After we bought our tickets we made a bee line to see the Mona Lisa, thinking it would get crowded fast. Apparently everyone else had the same idea. When we got to the Mona Lisa there were 60 people already there. Where did they come from? I don’t know. But we saw the Mona Lisa, I was truthfully more interested in some of the other paintings in that gallery.
We walked and walked and then walked some more. We saw French, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch painters. Plus many I can’t even remember, it gets all jumbled together. I was hoping to see some Rubens’, not realizing there was a “Rubens Room” with 20 huge paintings by him. Another hilight for me were the Ingres’ paintings, they were lovely. They were more detailed than the impressionists we’ve seen this trip, but I decided what I like about Ingres is his soft touch and his pleasant colors. I took lots of pictures to study later!
After more than 2 hours of looking at paintings, we moved on and saw some sculptures, including the Venus deMilo. I think my favorite thing in the whole museum is the Winged Victory from Somothrace from the Second Century B.C. It’s breathtaking.
After this we decided to take in more history and saw the first example of “writing” by the Hammurabi, it looked like a 10 foot tall black polished stone of some kind covered in little hatch marks. Apparently these were the first people to put down their history, their laws, ceremonies, etc. and it’s all from 2100 B.C. That stone is 4000 years old. Our daughter, who is a senior this year, knows a lot about history so she explained all about the Hammurabi, their language (which I can’t remember and she’s not here to ask), Mesopotamia, Babylon, etc. Babylon . . . I’m always excited when I see something from a place I’ve read about in the bible!
After 3 1/2 hours of looking at stuff (!) we were done and couldn’t find the exit fast enough. The museum was crowded by now and we had absorbed all we could.
We found the exit, about a 10 minute hike from where we were in the museum, through the Egyptian relics, and emerged through the pyramid into fresh air and a beautiful day. The Louvre is next to the Tulieres Gardens so we decided we could make it that far (5 minutes on foot!) and sat down for lunch at one of the outdoor cafes in the gardens. We were famished and we all ate quickly, I’m sure the french think that’s how all American’s eat every meal. We ordered water because the cokes at this particular place were 4.5 euros and with the tax and tip they include each coke would have come to a little over $8. There is a limit and I guess $8 cokes is it for me!
Next we made our way back to the hotel and rested. I didn’t rest long and took off for a little shopping. Sadly I do not know the difference between a Mesopotamian and Babylonian relic, but I do know a stylish jacket when I see one. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s the truth. I am reminded of how much I do not know, but I won’t dwell on that. 🙂 Guess I should have been a history major . . . I think the kids were in their room watching the Olympics during my little shopping trip.
Now my husband has taken the kids to the movies. Our daughter will watch a french movie, she’s about to start her fifth year of french at school, and my husband and son will see “The Mummy”, or “The Momie” as the billboards advertise here, in english, I imagine with french subtitles.
I am heading over to the grocery store in search of some french cocoa so we can take some home and make hot chocolate ourselves. We have had some of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had here in Paris.
I’m not sure what we’ll do tomorrow. Tomorrow is a holiday, the Ascention of Mary, and all the shops will be closed, but museums and parks will be open.