chapter 68: PARIS DAY THREE

Today was the day. We were intent on seeing the Louvre how it was meant to be seen and dedicating the entire day to what it had to offer. We rode the metro early early morning and arrived to a short line just as it was opening. Moments before that though, a extremely happy and energetic dog plunged into the fountain and didnt' get in trouble, which I felt was awesome of the Louvre.

We purchased the audio guide so we could learn a little about the pieces as we went along. 

We b-lined it to the Mona Lisa first to avoid the hord of people that was bound to form. As we entered the room where she was housed, we couldnt' help but fall silent in her presence. The painting was suprisingly simple and almost unimpressive at first, but the longer you staired into her eyes in silence, the more powerful it became. I didn't want to leave and look at the other pieces, content with just standing and stairing hypnotized. To allow others the opportunity to see her close up though, we wrapped and weaved our way around the entire floor plan. The second highligh for us was the paiting of 'Venus in a Half Shell" which had a similar affect on me. 

The rest was sort of a blur... the audio guide was fun and interesting and we enjoyed the walk through, but by the end of the Egyption Art gallery, we got tired of seeing hundreds broken pots, shards and sculptures and our pace significantly quickened. The Mona Lisa definatly made it worthwhile.

{a little bored with statues}

{having deep thoughts}

Folowing the tour of the Louvre, we had some lunch in a "French Food" resturant - clarified by numerous signs explaining just that. It was operated, however, by an Asian family, so it felt a little less than authentic. We then walked through the Musee du L'Orangerie featuring the art of Monet and Picaso, after waiting in line for about 30 minutes. While in line, it started to slightly drizzle, and we debated back and forth whether or not we wanted to fork out the cash for unbrella. Our stinginess helped swayed us to a 'no', so luckly, we got into the museum before it started to really pour.

Inside, the Monet paintings were enourmous and one piece covered an entire wall, wrapping all the way around. We sat in the middle of the room and were happy to be surrounded by his masterpieces.

Our goal was to stay out all night to see the bright, magical lights of the Eiffel tower. We waked over to see it, but ended up bailing when it took too long to get dark. It did, however, give us a chance to see a famous strips of little market shops and farmer vegetable stands {I forget the name, but it was a 'must see' from Rick Steves}.

{starting on our way back home}