Da Louvre 5-18-15

Elizabeth had the Louvre as one of her must see sights, great choice!  We took the bus down from our neighborhood so that she could see what's above ground, riding subways never gives you an indication of the parts of the city you're not seeing.  Along the way we got off the bus at the Pompidou Center so that she could see the exterior of the building, which is so famous.  A few minutes there and the on the bus again to the Louvre.  Before going in we had a small picnic in the Tuilleries sunshine.  Last week I pre-purchased tickets so that we could avoid the lines to get in and it really paid off.  We entered via the Lion Porte which is on the west end of the Louvre well away from the Pyramid.  We literally walked in, no line.

Elizabeth had seen the Mona Lisa before so it was not necessarily on her itinerary, but since we literally walked by the room wherein it's contained we went in.  Packed as usual, but we were able to see all the other great renaissance paintings that are in the same room as well.   Next stop, the Victory of Samothrace, the Nike, at the top of the commanding staircase.  Along the way I caught a glimpse of two Botticelli murals that I'd missed before so some minutes were spent looking at them.  I love the faces of the Botticelli women, they are so beautiful.

We then headed off to see the two Michaelangelo sculptures of the slaves, but along the way of course we stopped to gaze upon the Venus di Milo.  It's so interesting and a bit tension producing to see so many people in hyperdrive mode trying to make sure they don't miss a single thing.  One can't possibly see everything in one go and I think people really miss the experience of the art, while "bagging the big trophies".  Then they go home to see what they've seen, weird!

Elizabeth also wanted to see the big sculpture courtyard in the Richeleau wing, so we started off to go there but I got lost and we ended up seeing another of Elizabeth's goals the original walls and moat surrounding the old bastion.   It was great!

We ended the night having dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Arts et Sciences Reunis.


 So much for 'Modern' art, this is a 10th century islamic plate,