Our number one plan for today was the Louvre and we arrived there after wandering through the Latin Quarter and along the Seine. At this juncture (yes I know you love it when I use that word) I will relate a little of the magic of the metro in Paris. On Day One I purchased a one day ticket which covered the zone out to the airport, but on Day two, we both purchased three day passes which allowed us to go anywhere within the Perifique - the inner sanctum of Paris - inside is cool, outside not so much.. we were staying on the inside, just in the 13th Arrondissement. We could use the Metro, RER (above ground train), trams and buses all day, every day - SO convenient!! The map needs to be seen to be believed, but we managed to navigate around without and problems at all.
Another map, with which I was not so successful was that for the Louvre - good grief that place is massive and confusing!! Wings here and there, floors up and down, and about a million people! However, we managed to find our way to the Louvre first lady - the Mona Lisa. It is quite amazing how much more beautiful she is in person. Of course she sits alone on her wall and looks down with her half smile on the hundreds of people with cameras who crowd to see her. We slowly worked our way to the front of the ‘mosh pit” as she smiled benignly down at us. Lovely!
Next we made our way to see the Venus De Milo... also lovely, but somehow not as impressive as I had expected.
After a bit of wandering around, and around - stupid lourve map - we found the two slave sculptures by Michaelangelo. There is something about his sculptures that I absolutely love - they are magnificent - they’re not the David, of course - but in their own way, they are beautiful.
We saw many other sculptures and paintings as we wandered the halls and really enjoyed out visit. We headed to the Place de la Bastille and found a cafe for lunch. We wandered along the Rue St Antoine intending to shop up a storm on the Rue de Rivoli but found a great little boutique before we got there and the storm arrived early!! I bought two dresses, one for work and one for fun, and Megan got a great frock for a wedding she has coming up. This was the end of us, so after stopping for a chocolate macaroon we headed to the Champs de Mar where we sat on the grass and took photos of ourselves with the Eiffel Tower in the background! gold!!
We had a lovely dinner back at the cafe in the Place d’Italie before heading home to bed - another big day!
Wow good blogging, Bid! Gives a great picture of your days. What fun!
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