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The Louvre
The view of the museum as you cross the Seine.The day started late - Robarn woke me at 8:30! I had slept almost 12 hours (I guess that's what jet lag does to you). I was worried that we would be unable to see the Louvre today because all the guide books say you MUST get there before it opens (at 9 am) to avoid all the lines. But, we quickly got dressed and set off. Of course, we were walking less than 5 minutes before a cafe enticed us in for petite dejeuner. Cafe (you think cafe would mean coffee, but it always seems to mean espresso), orange juice, and yummy french bread with lots of sweet butter and apricot jam. After a leisurely meal, we were off again.
We're staying in the 14th arrondissemont, which is in the Montparnasse section of the city. To get to the Louvre, we walked a couple miles through the 4th (St. Germain) and cut across the Seine. It's quite amazing to go from tight, cobblestone streets to city suddenly opening to the river and the gigantic palace sitting on the rive gauche (right bank). Walking across the bridge, we were amazed by the views to our right of the Ile de
Looking to the Right
The Ile de la Cite. The two towers are the facade of Notra Dame. la Cite (upon which Notra Dame sits) and the buildings for the 1889 World Fair on our left. Of course, the Louvre in itself is quite impressive.
A little history - the Louvre debuted in the 12th century when Phillip II decided he needed some more protection than the Conciergerie (located on the Ile de la Cite) could afford. The fortress he built was quite the stereotypical fairytale castle, complete with white walls, blue roofs, and plentiful ramparts. Over the years, the French kings made extensive renovations, extensions, and demolitions of the buildings associated with the Louvre. Eventually, Louis the XIV decided the palace wasn't grand enough (or secure enough) for him and moved to Versailles. While much of the property associated with the monarchy was destroyed during the Grand Revolution, the Louvre was spared and converted into a museum to make art accessible to all (I suspect most citizens of revolutionary France were more concerned with getting enough food and clean water, but who doesn't love them some art?).
Okay, so, back to our tour. We walked across the Seine and into the main courtyard of the Louvre. We still can't seem to get used to all
The Courtyard
And the (in)famous pyramid. I like it (if anyone is asking). of the grandeur in this city. The fantastic size and ornate detail of the estate is absolutely breathtaking. The courtyard itself is open to a view of the Jardin Tuileries and the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe beyond that. It takes a while to soak in all the culture. Remember - I was really concerned that we would be stuck in the horrible crowds all the guidebooks warn against. Indeed, the line forming around the entrance of the glass pyramid was pretty long. It moved fast, however. The inside of the pyramid is awesome; the Europeans exhibit ingenious use of natural light. I could just imagine spending the day sunning myself as frantic tourists ran past. Of course, we were there to see some art, so we got in a (very short) line for tickets and then picked up a map to determine a plan of attack. Robarn even checked his coat - for free! Bottom line - the hype about long lines and delays is bogus (at least during the middle of May).
We started our tour by going to some exhibits on the history of the Louvre (see above). The exhibits are all in French,
A Greek Statue
Robarn had me experiment with lighting. but we managed. I guess we are so interested in history that these types of exhibits are almost more interesting to us than the actual art! Next we entered some galleries filled with Greek sculptures - quelle magnifique! First, the building itself is a work of art. Second, the light streaming into the gallery accentuated the stunning beauty of the centuries old sculptures. We of course joked that had the exhibit been in the United States, some conservative group would have successfully lobbied to apply plaster fig leaves to the nether regions of all of the idealized male figures. I have to say, the artists didn't bother to idealize all parts of their human subjects.
We soon found ourselves in front of a huge crowd that was in turn in front of the Venus de Milo. While she was beautiful, she didn't seem to stand out from all of the other gorgeous pieces we had just seen. That didn't seem to deter the masses, though. From there, we made our way into the Etruscan and Roman artifacts. Next we followed the stairs up to galleries full of paintings. We saw a lot of propaganda paintings in support of Napoleon
A Ceiling Fresco
These beautiful paintings were all over. and finally made our way to the Mona Lisa. Again, the guide books made us unnecessarily nervous. While crowded, we wrestled our way up front in less than a minute. Some say seeing the famous painting is a let down because it is so small and behind protective glass; I found it striking.
The Louvre has so many amazing pieces of important and famous artwork to view. Of course, we could not see it all. However, we did manage to view Napoleon III's apartment, Louis XIV's Apollo Room, many tapestries and other works from the middle ages, and some artifacts from the Fertile Crescent. Perhaps the highlight of our visit, though, was the excavation of the old donjon. We stood in the space between the original castle wall and the moat. It was quite amazing to see structures that were built over 800 years ago. Before leaving, we stopped at the inverted pyramid for some pictures and jokes about Tom Hanks and the diVinci Code.
I'll save the rest of our day for another entry (since this one is so long), but I do want to wrap up with a couple of travel tips: 1) Don't be scared
away by travel books warning you about lines 2) remember you can check coats for free, 3) Take the time to buy lunch inside the Louvre so you can last longer, 4) Wear really comfortable shoes, 5) Prioritize what you'd like to see because you won't be able to see it all. We're already planning a return trip so we can see the Code of Hammurabi and Flemish/Dutch paintings (my favorite).
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