jewelry gallery, a toy collection, and a fashion exhibit, but we didn't make it to those sections before closing time.

Of course, as is only fitting for a weekend on the town with a guest, we did some wandering through ritzy neighborhoods in Paris. I had to share what we spotted in the Pierre Cardin windows:

Paris and its haute couture, via the windows of Pierre Cardin

And to properly finish off a Saturday night in Paris, Lizzie and I met with my friends Orr, Samuel, and Samuel's guest in town for the weekend for a jazz concert at the Caveau de la Huchette.

The Caveau de la Huchette comes alive when the musicians take the stage.

Around the crack of noon Lizzie and I began thinking about beginning our Sunday. Despite the slow start, we made it out to the Chateau de Vincennes way down the eastern end of metro line 1. This veritable castle was first built as a hunting lodge for the Capetian kings in the 1100s back when the town of Vincennes was still a forest. Over the centuries, different monarchs added to its complexity. Some of my favorite features of the castle were its fireplaces large enough for me to walk into with my arms stretched over my head, as well as a king's private study and treasury, the door to which Charles V kept locked (he had the only key) and sealed with wax when he was traveling. Later on, the Chateau de Vincennes was used a prison for some notable French celebrities whose writings are now kept on display in the castle. One special cell is denoted as the former jail cell of the famous writer and hedonistic philosopher the Marquis de Sade (from whose name derives the word "sadism") who, according the the museum, was first imprisoned for "outrageous behavior in a brothel." Would you expect any less from the father of sadism?

The Chateau de Vincennes, a real castle accessible via the Paris metro

After the Revolution, the Chateau de Vincennes was converted from a royal residence to a military fort. Napoleon even made modifications so it could be used for modern artillery. Of course, these days, thousands of commoners trample through what was once a home of kings. And as an under-26-year-old European resident, I even got to do so for free.