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today we braved the guided tours... no we weren't on them, but gosh were we ever surrounded by them!!! That and school excursions! :S
First off we had breakfast at Paul's after just about everyone mum knows said we should breakfast there! It is just on the corner near our hotel, so that was nice and convenient too! It was super yum and my hot choc was like liquid chocolate... so that when you drank it, there was still a layer on the cup and it wasn't the skin off the milk! mmmmmmm.... we ended up sitting next to a couple from Somerset, and the wife was a bit like me and will strike up a conversation with anyone! they had come over just for 4 days, so we compared where we had been, what we had seen and they got some tips for next time and we got some tips for the next couple of days... was really lovely and a nice relaxed way to start the day...
We then headed for the Louvre! Didn't take too long to get in, although mum had strategically given me the backpack so i had to go through security! and started
one of the roofs in the Louvre
no, the art definitely doesn't only exist on the walls and in the cabinets! the roof artwork is equally as amazing! our trek to the Mona Lisa... a few wrong turns through Grecian art pieces (sculptures etc rather than paintings) and we finally found her... along with everyone else! I bumbled my way on through and got my photo, with everyone else, and then realised i should take one for you all... but couldn't be bothered elbowing my way back again, so if you want to see the nicer pic you will have to wait until i get home! hehehe
anyways, i am not really sure what all the fuss is about... i know i am not an art expert, so maybe one can tell me??? I heard a kid walking past asking his mum why it is so famous, so i turned and i asked my mum the same question... they both had the same answer... i'm not sure...
We then continued our way through the Italian paintings... rated how good the people doing copies were and found our way to Venus (aphrodite)... from there we kind of meandered around, a very easy thing to do, and saw French paintings, Renaissance pieces of art, Roman sculptures, other European paintings (the Nederlands are weird!) and through to Egyptian art
which i think was my favourite! I love the intricacy of it, and it was so amazingly well preserved!!! The carvings aren't that deep, but they hadn't worn with age at all, which is absolutely amazing given how old they are! And the sarcophages and mummy tombs are just amazing to see... my photos really won't do them any justice as there was so much reflection on the glass from the windows that you got bounce even without a flash...
we walked around the Louvre for about 4 hours... and i could easily have spent longer there looking at things in greater detail... actually the English couple at breakfast said that a tour guide they had said that if you were to spend 2 mins looking at every piece of art in the Louvre you would be in there for over 2 years! It truly is an amazing place!
After the Louvre, we headed out to Versailles... most commonly known as the home of Louis XIV and Louis XV, but made more recently famous worldwide by Marie Antoinette (recent fame due to movie). This place is MASSIVE! Honestly, not a single photo would give you any idea of
symbol of Ramses
one of my favourites in Egyptian history how enormous it is... maybe a satellite pic, but even then i am not sure! And it is beautiful... the gardens are just immaculate, the palace is gorgeous... even the rooms they are restoring look amazing! If anyone goes to Paris or France, i totally recommend you go here and plan to spend the day because you will need it!! We saw the palace in about an hour, but didn't have much time to explore the gardens afterwards... and you really do need the rest of the day to do that! It is only half an hour on the train from the centre of Paris, and it is included in a 5 zone train ticket, which you need to get to the airport anyway.... i feel like i should be on a travel show.... but it is well worth it!
After much walking around we headed back to the hotel, and here i am typing away to you all...
Tomorrow is a fairly clear day... we are going to test out my allergies (again) at a perfume museum mum found, and check out a fashion show at Lafayette in the afternoon... other than that, just cruise the town
and enjoy our last full day here...
so i shall bring you next seasons must have's tomorrow!
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Renee
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The Mona Lisa chica actually hung the painting in her bathroom, so she wasn't a big fan of it... It's just the enigmatic/ambivalent expression on her face, I think, that makes it so interesting/puzzling to people. That, and the whole Da Vinci thing. There's quite a lot of detail in it. And the fantasy landscape behind her was pretty unique at the time it was done. The absence of eyebrows "as was the style at the time" is also kinda freaky. It's also been damaged over the 100s of years, so it's "for a limited time only" sort of deal. If the temperature control ever fails, or if it gets nicked again (unlikely! but it has happened), it could crack or warp its way into history books forever.