Tucked away in the 7ième arrondissement of Paris is the Musée Rodin.

It's not big and fancy like the Louvre or Le Grand Palais. But if you like flowers and/or sculptures, I highly recommend stopping by (if you're lucky enough to have a sunny day in Paris!)

If you're just interested in the gardens, you can pay just 1€ to enter and explore them at your leisure - the cost to enter the full museum and the gardens is 9€.

If you're lucky enough to be a student in the EU ages18-25 years old or a French teacher (random?) congrats you get in for free!

Being a poor graduate student, I stuck to the gardens. The flowers were in full bloom, although I can only imagine how much more spectacular they'd be if I'd made it there a few weeks earlier - by the time I'd arrived most of the roses had seen their peak.

Several of Rodin's sculptures are outside in the gardens. So unless you're a massive Rodin fan, or really into sculptures, I think the 1€ ticket for the gardens is all you need to enjoy your visit. I definitely recommend waiting for a sunny, or at least a quasi-sunny day if you're lucky enough to come across one while you're in Paris.

And make sure to explore the full grounds - after visiting the gardens toward the front, there is a back area with a large fountain, and some wooded areas that are definitely worth exploring!

Address:
79, rue de Varenne - 75007 Paris

Open daily, except Mondays
10am to 5.45pm - open Wednesdays until 8.45pm
(Last tickets sold at 5.15pm)

Metro : Varenne (line 13) or Invalides (line 13, line 8)
R.E.R : Invalides (line C)
Bus : 69, 82, 87, 92
Vélib' : 9, Bd des Invalides
Car parks : Bd des Invalides

Website: www.musee-rodin.fr

Tel: + 33 01 44 18 61 10

Like plenty of women (and most cats), I am easily distracted by sparkly things.

I gaze into the windows of Harry Winston and Cartier, dreaming of wearing items I will never be able to afford. I stare at women wearing diamonds the size of gumballs when standing next to them in an elevator.

Creepy, I know. But I can't help it. The sparkles just draw me in!

So in an attempt to feed my need for all that glitters, I had to make sure I saw the exhibition “Bulgari: 125 years of Italian Magnificence” at Le Grand Palais, which was in Paris from December 10, 2010 through January 12, 2011.

The exhibit featured more than 600 pieces of jewelry displayed in chronological order, beginning with pieces from as early as the 19th century, created by Greek-born Sotiris Boulgaris, up through the 1990s.

Although the pieces were beautifully displayed, the layout of the exhibit was poorly designed. There were lines of people spending five minutes in front of one piece, which held up the entire crowd (and crowded it was).

Viewing these gorgeous gems became cumbersome, and at times, quite frustrating.

I felt like the museum could have done a better job of moving people along, or displaying the jewels in a way that made them easier to be viewed by large crowds.

But then again, it's the French: masters of creativity, but when it comes to practicality... not so much.

The exhibition also featured a private collection from Elizabeth Taylor, and rightfully so.

After all, this is the woman who wrote the book "My Love Affair with Jewelry." She took her diamonds seriously (and I don't blame her one bit.)

A short film detailing Taylor's love affair with Bulgari, as well as her relationships with the men and the jewelry that adorned her life, was very informative and allowed visitors to look at the pieces on display with a greater sense of the roles they played throughout her life.

Richard Burton (whom Taylor married and divorced twice) once said, “The only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is Bulgari.”

Apparently Eddie Fisher, her fourth husband (out of eight, or I guess seven, since Burton was a two-for-one) also contributed extensively to Taylor's Bulgari collection, in a failed attempt to salvage their marriage.

Emerald pendants, yellow diamonds, sparkling cocktail rings; I would have given my left foot to wear any of these stunning pieces (see below).

I got scolded for taking photos of the actual exhibit, so here are some I found through the power of Google Images. The photos don't quite do the pieces justice, but they should give you all an idea of Bulgari's stunning and timeless style.

Below are some additional photos I took from the Bulgari expo, of both and outside of Le Grand Palais.