Today rain is expected for much of the afternoon, so we have reservations to visit the Louver at 1:00pm.
A leisurely morning starts at a nearby café (Café du Marais, 3 Rue du Bourg Tibourg, 75004 Paris) for a late breakfast. Sure, it's empty, but it was a late weekday breakfast and we had no complaints.
On our walk to the Louvre, I see this on the side of a building. I really don't know what to make of it. But again, it's a temporal image.
The Louvre currently caps the daily attendee count to 30,000 each day. For reference, prior to Covid, they would accept up to 45,000 on the busiest days. I rather enjoy visiting on a cold rainy day, without 29,998 other visitors.
You can see here, they are organized and ready for the crowds.
This is the actual entrance to Louvre.
Ok, here's one of a handful of selfies from our trip, just for fun.
Escalators and stairs take you down one level, which is the starting place. There is a large locker room to stash your excess belongings (e.g. big warm jackets). You just need to find an open locker that has a working lock, but in the winter, it's worth the hunt to not have to carry the winter coats around the museum.
Ahh, the selfie culture. Some day, a future generation will look back at our time and scratch their heads with wonder... Venus de Milo was found in 1820 on the Greek island of Melos (now called Milos). She was donated to the Louvre in 1821. She is one of the three most famous female figures at the Louvre, along with Mona Lisa and The Winged Victory of Samothrace.
I can't imagine how something like this was created in 300-50 B.C.
We've heard of the long lines to see the Mona Lisa, and we are not planning to go through that experience. So I take a photo of this directional sign, so that we can say that we saw Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Ha ha!
Getting around the Louvre is a complete maze. I look at the maps and things seem straightforward, but one end of the building has split floors from the rest of the building, and I can't always tell if we are supposed to go up or down to get to the exhibit we are looking for. Restrooms also prove to be problematic. For such a massive museum that has previously hosted 45,000 people in a day, the women's restrooms have incredibly long, slow lines with very few stalls. Other than the pyramid, the buildings are very old, I suppose.
Some of the rooms have beautiful ceilings. Here are a few examples.
Without looking for it, we stumble upon the location of the Mona Lisa, so I decide to see what the line looks like. I think it's more like a crowd than a line. It's clever that they've hung her high enough that I (yes, even I) can see her above the crowd. And I've heard people say how small she is, so when I see her in person, I am actually surprised that she's larger than I was expecting.
At least these weren't selfies...
The wall opposite the Mona Lisa has a huge painting, and many people noticed and appreciated after they got their fill of Mona Lisa and proceeded to exit the room.
Here is the Winged Victory of Samothrace - the remaining of the three most famous female figures at the Louvre. According to the Louvre website: "The Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of the most famous statues at the Louvre, graces the top of the monumental Daru staircase. This spectacular setting was carefully chosen to showcase the masterpiece of Greek Hellenistic art. Ancient sculpture meets modern architecture in one of the most emblematic spots of the museum."
I've mentioned in a previous post about the commotion at the Paris train station where a guy was tackled to the ground by two policemen. Well as we walk by this painting, Mike says it reminds him of that scene at the train station, so of course I have to document it.
Looking out the window, I see a bridal photo shoot. She must be cold - you can see all the people in line wearing heavy coats. And that's not the main pyramid; it's one of the small ones that flank the main one in the square.
Did I acknowledge that, when we arrive at the Louvre, we don't really have a plan? At all? But the maps are helpful for perusing and picking things that sound interesting to us.
Besides the greek marble statues (including the Venus de Milo), the crown jewels sound like a must-see. We eventually find our way there, and this is the room that houses them. Quite fitting, right?
These crown jewels deserve a straight transcription of the sign that accompanies the crown. "Laurent Rondé, jeweller to the king, supplied this crown for the coronation of Louis XV in Reims in 1722. It was designed by his son Claude and crafted by the young goldsmith Augustin Duflos. The fleur-de-lis at the front of the crown once featured the 'Regent' diamond while the other fleur-de-lis on the band were set with eight 'Mazarin' diamonds, and the 'Sancy' diamond sat at the top. These gemstones were later replaced with replicas. This crown is made of partially gulded silver, facsmilies of original gemstones, satin.
There is also a special case just for this crown.
Here are a few other items found in this room.
This crown is made of gold, 2490 diamonds, 56 emeralds.
This bodice brooch is made of 2438 brilliant cut and 1966 rose-cut diamonds, and gold-line silver.
The Louvre castle started as a defensive fortress in 1190 by king Philippe Auguste.
A few other finds at the Louvre...
And finally, a few exiting views from under the Louvre's pyramid.
And that ends our chapter on the Louvre.
Our dinner choice this evening is a small Thai restaurant, where we eat down in the basement. We notice that so many restaurants seem to have small footprints but have two or three levels.
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