Paris: The Louvre

Today we went to the Louvre. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life.

First of all, it's a must-see. Duh. It gets incredibly crowded so go early. It also looks less busy in the evenings on Friday. As we approached the glass pyramid I got all fluttery and excited. The panorama photo is amazing. We went through security (they x-ray your purse, etc.) and then down the stairs inside the pyramid. Because we were early it was a short line for tickets and we were in.

We headed straight for the Mona Lisa because I just had to see it. It wasn't that crowded yet so we were able to get really close (no photos allowed, of course). I cried after seeing the Mona Lisa because seeing such a monumental work of art right here in front of me was a very emotional experience.

We walked through the museum and saw the famous statues "Wings of Victory" and "Venus de Milo". Photos allowed, yay! I got all emotional again at the Venus de Milo. Famous art apparently does that to me.

While stopping for a diet coke in a snack bar we noticed a cylinder going up and down inside the spiral stair coming down from the glass pyramid entrance that turned out to be an elevator (primarily for disabled people). It was so cool and futuristic and was really interesting to think about the combination of 21st century technology, architecture and the ancient history and art of the historic Louvre.

We walked around for about 2 hours. They had amazing things; from the Mona Lisa to sculptures from 2400 BC. Incredible. There's so much to see that it's really overwhelming so we knew we were only going to have the energy to see a small portion of the museum. We'll be back.

Comments

[Glenda]

I was so excited when I saw you'd been blogging about Paris today. it's like candy to me, reading all your entries and seeing all your pictures. Type faster!

- Glenda