By the morning of the third day in Paris, I had hit my stride and I felt up to the monstrous undertaking that is the Louvre. We breakfasted (oh the chocolate almond croissants!) and then headed out into the bright sunshiny world. The weather (which I haven't mentioned yet) was glorious. It stayed in the 60s with early morning clouds that gave way to brilliant sun. Even the days that promised rain were only light showers easily overcome by sun. Perfection for walking your tootsies off.
I cannot stress enough how much art is everywhere in Paris. Statues surround you at every turn. This sassy woman guards a bridge across the Seine. I loved the expression on her face, and the brightness of her golden sword. She is so ready to take all comers and teach them a lesson.
And this little marvel... honestly I kept getting left behind as I stopped to stare.
This is a lamp post. A lamp post!
Oh and then there is the oldest monument in Paris, the two thousand year old obelisk from Egypt. I think the greatest obstacle to walking about in Paris isn't the distances, or even the hazard which is street crossing. It is the threat of being distracted by the wonders that are constantly around you.
Our first official stop of the day was to tour the Musee de l'Orangerie.
The Orangerie was created specifically to hold a set of huge waterlily paintings created by Monet as a gift for the people of France. The converted orangery has undergone several incarnations, the latest conversion added giant sky lights with special ceiling treatments to filter the light for ideal viewing.
There are oval shaped rooms with their walls covered with long expanses of waterlilies in different light and color variations.
In the gallery below this one, there are more paintings as well as traveling collections.
From the Orangerie, we walked toward the Louvre, stopping along the way for a sandwich.
I mentioned this before, but I'll mention it again here. I, um, forgot to take a photo of the outside of the Louvre. This photo? Where you can see the glass pyramid in the background? The Louvre is incidental. I was photographing the men in camo.
The police forces (and there are many, many different branches and divisions) befuddled and enchanted me. There were police guys in camo with red berets or blue berets with machine guns, then there were the round hats, the bus driver hats, the peaked navy style hats, there were officers with red brocade loops, there were blue BDU style uniforms, formal jacket uniforms, jodhpur pants, and uniform pants. They rode motorcycles, scooters, rollerblades, minivans, and drove Peugots. But with one exception (which I kick myself for passing up), there were all totally business and unaccessible for questions.
Where was I?
Oh, the Louvre...
Did you know there was a really nice shopping center under the Louvre? Yep. And if you are visiting Paris and need a 4 Gig memory card for your camera, that's the place to go. Honestly. It was the best deal in town.
And then we were inside. What can I say about the Louvre, except that I was there for four hours and missed more than I saw?
Things that I adored at the Louvre...
The tapestries. Oh lord, the details, the colors, the density of images, the skill, the story, the information of the time all captured in hand woven tapestries made almost 500 years ago. And much to my frustration the gift shop had no books and no photos of them. The lighting is kept purposefully dim to protect them so my photos are pitiful, but still I have to share.
This is a detail of one of the tapestries that make up 'The Hunts of Maximilian", a twelve panel set of tapestries commissioned by Emperor Maximilian. Each panel represents a different month in the calender and the landscapes in the background are specific enough to place the scene geographically.
This dark photo is of another set of tapestries which portray the history of Scipio. Here Scipio's forces fight the elephants of the Cathaginians. Again the details and density of images is just amazing.
Another thing I was intrigued by were all of the reliquaries. They came is so many shapes, sizes, and forms, and puzzlingly they were all, every last one, empty. I want to know what happened to all those prized, sacred grizzly bits. When did the vessel for the object become more sacred than what it protected?
Oh, and the Mesopotamians with their giant winged protectors. The details and texture in the ancient carvings were beautiful in their geometric simplicity.
And, of course, there was Joan. I collected images of Joan of Arc for Sweetheart G, and this statue with Joan in her simple dress and armored shoes, with her plate nearby, was my favorite.
There was a point, around 5 pm, when my mom and I could go no further and we started the long walk home.
There was so much we did not see. I think Paris is one of those places where, in order not to drive yourself insane with wanting, you have to admit that is the First Visit, but not the only one. This is the only way I could walk away from the Louvre without tears. Next time I will see more. Next time I will catch what I missed.
We were home by 6, and refueled by a shared macaroon, were ready to venture out again for dinner after 7 pm. Dinner was a spontaneous stop at Cafe Central. We had streetside seating among a jumble of tables. You know those parking lots where you give the attendant your keys and cars are packed in like a game of Tetris? The seating at this Cafe was like that. Once seated, people at several tables would have to move for you to get out again. Our waiter was a marvel. He scurried between all of his tables (20, 30 tables? I don't know), without written notes bringing drinks and courses of food. He knew who ordered what and where everything should go. His table service was as much an art as the paintings we'd seen earlier in the day.
The food itself, I had a grilled sandwich with tomato, ham, and cheese and pomme frits. My mom had an amazing asparagus risotto. Oh and desert! A cup of strong coffee with a touch of milk with three little bits of sweets (melon, pot de creme, and macaroon).