Day 5, April 11, Monday
Today was our first foray into The Louvre...the line-ups, the crowds and the wild tour groups were all worth it...we had a wonderful time and before I knew it Marilyn said, It is a quarter to five you know, if we are going to hit Hermes we better run...
For all of you art lovers this is Mecca...you must come to the Louvre. (There are those of us who love Florence too and Marilyn says the British Museum is phenomenal and free).
This is just the side door to The Louvre...now there is a story about this bridge you see here...
In preparation for this trip my husband bought me all the Rick Steeves' DVDs to watch so I would know what I really wanted to see when I got here. One really fun thing Rick mentioned was a bridge where lover's come, hang a padlock on the fencing, and lock their love into time. Well, I thought, it would be so cool to see that...the photo above shows you the bridge. Following are some photos of the padlocks...so cool.
And close up...
Isn't that just so sweet? It was so great to see exactly what Rick had described...at the end of the day on our way back to home base we crossed the bridge again and this is what we saw...all the young lovers and some musicians were hanging at the bridge with their picnic suppers. It was so fun to see.
I thought so much of Maizy today as we went through The Louvre. There is so much here that calls her name.
Since we were here last the pyramid has been added where you go in and down to enter all the different wings of the museum. There are enough exhibits to keep you coming back for some time but hope to make 3 trips there for a few hours each time to see what is there to be seen in a cursory manner.
Before we started with our favourite painters we went through the objets d'art from medieval times to France in the 1800's. I am so glad that Napoleon and all his cohorts did not want kings anymore. If they had called themselves kings instead of emperors goodness knows what extravagant excess they would have come up with. There was enough gold in all those rooms to make Midas happy.
Marilyn and I have similar tastes so our main goal was the Italian artists...of course, that meant Mona Lisa. It is very difficult to get near her but we wiggled and nudged our way to the front of the ropes and gazed and enjoyed. What a treat. I had to back out and get out of the crowd though. It gets somewhat oppressive to be in that many people just standing still.
You must understand that Mona is behind special glass and some distance from the human hordes who throng to worship her...but she is there and we both loved her! I had seen her back in1976 with Sherwin and remembered how special the moment felt when I first laid eyes on her. They have moved her from where she was, Sherwin, but now more people can get around her at one time. It was packed in that room.
There was so much to see; we barely got started.
Do love marble floors laid in a checkerboard style...this one was very well done.
I have so many photos to show you but I will not put you to sleep...Marilyn's interior shots turned out very well with her little Nikon...much better than mine so she has permitted me to add them to my photos and I will make up an album for each segment of our trip that can be viewed by those interested.
Luckily we have tickets that allow us to go back again and again until Thursday night when it expires. Tuesday is the day for the Musee d'Orsay (Van Gogh) and L'Organerie.
Forgot to tell you about our smashing breakfast/lunch. We went into a little patisserie down the street and Marilyn had an omelet and salad and I had quiche and a salad. Very well done with just the right flair. We knew we were in Paris.
After 5 we walked a long way down into the shopping district and had a wonderful experience 'window licking'. Marilyn succumbed to the pressures of all that beauty at Hermes and indulged but I was tough and strong...there will be more shopping days ahead.
As the sun was setting we wended our way back to the hotel and of course had to take some more photos of the spots that caught my eye.
By the time we got back to our hotel it was late...we just went down the street for dinner...wonderful, just-what-you-would-expect-in-France, kind of food.
We remembered to take photos of our food but ate the dessert before we remembered to snap it!
Two tired but happy campers at the end of Monday, April 11.
Before we knew it it was 11:30 again and off to bed. Love to all.
For all of you art lovers this is Mecca...you must come to the Louvre. (There are those of us who love Florence too and Marilyn says the British Museum is phenomenal and free).
This is just the side door to The Louvre...now there is a story about this bridge you see here...
In preparation for this trip my husband bought me all the Rick Steeves' DVDs to watch so I would know what I really wanted to see when I got here. One really fun thing Rick mentioned was a bridge where lover's come, hang a padlock on the fencing, and lock their love into time. Well, I thought, it would be so cool to see that...the photo above shows you the bridge. Following are some photos of the padlocks...so cool.
And close up...
Isn't that just so sweet? It was so great to see exactly what Rick had described...at the end of the day on our way back to home base we crossed the bridge again and this is what we saw...all the young lovers and some musicians were hanging at the bridge with their picnic suppers. It was so fun to see.
I thought so much of Maizy today as we went through The Louvre. There is so much here that calls her name.
Since we were here last the pyramid has been added where you go in and down to enter all the different wings of the museum. There are enough exhibits to keep you coming back for some time but hope to make 3 trips there for a few hours each time to see what is there to be seen in a cursory manner.
Before we started with our favourite painters we went through the objets d'art from medieval times to France in the 1800's. I am so glad that Napoleon and all his cohorts did not want kings anymore. If they had called themselves kings instead of emperors goodness knows what extravagant excess they would have come up with. There was enough gold in all those rooms to make Midas happy.
Marilyn and I have similar tastes so our main goal was the Italian artists...of course, that meant Mona Lisa. It is very difficult to get near her but we wiggled and nudged our way to the front of the ropes and gazed and enjoyed. What a treat. I had to back out and get out of the crowd though. It gets somewhat oppressive to be in that many people just standing still.
You must understand that Mona is behind special glass and some distance from the human hordes who throng to worship her...but she is there and we both loved her! I had seen her back in1976 with Sherwin and remembered how special the moment felt when I first laid eyes on her. They have moved her from where she was, Sherwin, but now more people can get around her at one time. It was packed in that room.
There was so much to see; we barely got started.
Do love marble floors laid in a checkerboard style...this one was very well done.
I have so many photos to show you but I will not put you to sleep...Marilyn's interior shots turned out very well with her little Nikon...much better than mine so she has permitted me to add them to my photos and I will make up an album for each segment of our trip that can be viewed by those interested.
Luckily we have tickets that allow us to go back again and again until Thursday night when it expires. Tuesday is the day for the Musee d'Orsay (Van Gogh) and L'Organerie.
Forgot to tell you about our smashing breakfast/lunch. We went into a little patisserie down the street and Marilyn had an omelet and salad and I had quiche and a salad. Very well done with just the right flair. We knew we were in Paris.
After 5 we walked a long way down into the shopping district and had a wonderful experience 'window licking'. Marilyn succumbed to the pressures of all that beauty at Hermes and indulged but I was tough and strong...there will be more shopping days ahead.
As the sun was setting we wended our way back to the hotel and of course had to take some more photos of the spots that caught my eye.
Lovely skies were forming for a cooler day promised tomorrow...
By the time we got back to our hotel it was late...we just went down the street for dinner...wonderful, just-what-you-would-expect-in-France, kind of food.
We remembered to take photos of our food but ate the dessert before we remembered to snap it!
Two tired but happy campers at the end of Monday, April 11.
Before we knew it it was 11:30 again and off to bed. Love to all.
Can't wait to take Maizy there!!! And I want to put a lock on that fence for me and my man ;-) LOVE that so much.
ReplyDeleteThank you for allowing me to enjoy your trip each day with you. I love that bridge story, but when we go it will be with a very custom padlock prepared well in advance.
ReplyDeleteI liked the pyramid and the look forward to touring the art galleries with you.
You will be a busy girl for months to come if you keep taking 704 photos every day!!!
Beautiful omelette there, ladies. Yum. And the art's not bad too... ha ha. Better you than me with those crowds--yowsa! So glad you are enjoying yourselves, and thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeletexoxo