We had planned an early start but not one before 6 AM. There was a loud altercation between a taxi driver and a passenger right below our bedroom window. It was a bit frightening when the tall hefty taxi driver produced a baton and the shouting continued. I hoped we were not about to witness a murder. It made me think that we do not even know the emergency phone number for police in Paris and if we did, we wouldn't have sufficient French to explain anything. Fortunately, the police did arrive before anything too nasty happened but that was all the sleep we were to get! It is strange really, because in a new work situation, I always ask what the emergency number is but in a foreign country we didn't even think about it! (PS My sister informed me that the number is 112 - for future reference! Thanks!)
 |
| Hotel des Invalides |
 |
| Heading over the Alexandre Bridge |
 |
| Playful sculptures on the bridge! |
 |
| Everywhere you look you see the Eiffel Tower! |
 |
| Cleopatra's Needle, Place de la Concorde |
 |
| Arch at the Place de la Concorde |
 |
| Jardins des Tulieries |
 |
| Trying to take pictures without too many other tourists! |
Karl kindly offered to look after Luke today so the big kids and I could
enjoy the Louvre. Karl will have his child free day soon. Annika, Tim
and I set off on foot to the Louvre, got a little off course but made
it to Place de la Concorde, and there was Cleopatra's Needle, the
ancient Egyptian obelisk standing just where it stood last time I was
here, 20 plus years ago! Although the obelisk here in Paris (and also
in New York and London) is genuinely from ancient Egypt, it had nothing
to do with Cleopatra! The tourist buses had also decided that it was a
nice morning and there were crowds of "quick photo" tourists jumping in
and out of each others' photos either accidentally or on purpose! I was
dreading the queue for the Louvre.
 |
| The Glass Pyramid |
 |
| Downstairs in the Louvre...beautiful art begins: An enamel by Giovanni della Robbia |
 |
| Alabaster, the folds of the shawl were exceptional 16th century |
We could see the Louvre in the
distance up at the top of the gardens and spotted the pyramid entrance.
The queue was miniscule! I figured all those bus loads must have pre
paid tickets so the ticket queue was less than 5 minutes! It cost 12
Euros for adults and kids are free, although I did need to prove Tim's
age.
 |
| Tim being Jupiter de Versailles |
 |
| Annika also being a statue! |
 |
| Winged Victory - an offering to the gods of Samothrace, 2 nd Century BC |
 |
| Botticelli fresco |
 |
| Leonardo da Vinci : St Anne |
 |
| Mona Lisa - Leonardo da Vinci's most famous |
 |
| Jupiter's punishment by Veronese |
 |
| Rapphael - Virgin and infant |
 |
| Another Rapphael! |
We
headed for the "Denon" side of the Louvre first to see the stunning
Michelangelo sculptures and renaissance paintings including Leonardo da
Vinci works such as the Mona Lisa! Tim was delighted to see the series
of harvest vegetables as faces by Arcimboldo as
he had learned about them in Year 8. They were great. We saw many
very well known paintings and works by famous artists. The collections
are simply delightful and many of the renaissance paintings have been
restored to show their original bold colours.
 |
| Arcimboldo's series on four seasons of vegetables |
 |
| ...and a Caravaggio! |
 |
| This was one of my favourites: by Pannini, a painting of paintings! |
 |
| Ribera: adoration of the shepherds: This painting was magnificent, especially the shepherd's faces with character and wrinkles |
But
that wasn't enough!!! There was the other side of the Louvre to
conquer, the Richelieu wing! It is huge!! Finding our way there and not forgetting to look up at the
many wonderful ceilings and arches, was an adventure in itself! There
were many sculptures to be admired, and the Spanish, French, Dutch and
Flemish paintings as well as Turners and Gainsboroughs!
 |
| ...and a Goya! |
 |
| and a Constable! |
 |
| And a Turner! |
 |
| Rembrandts galore! |
 |
| And another! |
 |
| So love this little Vermeer, with such detail on the hands. |
I
had just about worn out the kids when I noticed that we could access
Napoleon's apartment. This was lovely and refreshing to see after all
the artwork and a nice way to finish our 3 + hours at the Louvre. There
was still more to see, but that was enough!
 |
| Napoleon's apartments! Certainly a rich lifestyle! |
 |
| Selfie!! |
 |
| The Louvre is an artwork in itself! |
 |
| Beautiful dappled light filling the gallery! |
We spotted a supermarket and bought some drinks and biscuits and walked
toward the Opera to the tourist information bureau there. Armed with
maps, we headed back to the Jardin des Tuileries (which connects the obelisk to the Louvre) to sit in the provided sunchairs and catch our breath!
 |
| L'Opera! |
 |
| On the outer path of the Jardin des Tuilieries |
 |
| On the banks of the Seine |
 |
| We walked forever! |
 |
| Monkeys trying out the equipment! |
 |
| Stalls along the embankment |
 |
| Quirky artwork! |
 |
| Locks on Pont Neuf |
 |
| Beautiful time keeper on the streets of Paris! |
 |
| Hotel de Ville |
As we were not too far from the Notre Dame and it was a sensationally
sunny day, we started walking in the general direction along the Seine.
It was nice walking along the banks but the old cobblestones and
stairways smell of urine and reminded us of India!
 |
| Side view of the Notre Dame |
We finally found the Notre Dame having crossed the Pont Neuf complete with hundreds of love locks
and walked around the exterior before joining the queue for free entry to the main cathedral. It is magnificent and the Gothic architecture against the blue sky is quite noteworthy. It was a peaceful wander through the interior and a chance to sit down and rest and reflect. Ah!
 |
| Wonderful stained glass |
 |
| Fresco in Notre Dame |
 |
| Front of Notre Dame |
Across the way was the Mairie de Paris Fete du Pain - festival of bread!!! It smelt divine of course and we did buy an overpriced but delicious baguette to tide us over for our long walk home.
 |
| Baker at work! |
 |
| Annika, baguette and the Notre Dame |
My Uncle Bruce had suggested the Jardins de Luxembourg as a beautiful place to stroll through, so we headed there. Beautiful indeed! Being a Sunday afternoon, the Salvos were playing in the bandstand in the shade, there were remote controlled yachts of the little lake, the fountains were operating and there was a "happy family" kind of atmosphere. We glanced sideways at the machine gun armed guards at the Palace de Luxembourg which is now the seat of the French Senate. It was originally the royal residence of Marie de Medici, mother of Louis XIII of France. Close by is the Petit Luxembourg which is now the residence of the Senate President.
 |
| Pan dancing with his flute in Jardins de Luxembourg! |
 |
| Salvos giving Sunday concert |
 |
| Jardins de Luxembourg |
So we trekked our way back, having walked about 14 kms on the streets plus around the Louvre. sufficient exercise, me thinks!
We finally had an early dinner and watched the very lovely movie: Hugo, set in Paris. Even Luke who was most reluctant to watch it, enjoyed it, especially the Parisian scenes!
Cannot believe how much you saw in a single sunny day! Also, amazing that they let you take photos as the Louvre. Wow! PS 112 emergency access to all services from all mobile phones across Europe.
ReplyDeleteWe walked our legs off!!!
DeleteWow, amazing things to see :)
ReplyDeleteSo amazing and there is MORE!!
Delete