Saturday 16 June Paris

Made our acquaintance with Paris’ metro system this morning to get ourselves into the centre of town - we are becoming metro connoisseurs - this one is pretty good, not as clean as Barcelona, not as cheap as Athens, but not bad. We found our hotel (sometimes this trip feels a bit like an episode of The Amazing Race - when we reach the check in of our hotel, I almost expect them to say “Wales family, you are the ...  2nd team home’, or at least give us a cheer for having navigated our way successfully to yet another place to stay).

Anyway, we headed back to the metro around 1pm, pausing at a boulangerie around the corner for a delicious lunch of quiche and baguettes - gotta hand it to the French, they make fantastic filled rolls - and little berry tarts. Got to the Louvre early afternoon, and walked straight in, despite dire warnings of horrendous queues - no problem at all. The next few hours passed very quickly, in a blur of amazing and famous pictures and artworks. We saw the Mona Lisa, and the huge crowd of admirers in front of her - what a lot of fuss over just one painting among so many masterpieces. In one room, I noticed a Monet on one wall, just as Jeremy saw a Cezanne on another. As we commented on that, we noticed a Degas right beside us, and then I saw another nearby that I thought must have been another Monet but no, it was a Renoir, right beside a Toulouse-Lautrec.  The Louvre is a massive complex of rooms and floors, and it was so hard to take it all in. All we could do was look, look, look. And we did. Just wonderful. We went until the lady announced that we only had 15 minutes left, which was a shock because I thought we still had an hour, so we scuttled to try to check out the Venus de Milo, but didn’t quite make it. Ah well, something to return for. Plus the other half of the galleries that we never made it to. Personal highlights - the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the massive Raft of the Medusa, by Gericault, and two lovely Vermeer paintings - the Lacemaker and the Astronomer. 

We emerged from below the glass pyramid, and made our way through the Tuileries gardens and all the way along the Champs Elysees. Jessamy actually squeaked with excitement when she spotted the Eiffel Tower. We arrived at the Arc De Triomphe - you can’t come all this way and not climb it, so we forked over our cash, and scrambled up to the top for a panoramic view of Paris. Superb.

Outside the Louvre

Winged Victory of Samothrace - discovered in early 1800s - sculptor unknown

Religious themes account for about 50% of the art, I reckon - John the Baptist's fate is a popular subject

Us looking at the Mona Lisa

The crowds looking at the Mona Lisa

Man pointing out an interesting passage in his book to his raven

The Raft of the Medusa, by Gericault - inspired by an actual shipwreck where the men built a raft and set sail for help - 150 men climbed onto the raft, and 15 survived the ordeal
(this picture should also be familiar to anyone who likes the Pogues!!)

How did Danae get her name written on the walls here?

Hieroglyphics

Horse attacked by lion

Wall of famous painters - on this wall alone there is a Cezanne, a Degas, a Monet and a Toulouse-Lautrec

Yep, I'd be pretty pleased with myself if I had just killed that thing, too

The Astronomer, by Vermeer

Statue in the Tuileries - Jeremy named this one 'Man with four daughters'

Top of the Arc de Triomphe