Thought for the day: Whenever you're lonely and feeling the need to reach out and touch someone, try to see the Mona Lisa. There, with your face in someone's shoulder, someone's knee in your back, someone standing on your foot, and numerous people breathing down your neck, and way way too many people crushed around you, you definitely won't feel alone. It's a multi-cultural experience, too!
So, this morning started out a little earlier, as we decided to go to the Louvre on our third day using the museum pass card. We decided to walk up towards the Opera House first, just because we wanted to go a few places we hadn't seen and it isn't that far from the Louvre.
I think the Opera district is a little downscale, because I saw four or five people sitting on the sidewalks, begging for change. How can you not give a coin to a guy with a little kid? Or the lady with the dog? Jackie mentioned that she had seen more people begging in Paris than she had in Peru, and we've seen several homeless people sleeping in doorways or wandering around the same routes each evening.
The Opera Garnier building (used to be known as just the Paris Opera, but now there is also an Opera Bastille) is yet another amazing building. I'm sure you're getting tired of hearing that (it was big! it was beautiful! blah blah blah!). We stepped inside for a few moments, and even that little glimpse of the grand staircase was incredible. Tours didn't start until 12:30, however, so we were two hours too early. Jackie dragged me out of there, while I held on to Handel's foot, screaming "Nooooo!!!! I don't want to go!!!" (It was just a statue of Handel, not a stuffed version, in case you were worried.)
So, anyway, that little hissy fit behind us, we walked over to the Louvre. We decided to go into the Richelieu wing first - lots of greek statuary and Dutch paintings.
There are little cafes inside the museum, so when we got tired, we bought a sandwich and sat down for a few moments. Refreshed, we then decided to battle the hordes to see the "famous" works of art (in a museum that is literally filled with famous works of art). The Venus de Milo was easy to find - she was standing very high up, surrounded by people.
Nothing beats the Mona Lisa for lunacy, though. You can tell you're getting close when they start funnelling people into lineups. And then you get around the corner,and there is this great pileup of people, all holding a hundred digital cameras in the air and pointing them at this relatively small picture. Buy a postcard from the gift shop! You're never going to get a good picture! I, however, got a great picture of everyone trying to get a picture.
We waded in closer, and did eventually get to the front area where you could actually see the painting without anyone standing in front of you. Whee! I made it. Jackie gave up, but I am an official Mona Lisa Veteran. Didn't stay there too long, though - with a hundred people pushing on your back, you don't really get a chance to "commune" with the art. But if you think she's smiling, you'd be right - I think she's killing herself laughing at the daily commotion right in front of her!
So, having seen the required works of art, we wandered around and looked at a lot of Italian paintings in the same wing. There are too many famous artists to even mention. It is truly an amazing collection.
Then we wandered back to Richelieu, because they had a display of Napoleon III's apartments. (Yes, yes, again with the Napoleon connections. He's everywhere.) Napoleon III is a nephew of the "real" Napoleon. I think that was his main claim to fame. That, and his famous feud with Victor Hugo, which led to Victor being exiled from France. But, let me tell you, he had some cushy apartments! You think you're getting used to all the opulence, and then you walk around a corner, and all you can say is "whaaaaa..." I have pictures. Many pictures.
The Louvre also started out as a palace, and they retained Louis XIV's bedroom. The walls and windows are elaborately carved wood, and he had a large carved enclosure for his bed. We could just see him stretching and getting out of bed. "I'm Louis the Sun King! The world revolves around me. I wonder what I'll do today. I know - why not build Versailles?"
Then we spent a long time trying to figure out how to get out of the Louvre. If you didn't leave at closing time, would they ever find you? You could become a permanent exhibit. We wandered for quite a while through some antiquities from Egypt and Mesopotamia, then finally found the way out and exited into the Tuileries.
We sat down beside the Seine for a while - there are lower pathways where you can get quite close to the water. I decided I hadn't quite taken enough pictures of the exterior of Notre-Dame, and took a few more while Jackie rolled her eyes.
Since we had found out that Victor Hugo is buried at the Pantheon, we decided to go there. It's a huge domed building, mostly empty on the inside except for works of art and some freaky weird clock thing. As for the art, I thought it was a bit maudlin and overblown (a group of men saluting Liberty), but hey, what do I know? The crypts (lots of dead people in Paris, you know) were underground. So we went to visit Victor, said hello, I loved Les Miserables, so sorry you're dead, and then we left. (He didn't have much to say.)
Actually, I think the Pantheon suffers because it was originally built as a church, then the Revolution came along, and they weren't much in favour of religion either. So they decided to reuse it as a secular pantheon to celebrate the great men (and one woman - Madame Curie) of France. But it's empty, and the artwork there doesn't suit the surroundings, so it seems like kind of soulless building that doesn't quite know what it wants to be.
After that, we went to see the Bastille. The actual fortress at the Bastille was torn down a long time ago (le doh! Another missed opportunity to part tourists from their euros!), but they have a statue atop a column commemorating the spot. And behind it is the new Opera Bastille. This is a very recent building that is somewhat controversial (cause it's new, and a bit ugly). It's a big glass building, and yes, I'd have to say it does seem kind of ugly in comparison. It would be fine elsewhere, but in Paris... no. So that was it for the Bastille!
