Journees du Patrimloine: Ministere des Affaires Etranger (Quay d'Orsay)

We got a slow start Sunday for the Patrimoine, for no particularly good reason.  The weather had turned cold and it rained on and off.  We did not have high hopes for the afternoon weather.

We had intended to start our day with a visit to the Assemblee Nationale, but were warned off of it by another American, who said the lines were long and the tour disjointed.  I did a little research and discovered that we can book a tour anytime the Assemblee is not in session.  The earliest openings are in November, but still, all it takes is some planning, and we will avoid hours in line and elbowing crowds.


So we went directly to the Ministere des Affaires Etranger (Quay d'Orsay). 

As it was we waited about a half an hour in line as the skies went from blue and sunny to gray and threatening.  As we finally got through the line and passed through security to enter the side door, the first drops fell.  By the time we climbed the stairs to  the second floor rooms where the visit began, the rain was lashing at the windows.  Excellent timing!

They put on quite a show. Throughout the building there were displays of French products and accomplishments, and a slideshow and lecture on the most recent UNESCO site, cave paintings that are being copied and protected.  The music room was set up for a concert, but we decided not to wait the hour until it began.  Of course, the building was magnificent all by itself.

 The juxtaposition of the copy of the globe of Louis XIV (the huge original is in the National Library) and a satellite was a bit jarring, a bit different from the usual historical building on display.

Then there were a whole row of meeting rooms of various sizes for various types of groupings. One imagines a  complicated protocol of what room gets used when and for whom. 

 The small dining room was ready for lunch, with displays of menus from lunches and dinners over the decades.  There was a video showing the formal dining table being set, with the ushers measuring the placement of every item on the table.

And of course there was a stunning chandelier. 

Then there was the music room all set up for a concert.

 Note the gallery above to allow listeners upstairs as well as down. 

Every state department needs a ready sewing kit. 

 In 1938 the King and Queen of England came to visit. so of coure the French installed a Queen's bathroom and a King's bathroom. 

In between the two royal bathrooms is a meeting room; one wonders if the bathrooms are available should any visiting dignitaries feel the need. 

The minister's office, complete with work laying around...or maybe just for show.

 There were some incongruous displays of local boosterism.

Just when we thought we were about to be ushered into the gardens and the exit, we passed through a large room set up to display the various arts and artisans who maintain the objects of art and furnishings of the ministry.

Then it really was time to leave the ministry for the extensive gardens outside.  

 But there was one more treat in store.  Just as we were walking along the side of the building toward the street, musicians in fancy uniforms started emerging from the basement.  They smoked a little, chatted a little, and hit a few notes.

As we rounded the building outside toward our next stop, the musicians began to play. 

And we made our way towards our next destination as the band played on.