Another Day, Another Musee
EUROPEAN ADVENTURE, Day 18:Paris
space The world's most visited museum was our agenda for today. With more than 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century on exhibit in an area of more than 652,000 square feet, the Louvre seemed sufficient to fill our day. It has been said that it would take a person nine months to just glance at every object on display there.
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When we arrived, we took our place at the end of a very long line. Before long, the rain that had been threatening began to fall, totally unconcerned that we were all queued up for an indefinite wait. The line moved steadily and fairly quickly but we were very glad to be prepared with umbrellas to protect us from the weather.
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| The entrance hall flooded with natural light from I.M. Pei's pyramid |
An interesting conversation with some fellow tourists in the queue helped pass the time, and soon we had reached the entrance. Once we were indoors, we joined another line to purchase tickets. But at least we were in a dry environment. Though we were protected from the weather, there were other threats inside the Louvre.
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A large sign where visitors board the escalator that sweeps you up to the exhibit areas minced no words about the city's problem with pickpockets. A guard at the Eiffel Tower last week warned us specifically despite the multitude of signs posted there as well.
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| A glimpse at the original walls of the fortress |
The Louvre Museum is housed in a former palace originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century. Walking through what would have been the moat around the palace, visitors catch a glimpse of its ancient walls.
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| She needs no introduction, but here's the Mona Lisa. |
Many additions were made over the years by various monarchs. The museum opened in 1793 and within four years, its most famous work of art had been hung in the Louvre's galleries. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the early 1500s,
Mona Lisa has been on permanent exhibit at the Louvre since 1797. Like so many of her visitors, we were surprised when we first saw the dimensions of the painting—only 2' 6" x 1' 9".
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| Mona Lisa is constantly mobbed by hundreds of admirers. |
Size isn't everything, as this popular lady proves, and we admired the painting as much as all the others who were crowded around to pay their homage. The immeasurably valuable painting is enclosed in a glass case, and visitors are not permitted to approach near the lady. space
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| Crypt of the Sphnx. |
Throughout the exhibit halls, signage constantly reminds visitors to mind their possessions while perusing works of art such as the Crypt of the Sphinx. Even the Venus de Milo, one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture, was not immune from sharing her exhibit space with one of the thievery alert banners.
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| Venus de Milo |
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| Artemis |
One of the first ancient statues to arrive in France, a sculpture of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, was a gift from Pope Paul IV to French king Henri II in 1556. It adorned numerous royal residences before finding a permanent home in the Louvre.
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| Grande Salon |
Some rooms in the Louvre are still decorated and furnished as they were in the early 19th century when this building was connected to Tuileries Palace. The sumptuous grande salon outshone anything we have seen on this trip—even at Versailles. Opulence was certainly the order of the day in the Salon Theatre as well.
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| These curved three-seaters were certainly conducive to stimulating conversation. |
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| Seating for the entire family! |
With seating for forty and an unmistakable air of elegance, the grand dining room is on the short list for our next family reunion. Hopefully, the Louvre management will be willing to negotiate an appropriate fee.
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| Bedroom of Charles X |
Furnishings from the bedroom of Charles X would not make it on
Design on a Dime. In its original room in the palace, this was a ceremonial bed where the king usually did not sleep. What types of ceremonies he held there were not specified.
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| Storm clouds hover over Tuileries Gardens |
When we departed the Louvre, we walked through Tuileries Gardens as storm clouds gathered. The rain held off until we boarded the Metro at Concorde but was pouring down when we exited the train back at Montmarte. On our way back to the apartment, we were unable to resist the refuge of La Marmite, offering a dry haven and food to slake our hunger. Unsure what to expect as we didn't bother to consult any reviews, we were pleasantly surprised with the generous portions of good food. Ken and I had (huge) vegetarian salads, while Jeanne tried out a French version of barbecue chicken—half a roasted chicken with a barbecue sauce on the side. She rated it quite good.
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| French drivers are exceptionally skilled at parallel parking. |
On our walk from the restaurant back to the apartment, we marveled at the ability of the French to parallel park—and wondered why so many cars here have dings and dents on all four corners.
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Ms. Magnolia's Manners Tip of the Day:
"When parking your car on the street in Paris, try to leave a few inches in front or behind your car. You may save another driver from a new dent." space
SUNDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2013
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| Ken gets photobombed in front of the Louvre. |
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| Wet streets of Montmarte |
When we arrived, we took our place at the end of a very long line. Before long, the rain that had been threatening began to fall, totally unconcerned that we were all queued up for an indefinite wait. The line moved steadily and fairly quickly but we were very glad to be prepared with umbrellas to protect us from the weather. 
A large sign where visitors board the escalator that sweeps you up to the exhibit areas minced no words about the city's problem with pickpockets. A guard at the Eiffel Tower last week warned us specifically despite the multitude of signs posted there as well.
