Up and out of the house early Friday morning, I headed to the Louvre for a visit. The Metro delivered me and I wound through the underground labyrinth of really fancy shops and followed signage for this way and that in the Carousel du Louvre for eateries, boutiques, WC’s (toilettes) and finally, the Louvre. Up stairs and escalator I recognized I.M. Pei’s above-ground Pyramid and knew I was close. I walked to an entrance, flagged my artiste card to the attendant, and was immediately signaled to the front door to enter. Once in, I plugged in my handy-dandy Louvre audio tour which I downloaded free from Rick Steves’ travel website (a real gem of a find, for anyone who travels) and was on my way.
I strolled through the galleries to hit the main attractions including the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, the Mona Lisa and other da Vinci works, as well as the Grecian and Roman statuary and art from the Romantic period. Just as impressive to me was the grand royal palace which was home to France’s kings before all these works of art took up residence. After 3 hours in the Louvre, I decided that was enough, I saw all that I wanted to see, and since it was 3 p.m., I was hungry. So, for fun,
I had to do it…
Wow, what a view!
Cheesy me.
Venus de Milo, awesome.
Just one of the ceilings of the royal palace.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace. Can you imagine what the original might have looked like?
From the inside out of the Octagonal Room.
Three generations by da Vinci: Saint Anne, Virgin Mary, and baby Jesus. Sweet.
Massively impressive, Delacroix’s La Liberte le 28 Juillet (1830). She’s rallying the people!
Admiring the Pyramid below the plaza. A moment I thought on the “Da Vinci Code.”
Cheesy lunch! It was better tasting because it was French fast food. I crack me up!