So, this morning started out a little earlier, as we decided to go to the Louvre on our third day using the museum pass card. We decided to walk up towards the Opera House first, just because we wanted to go a few places we hadn't seen and it isn't that far from the Louvre.
I think the Opera district is a little downscale, because I saw four or five people sitting on the sidewalks, begging for change. How can you not give a coin to a guy with a little kid? Or the lady with the dog? Jackie mentioned that she had seen more people begging in Paris than she had in Peru, and we've seen several homeless people sleeping in doorways or wandering around the same routes each evening.
The Opera Garnier building (used to be known as just the Paris Opera, but now there is also an Opera Bastille) is yet another amazing building. I'm sure you're getting tired of hearing that (it was big! it was beautiful! blah blah blah!). We stepped inside for a few moments, and even that little glimpse of the grand staircase was incredible. Tours didn't start until 12:30, however, so we were two hours too early. Jackie dragged me out of there, while I held on to Handel's foot, screaming "Nooooo!!!! I don't want to go!!!" (It was just a statue of Handel, not a stuffed version, in case you were worried.)
So, anyway, that little hissy fit behind us, we walked over to the Louvre. We decided to go into the Richelieu wing first - lots of greek statuary and Dutch paintings.
There are little cafes inside the museum, so when we got tired, we bought a sandwich and sat down for a few moments. Refreshed, we then decided to battle the hordes to see the "famous" works of art (in a museum that is literally filled with famous works of art). The Venus de Milo was easy to find - she was standing very high up, surrounded by people.
Nothing beats the Mona Lisa for lunacy, though. You can tell you're getting close when they start funnelling people into lineups. And then you get around the corner,and there is this great pileup of people, all holding a hundred digital cameras in the air and pointing them at this relatively small picture. Buy a postcard from the gift shop! You're never going to get a good picture! I, however, got a great picture of everyone trying to get a picture.
We waded in closer, and did eventually get to the front area where you could actually see the painting without anyone standing in front of you. Whee! I made it. Jackie gave up, but I am an official Mona Lisa Veteran. Didn't stay there too long, though - with a hundred people pushing on your back, you don't really get a chance to "commune" with the art. But if you think she's smiling, you'd be right - I think she's killing herself laughing at the daily commotion right in front of her!
So, having seen the required works of art, we wandered around and looked at a lot of Italian paintings in the same wing. There are too many famous artists to even mention. It is truly an amazing collection.
Then we wandered back to Richelieu, because they had a display of Napoleon III's apartments. (Yes, yes, again with the Napoleon connections. He's everywhere.) Napoleon III is a nephew of the "real" Napoleon. I think that was his main claim to fame. That, and his famous feud with Victor Hugo, which led to Victor being exiled from France. But, let me tell you, he had some cushy apartments! You think you're getting used to all the opulence, and then you walk around a corner, and all you can say is "whaaaaa..." I have pictures. Many pictures.
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The Louvre also started out as a palace, and they retained Louis XIV's bedroom. The walls and windows are elaborately carved wood, and he had a large carved enclosure for his bed. We could just see him stretching and getting out of bed. "I'm Louis the Sun King! The world revolves around me. I wonder what I'll do today. I know - why not build Versailles?"
Then we spent a long time trying to figure out how to get out of the Louvre. If you didn't leave at closing time, would they ever find you? You could become a permanent exhibit. We wandered for quite a while through some antiquities from Egypt and Mesopotamia, then finally found the way out and exited into the Tuileries.
We sat down beside the Seine for a while - there are lower pathways where you can get quite close to the water. I decided I hadn't quite taken enough pictures of the exterior of Notre-Dame, and took a few more while Jackie rolled her eyes.
Since we had found out that Victor Hugo is buried at the Pantheon, we decided to go there. It's a huge domed building, mostly empty on the inside except for works of art and some freaky weird clock thing. As for the art, I thought it was a bit maudlin and overblown (a group of men saluting Liberty), but hey, what do I know? The crypts (lots of dead people in Paris, you know) were underground. So we went to visit Victor, said hello, I loved Les Miserables, so sorry you're dead, and then we left. (He didn't have much to say.)
Actually, I think the Pantheon suffers because it was originally built as a church, then the Revolution came along, and they weren't much in favour of religion either. So they decided to reuse it as a secular pantheon to celebrate the great men (and one woman - Madame Curie) of France. But it's empty, and the artwork there doesn't suit the surroundings, so it seems like kind of soulless building that doesn't quite know what it wants to be.
After that, we went to see the Bastille. The actual fortress at the Bastille was torn down a long time ago (le doh! Another missed opportunity to part tourists from their euros!), but they have a statue atop a column commemorating the spot. And behind it is the new Opera Bastille. This is a very recent building that is somewhat controversial (cause it's new, and a bit ugly). It's a big glass building, and yes, I'd have to say it does seem kind of ugly in comparison. It would be fine elsewhere, but in Paris... no. So that was it for the Bastille!
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