Paris #3 A Day at Le Louvre & Farewell Paris

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Our final day in Paris with Ian & Marlene was spent at Le Louvre, a must for all who appreciate the skill of artists, the beauty of masterpieces, the wonder of ancient works and the creativity mankind has been blessed with - well, some of mankind I suppose.
This massive building was once a home/palace - as time went by, and new noble tennants moved in, it was added to - which is reflected in changes in the architecture as you move west to east.

Hope you enjoy this final blog from Paris - we hope to have some interesting shots from our adventures in the Bourgogne region of France, soon.

Love from Jan & Garry

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Photos

Outside Le Louvre
After being closed on our first attempt to visit, it was great to finally get in line to explore this famous museum & some of its more famous contents. Le Louvre has about 11km of corridores of displays - we were lucky to have seen half of it !

Napoleon's Dining Room
We began our 'day' at The Louvre in an area that displayed the decor of the 'Apartments' of Napoleon III.
Again, the camera doesn't do justice to the scene.

Mona Lisa's Fans
As we approached the room holding this famous girl, the crowd increased - then the fight to get a glimpse started. Cameras in the air also made it difficult to see.

Louvre's Largest
Right behind the Mona Lisa throng hung the largest painting in the place, 'The Wedding Feast' - where Jesus turned water into wine. Wonder how many missed it?

Mona Lisa
A bit rough when you can't get within 3 metres (fence & guards), plus she's embedded in a display wall behind glass - thus reflections. But, great to have experienced the hype.

More Masters
There were so many great art works that we somehow recognised, or that I (GR) had studied at high school - we marvelled also at their size and the mood that many portrayed.

Electronic Tour Guide
So glad we rented the portable tour guides. Punch in an item number and get an interesting commentary, or find your location. Provided much more info. than the labels & plaques.

Ancient Etruscan
Except for the 'head' this statue, from the area of ancient Persia, was 5000yrs old - as were many of of the display items.

Ancient Entrance
This gate/entrance decoration was removed from a site and reconstructed here! - with some renovation due to age issues.

Cheeky Statues
The female statues in the Greek area had real 'attitude' and no sense of shame - look what I caught one of them doing when she thought no one was looking!

Athena
There was a real beauty and warmth to many of the Greek works in this area - a nice change from the murder & mayhem that was the subject of many early masters.

Three Philosophers
Three famous guys - heads only - Plato, Aristotle and Socrates.

Venus
Much better than the text book pictures - the Venus de Milo. A less frantic crowd gathered around her and I soon got this shot with, Ian, Marlene & Jan.

Michelangelo
Though the famous 'David' is in Italy, the incredible impact of his work was reflected in several of his less well known works here.
After 5 hours, we were done. But, what a day!

Last day in Paris
After farewelling Ian & Marlene in the morning we went walking to souvenir land near the Seine & joined the masses searching for memorabilia.

Farewell Paris
After 6 great days we picked up the hire car - loaded the GPS with our new address, and headed south east for the Bourgogne Region & Beaune.

Smooth Trip
Once on the toll road (A6) that was it until the Beaune exit. Cruising at 130kph - legally - we covered the 300km in about 3 hours - lush, green countryside all the way.

Comments

[Ian]

Louvre
It is a week since we left but the pics bring it all back so clearly - good to have the record.

[Kerrie]

Where are you now ?
Disappointed not to have another blog to see...must be good in the french countryside!