The most random museum ever

Culture shock is a funny thing. It can just creep up on you out of nowhere. Especially when (or because?) you are are not expecting it whatsoever. Sometimes we don't expect it because it's an English speaking or Western country, and so we think, "They're like me here, I won't culture shock." Sometimes we don't expect it because we haven't had much culture shock in the past, and thus, must be immune. Sometimes we don't expect it because we've been in that place for so long, we ought to be way past something cultural shocking us. The latter happened to me today at the museum.

First of all, it is free Sunday. On the first Sunday of every month, many of the museums in Paris are free. Since there are still, after all these years in France, several museums that I have not been to, I decided to join the crowds and hit up a museum. I looked up online last night about the few I hadn't been to yet, and decided on the Museum of Decorative Arts (to see "the beautiful in the useful". I understood it to be free on free Sunday.

Turns out I was wrong.

So once I arrived, discovered that it wasn't free, I had to go about decided what kind of ticket I wanted to buy. The brochure explained that there was the museum, the nave, and the Camondo section. You could buy a ticket for just the regular part of the museum, or just the nave (temporary exhibits), the two together, or all three. I decided, since I was already paying money, might as well buy for all three.

When I approached the ticket counter, I explained that I wanted the 3 way pass. The man corrected me and said that I wanted the Rivoli pass (which allows for the museum and the nave). No, I said, I'd like for the 3 way pass. And then I pointed to it, where it was listed on the wall, just to clarify.

"But it's not open on Monday or Tuesday," the man says to me.

"That's fine. I'd still like to buy it."

"I can sell you the Rivoli pass," he continues. I begin to feel confused.

"Can you not sell me the 3 way pass? Because that's what I'd like. To go to all three parts of the museum."

"The Camondo section of the museum is not included in this museum. It's another part of town. And it's closed on Monday and Tuesday."

"But today is Sunday...is it open today? And why do you have it listed to buy a ticket for it, if I cannot go to it?" I ask.

"You can go to...on Wednesday."

"I can't go today?"

"Yes. But it closes at 5:30. And it's not here. It's in another part of town. You should just buy the Rivoli ticket."

Frustrated nearly to tears--culture shock--that (a) this random ticket is listed as part of this museum but isn't included in this museum, and (b) that this man refuses to sell me a ticket for it, for some odd reason, I finally say, "Fine, I'll take the Rivoli ticket."

Once I had my (drama) ticket, I shook off the bad mood that man had tried to put me in, and wandered over to the temporary exhibit...which, oddly, was Ralph Lauren's antique car collection. I snagged one photo before a guard was quick to let me know that photos are absolutely not allowed. However, if you click on the link above (which I highly recommend), you can see the awesome cars that I got to see. They really were some of the coolest cars ever.

The reason I call this the most random museum ever, is that it had all sorts of exhibits...that had nothing to do with one another. And NONE of them had to do with the theme of the museum, which was how homes have been decorated throughout the centuries. So after seeing all kinds of rooms with various pieces of furniture, and an exhibit about stuff made to look like or from animals, I stumbled upon the "Playful Plastics" exhibit...which was all about the plastic inflatable toys designed by some Czech woman. The wall paper and the plastics made me a little silly.
There was an exhibit about publicities that recycle history...I think that was more interesting for the French than it was for me. Commercials and ads have way more cultural nuances that I am able to pick up on, so I just don't get the humor. There was a fashion exhibit that was so weird it scared me a little bit and I left it as quickly as possible. Then I stumbled into a jewelry exhibit, and oh my. So beautiful.

Jewelry through the ages. I was already fascinated before I even got to the Art Nouveau section. I'd never really seen any Art Nouveau jewelry...just furniture and buildings. This stuff was so pretty it about made me cry. I wanted so badly to touch it and look at it as closely as possible.
As a side note, when I went into the museum bookshop to buy a few postcards (something I do at every museum I go to), I found a book on Art Nouveau in English (!), and it had a section on the jewelry. I was so excited, until I flipped it over and saw that it cost 70 euros!!! What?! Ridiculous. I wrote down the name and decided I would look it up on amazon.com. And guess what? I found it on the French amazon (although it's coming from the US) for 6 euros. Take that, you overpriced museum bookshop!

Finally, just before I left the museum, as I was trying to find the exit (that crazy place was so easy to get turned around in!), I stumbled upon a room I hadn't seen. The Wood Room, it was called. It was so beautiful. And the best part about it...there were NO tourists in there! I found a spot to be alone for a sweet, quiet moment on a day when the tourists are out in droves.
All in all, I decided that the Museum of Decorative Arts was seriously the most random museum I've ever been to. There were moments when I was confused (the toy exhibit), scared (the fashion exhibited), thrilled (the car exhibit), blissfully happy (the art nouveau stuff), and just quietly content (the wood room). It started off rough, with my culture shock moment over the ticket, but ended with some happy sighs...and two books about art nouveau.