Musee de Louvre 101
Or 8 centuries in three hours. That's what I would call it. Yes I'm sure all of those Rick Steve fanatics would be motified by my sprint through the Louvre, but really, most of the signs are in French, so it's not like I'm going to be doing a lot of reading about the huge stone horses from Persia.
But let's back up. I almost slept through the night, and then sort of tossed and turned a bit until I heard the kiddos up. I walked with the BNL (brother-in-law) to the bus stop for the kids and saw them off. It was still dark, and more than a bit brisk, so I decided to curl up with my book while he went running. When he got back, I went for a quick jog. I haven't been running in awhile, so it kind of sucked. But I got back, showered, and changed and then after a thorough briefing from BNL I headed out. I navigated the Metro like a champ, but then got confused in the tunnels and missed the secret underground entrance to the Louvre. Which was fine as I got to go in through the glass pryamid which I think is really cool. After getting my ticket, I started off. Greek, Roman, Etruscans, Persian, Islamic, and that was just the basement and the ground floor. It was packed, which was expected since the weather was crappy outside, but not too crazy. For all of my frantic pace, I did stop and linger over some things. But without a lot of signs in english, and I refuse to do the audio tours, there wasn't much for me to study. To be honest with you, I'm not wild over the whole Venus De Milo. And it's not a gay thing, I just don't see what's the big deal. And it was hard to see if since it was surrounded 8 people deep. Now having said that, I saw some really nice butts, and 6 pack abs. Not rock hard, try marble hard! Yep, love those Greeks! I did the obligatory run by the Mona Lisa as well. And it was packed. My issue with Grand Hall, is how many paintings of Madonna and child do you need? It just gets kind of boring. And I know most art majors are probably cringing, but deal.
Afterwards I wanted to cross over to the Latin Quarter and get some lunch. As I left the Lourve, it had started to drizzle a bit and it was kind of cool to be wandering along the Seine in the grey, cold, and drizzle. Seriously, I really liked it. I crossed over the Seine and made my way to the Latin Quarter where I found this alley with like 10 gyro restaurants in it. They were good and cheap. I think I had a gyro, fries, and a soda for a little over 6E. I then wanted to walk over to the Marais, the gay neighborhood. But the drizzle had turned into a rain at this point and it was just coming down. And me with no umbrella. I made it to the Marais and found a clothes store to pop into. It was definitely a twink shop. I saw a large shirt that might have fit some orphan from Africa, but definitely not me. I left in disgust and made my way back to the Metro and my sister's house. I got back around the time the kiddos got home from school, so it was good timing. It was a relatively quiet night. At some point I should probably venture out for a taste of the nightlife, but I figure Monday probably wasn't the party night.
But let's back up. I almost slept through the night, and then sort of tossed and turned a bit until I heard the kiddos up. I walked with the BNL (brother-in-law) to the bus stop for the kids and saw them off. It was still dark, and more than a bit brisk, so I decided to curl up with my book while he went running. When he got back, I went for a quick jog. I haven't been running in awhile, so it kind of sucked. But I got back, showered, and changed and then after a thorough briefing from BNL I headed out. I navigated the Metro like a champ, but then got confused in the tunnels and missed the secret underground entrance to the Louvre. Which was fine as I got to go in through the glass pryamid which I think is really cool. After getting my ticket, I started off. Greek, Roman, Etruscans, Persian, Islamic, and that was just the basement and the ground floor. It was packed, which was expected since the weather was crappy outside, but not too crazy. For all of my frantic pace, I did stop and linger over some things. But without a lot of signs in english, and I refuse to do the audio tours, there wasn't much for me to study. To be honest with you, I'm not wild over the whole Venus De Milo. And it's not a gay thing, I just don't see what's the big deal. And it was hard to see if since it was surrounded 8 people deep. Now having said that, I saw some really nice butts, and 6 pack abs. Not rock hard, try marble hard! Yep, love those Greeks! I did the obligatory run by the Mona Lisa as well. And it was packed. My issue with Grand Hall, is how many paintings of Madonna and child do you need? It just gets kind of boring. And I know most art majors are probably cringing, but deal.
Afterwards I wanted to cross over to the Latin Quarter and get some lunch. As I left the Lourve, it had started to drizzle a bit and it was kind of cool to be wandering along the Seine in the grey, cold, and drizzle. Seriously, I really liked it. I crossed over the Seine and made my way to the Latin Quarter where I found this alley with like 10 gyro restaurants in it. They were good and cheap. I think I had a gyro, fries, and a soda for a little over 6E. I then wanted to walk over to the Marais, the gay neighborhood. But the drizzle had turned into a rain at this point and it was just coming down. And me with no umbrella. I made it to the Marais and found a clothes store to pop into. It was definitely a twink shop. I saw a large shirt that might have fit some orphan from Africa, but definitely not me. I left in disgust and made my way back to the Metro and my sister's house. I got back around the time the kiddos got home from school, so it was good timing. It was a relatively quiet night. At some point I should probably venture out for a taste of the nightlife, but I figure Monday probably wasn't the party night.