The last two days have been crazy! We have been in three different countries within the last 12 hours and still have one more day of craziness to come tomorrow. Here is a little something to share until we get back to a normal day!
One of the many places that everyone flocks to is the Louvre. With over 30,000 works of art it would take you 14 full 24 hour days to see everything and that is only spending 30 seconds at each piece. My advice would be to pick out a few works of art that you would like to see and go from there. The main ones that I wanted to see were Venus de Milo (the lady with no arms), the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Mona Lisa, and the Wedding at Cana. All of these are in the same area and in long hallways where you can see some other major works of art.
When getting into the Louvre there are a few ways to get in. We chose the one that was downstairs just off of the Metro since it would be less crowded than going in where the pyramid is. Going in this way gave you a last stop at the gift shop and a bookstore. When you go, you will have to get your bags checked, so do not take anything in with you that you shouldn't. If you are an art lover, spend more time here than what we did and see what you can. Just remember that no matter what unless you run in the museum you will not see all of the works of art.
To avoid the lines go on a Wednesday or Friday afternoon since those days it is open until 9:45. To make things even quicker get the Museum Pass and all you have to do is show it and go right in. If you have the pass you can leave, get lunch, walk around Paris, and come back later in the day. This is a great thing for so many other attractions too!
I must warn you that out of all of the works of art that is in the Louvre, the Mona Lisa is the smallest that I saw. People were huddled together just to get a picture of this lady with a small grin. What many don't know is that her "story" is still a huge mystery to everyone around. No one knows who she was, how long it took to work on, and when it came to be so popular. Mostly the part of not knowing to me is why everyone wants to see her.
In the same room that Mona Lisa is in, just right behind her taking up almost the whole wall, is another never talked about painting. The Wedding at Cana. This painting is where Jesus turns water into wine.
These two paintings, while very different, have a lot in common. The detail that was put into both and to think about how old they are is amazing to see. Make sure that you take in both of them, even if in my mind the Mona Lisa is a let down in size.
Where good walking shoes and make sure that you find out about what floor your works are on. The museum does have maps that you can take and are in all different languages. The crowds are not bad once you get moving on the inside. Make sure that you look out the windows to find all of the hidden treasures that the old building holds too.
As you can see most people will be in front of the Mona Lisa, but you can see by the picture just how small she really is. Before you leave that room look at all of the works in there, it won't disappoint!
Tips of the day: *Go in the afternoon/evening time to avoid lines.
*Pick what you want to see and map it out first.
*Go on either Wednesday or Friday since they are open late.
*Avoid the Pyramid entrance
Starting tomorrow it will be back to a normal what did we do today blog.
If you want to see videos, follow me on Beme at gdmag. For more pictures follow me on Instagram at gmagoto and you may even get a sneak peak of what the blog will be about!!
When I visited the Louvre, you weren't allowed to take pictures! When passing through security, they didn't confiscate cameras, but they did tell us that if you were caught taking pictures, especially with the flash, you would be escorted out by armed guards. ((Of course this was in 2004, so pre-cell phone era.)) I'm not sure anyone obliged. I still have a blurry, unflashed photo of the Mona Lisa. :)
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