Monday - Louvre and more....

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Geo: 48.8566, 2.35097

Monday, June 2, 2008:
Another big day today. We got up between 6:30 and 7, left the apt. ~8:35 we got ourselves to the Louvre at about 9:15. The first thing we saw was the Winged Victory of Samothrace! Very cool! can I say this about something that was made around 800 BC? this was the biggie I had wanted to see, anyway... on to the Mona Lisa, very "nice" of course, we were fortunate to be there without the room being packed as I saw it was later. Not sure anyone could see it later in the day...Next up was the Venus de Milo. All three had lots of fans taking pictures! A bit of overload here, it's so immense you really don't know where to begin or which direction to start heading off in. One thing, I saw the most valuable possession of the Royal Family, a 140 karat diamond!! square cut, amazing to see... I do like shiny, sparkly things... ;-)
Went through the large artworks section by French artists, many by Louis David, saw the painting that was on the cover of our Roman History Text last year, plus many others of his. He obviously enjoyed his classical history as many of his paintings were of Roman historical scenes. The classic and famous "Crowning of Napoleon" was amazing and HUGE!! There were other famous people in the portrait also- Talleyrand, Josephine (obviously), Bonaparte's' brothers, his sister last name of Borghese (I 'm pretty sure of that, we saw her home in Rome last year), Marat (?) and wife. Don't think he was still alive but not sure who he was..?
Many Titian's and many, many others, overwhelming! I really enjoyed Napoleon III's apts. the dining table seated 44 (my count). Wonderful, fantastic, large museum and as you've heard, you could spend a week there and maybe get a grasp of it.

After this, we went to a store under the Louvre and bought a larger memory chip for Dad's camera, on to the Agatha store and looked at rings. Mom bought a nice one 😊

Back to the metro and on to the Il de la Cite and Notre Dame, didn't go up to the top as it was raining and the line wasn't moving at all, loved looking at the architecture of this church inside and out. Lots of gypsies (?) asking if we spoke English..... next on to the Jewish Deportation Memorial behind the Notre Dame at the end of the island. This is a memorial to the 200,000 Jews deported by the Nazis in WW2. We then retraced our steps past Notre Dame to Saint Chappelle, getting in 1/2 an hour before closing, amazing stained glass! hard to explain how perfect it was, much smaller than I expected and the stained glass totally surrounds you. I've heard it described as a "jewel box" and it's a perfect fit. This church is dedicated to the supposed "crown of thorns" bought by St. Louis the 9th. We made our way across the bridge to Place de St. Michel to the metro, again relying on the kindness of strangers to help us find the correct metro station. We took the 10 to 8 and then to our apt. after a bit of grocery shopping. The most expensive nectarines I have ever bought, 4 for about 7 US$, WOW! dropped off the bags in the apt then on to Rue Cler, on the way saw Rick Steves on Rue Veladon which is between our street and Rue Cler. Bought a Nutella crepe for dessert (my first course) then picked up a Pizza Reine at the corner bakery. Ate at the apt then walked to Fat Tire to blog and email, they were closed! On the walk back I sat in the Champ de Mars for a bit and watched everyone go by, lots of young people sitting on the grass, visiting, picnicking, etc.. back to apt ~9:20ish. Tomorrow hopefully Invalides, Rodin, St Denis, Arc De Triomphe....
15,358 steps + the hike to Fat Tire and back for me :-)

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