Walking all over the Louvre (21 July)

The day is drawing to a close and I’d say it’s been a success!

We started off going to the Arc de Triomphe, a monument built at the command of Napoleon. There we saw the tomb of the unknown soldier. We also saw the most insane roundabout (traffic circle) in the world. I’m surprised no one died as I watched in awe at the crazy flow of traffic.

Arc de Triomphe

We walked down the Avenue des Champs Elysees, which is apparently famous because all the ultra-rich designers have their stores there. Common folk like me aren’t even aloud in because I might touch a 2,000-Euro scarf with my middle-class paw. Well, that’s not really my scene anyway. Kathryn and I broke away from the slow-moving group so we could go see some sites. We walked through the Tuileries garden, a park-like area that was once the location of a palace. From there we ventured onto a small street and found a hopping bakery where the locals eat for cheap on their lunch breaks. Then we went to the Louvre!

Lunch in Jardin des Tuileries

Man oh man. Everyone that’s ever been to the Louvre had told me how huge it is. Well, it’s true! There are so many neat things in there. I saw many many many old paintings and statues. I think it was probably good that all the signs and information were in French because then I didn’t stop and read everything. Kathryn and I covered some good ground for our three hours in the Louvre; we went to every floor, but not every wing of every floor). We made sure to hit the highlights . . . like Michelangelo’s statues, da Vinci’s paintings, and some others. The crowds around those areas were ridiculous. When we got to the Mona Lisa I was suddenly much less excited to see it, figuring it was not worth fighting through the crowds to get a close look. I think da Vinci had greater accomplishments than her, anyway (and besides—I saw some of his notebook pages at the British Library on Monday! Beat that.).

My favorite parts of the Louvre were the less-visited areas. For example, on the top floor we found 17^th-century Dutch and German paintings. I quite enjoyed those. Overall, we were pleased with our time spent in the Louvre. Seriously, someone could spend weeks in that place seeing all that’s there and really taking the time to appreciate it.

Next we headed across the river for one more museum: the Musee d’Orsay. This is another art museum, but it significantly smaller and includes works that I’m more familiar with and connect with more. I saw quite a few pieces from Degas, Manet, Remoir, Monet, Cezanne, and Van Gough. After about an hour there, our feet were killing us, so we tracked down the nearest metro and went back to our hotel area. We visited a nearby grocery store and got some yogurt, fruit, and a baguette for dinner and then chowed down. We’re feeling pretty good about this day.

Tomorrow we go to Versailles, which I think will be the highlight of this trip. I’ve always wanted to go there!

Outside the Louvre

Inside the Louvre

I could take him any day.

I took this at full zoom. This is how close I got to the Mona Lisa. That man has a nice bald spot, eh?

Liberty leading the People (I think that's what it's called)--one example of the many famous paintings I saw in the Louvre