FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2012

PARIS, FRANCE

Our last full day in Paris. Sigh! Who knew we would love Paris so much???

We got up early because we wanted to be at the Louvre when it opened at 9:00. It was cool and overcast so we took an umbrella and headed out. It was an easy walk and I guess it took us about 20 mins. We had tickets already (thank you Sandy!) so we were advised to enter through the "Lion's Gates." We thought we knew where that entrance was but we didn't so we just queued up and waited for it to open. The line was short so we knew we wouldn't have to wait long. Of course it did start raining while we were waiting and it was funny to see how quickly umbrella salesmen showed up! They sold quite a few umbrellas in the few minutes it rained.

We were allowed to bypass most of the people in line because we had our tickets. We received a floor plan of the museum which was extremely helpful. We were advised to head straight to the Mona Lisa to see her before so many people gathered that it would be impossible. We walked straight there and luckily it was not too crowded yet. I was actually able to get right in front of her and spend a few minutes there. It is true that her eyes follow you wherever you go!

The second painting we wanted to see was "The Wedding Feast" by Paolo Veronese. It was very close to Mona -- wasn't that helpful? It is a gigantic, gorgeous oil painting with such incredible detail it's hard to believe. We spent a long time looking at it. Hard to believe it was painted in 1563!

One thing I did not realize is how beautiful the actual museum is!!! It is huge -- many buildings -- and most of the ceilings are painted (works of art!)and the woodwork is gorgeous. It is fantastic!

Another piece that drew a lot of attention was the sculpture of Venus de Milo. She is beautiful and many, many people were taking pictures of her. We also were told to see "The Winged Victory of Samothrace." It is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike, estimated to have been created in 190 B.C. Amazing!!! She is at the top of a staircase and we were able to spend some time looking at her too. But then the people started pouring in and it got ridiculously busy in a very short period of time. At some point the crowds make it impossible to enjoy the art. We were told that there are so much artwork displayed at the Louvre that if you spent just 3 seconds looking at each piece, it would take you 3 months to see it all. Can you believe that???

Our "Best Friend in Paris," Donna Morris, told us to be sure to see Napoleon (III) Bonaparte's apartment tucked away in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre. It was richly decorated in reds and golds and it was incredible. There were something like 15 crystal chandeliers in it -- some of them so huge I'm amazed they were able to hang them from the ceiling. David got some great photographs of the apartment. Donna also told us there was a nice cafe in the same wing and that we should try to eat there because from the outside seating area there were beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower. We did go there and we had coffee and hot chocolate but the weather did not cooperate and we were not able to go outside even to take a photograph. But David said it was the best hot chocolate ever so it was worth it!

After we left the Louvre, we headed back to our area to have omelets at our favorite cafe, the St. Regis. They were scrumptious! We lingered there for awhile because all of their huge windows were open -- almost like there were no walls -- and we were able to people watch. Then we split up to go shopping. David headed back to the antique store where he found his metal soldiers and I shopped around our area for a keepsake for myself (and a 'prize for my sister because she had back surgery). I had my eye on some leather bags in a store across the street from our hotel so I went back there and bought a royal blue bag for me and a hot pink bag for Jill. Really, really cool!!!!!

David and I met up later in the day and tried to decide where we wanted to go to dinner. After much thought we decided we just wanted to buy sandwiches and cookies and eat in our room. We had to pack and get ready to leave in the morning so it was more relaxing for us. Plus the sandwiches are so good on the baguettes with good cheese. Yum! Turned out to be a delicious dinner!

That was it for our last day in Paris. We wish we would have had a few more days there.