Museum hopping

I have Friday off from work, so usually I try to spend it doing something cultural. This past Friday, I got tied up in the morning doing chores around the house and then had to go to the bank. My bank is in Montparnasse, so I took the train there, got my business done, and proceeded to walk through the Jardin du Luxembourg. Once there, I walked down Boulevard Saint Michel, in the heart of the Latin Quarter. I know this area very well and it is very dear to me, as last year when I studied abroad here, I took classes at Paris IV (formerly La Sorbonne). While in the Jardin, I looked up various museum shows going on, and decided that if I didn't find anything that pleased me, I'd return to Musee d'Orsay to see their show "Beauté, volupté, et morale dans l'Angleterre de Oscar Wilde" (more on that later). Well, I found a show that looked really neat at La Monnaie du Paris, otherwise known as the mint. It was called "Money and Artists: a dangerous liason" and had as it's cover image a picture of Serge Gainsbourg (whom I love) burning a 500 franc note. So I walked over to Place Saint Michel and turned left to walk along the banks of the Seine. Upon reaching La Monnaie, I entered and inquired about the exhibit. As it turned out, La Monnaie was under renovation and the exhibit was just an online exposition! So I decided to continue on to Musee D'orsay. When I got there, it was 5pm and they had sold their last tickets for the day, even though the museum closes at 6. So then I pulled out my iPad and looked up which museums were open late on Friday. Then it dawned on me! Le Musee de L'Erotisme, in Montmartre. I'd always wanted to go, but never made it in previous trips. And reader, I went. it has 5 floors all devoted to erotic art. It's a little touristy (come on, its in Montmartre AND it's a sex museum) but I found it overall, very tastefully executed. It's quite different from say, the Museum of Sex in New York, which is devoted to the act itself, and features many exhibits on human and animal biology. This museum, by contrast, is devoted to erotic art, spanning centuries and continents. Perhaps my favorite part was a floor dedicated to the maison close (brothel) of the mid to late nineteenth century in Paris. That was neat. I didn't take any pictures, but it's definitely worth a visit. Of course, if you are in Paris for a short time, obviously the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and (in my opinion) Musee Gustave Moreau, take precedence. But it is very interesting and worth checking out. Also, it's directly adjacent to a store called Supermarché Erotique, or erotic supermarket.