Paris Day 4 The Louvre

After three very busy days and lots of walking....we decided to do something surmountable.  The LOUVRE.  Right?  Okay so maybe not the easier day we were looking for, but at least we didn't have to do the Subway since we could walk to the Louvre from our apartment.  Two quick blocks and we were there.  We chose to go through the back/mall entrance which is way less crowded and gives you a view of the inside pyramids. 

We were having a lot of fun 'playing' until a security guard came up and started angrily yelling something in I'm sure French.  Somehow through the language barrier I could tell he wasn't happy about me letting my unruly children play on this expensive decoration.  Yeah I guess he had a good point. 

You try telling this face he can't play here anymore. 

Of course you have to swing by and say hey to Mona Lisa when you visit the Louvre.  The Mona Lisa is known as La Joconde in French.  Leonardo was already an old man when Francois I invited him to France.  Determined to pack light, he took only a few paintings with him.  One was a portrait of a Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant.  Francois feel in love with the painting, making it the centerpiece of the small collection of Italian masterpieces that would later become the Louvre museum.  He called it La Gioconda both her last name and a play on the Italian word for "happy woman."  We know it as a contraction of the Italian for "my lady lisa"-Mona Lisa.   This was the second time seeing this piece of work.  It always is shocking just how small it is. 

 

You have to spend time on these funky couch benches



See some Monet paintings (most are in the nearby Orsay Museum not at the Louvre)

This was our first time to see the Venus de Milo.  Known as Aphrodite or the "Goddess of Love" in Greek mythology.  She created a sensation when she was discovered in 1820 on the Greek island of Melos.   Most "Greek statues are actually later Roman copies, but Venus is a rare Greek original.  She epitomizes stability, beauty, and balance. 

We looked at several of Michaelangelo's statues.  Interestingly he considered himself a sculptor and not a painter even though he is most known for his work at the Sistine Chapel. 

The Louvre houses lots of Greek as well as Egyptian art.  We briefly saw several wings of both. 

Great times.  Great Memories.  Thanks Grandma for coming to Paris with us! 

Hanna found this souvenier on the way back to the car from the Louvre.  She now has it hanging on her easels in her art corner of her room. 

We understand why scooters are so common here.  Wow, driving is slow and crowded.