September 27, 2013

Paris day 3

So excited to hit some Art with these Artsy Fartsy relatives of mine!  Kandra and Patrick both teach Art as Professors in Southern California and mom has a recently earned Bachelors of Psychology with a minor in ART, then there is my budding, crazy talented daughter who loves all things ART!!   So bring on the Art Paris style please……

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The Louvre is the best place to start to get your art fix in Paris…. so we woke up and walked to blocks to arrive here:  Love this square:

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So as you can guess Paris is not the most easily accessible wheel chair friendly city ever built….. uneven pavement, cobblestones, and hundred year old walkways that aren’t paved, all earned it that title.  Thankfully Mom can still walk quite a bit, but really relies on the chair for longer jaunts.  While it wasn’t easy mostly (don’t even get me started on the walking up and down the subway stairs while carrying the thing), every once in awhile it actually paid off to have a physically disabled person in the group!  This was one of those times…… I turned the corner from the wall the Mona Lisa is hanging on and was greeted by the giant crowd jeering and fighting for inches of space for a peak and a cell phone picture of the masterpiece. 

While I was looking for parking for the chair so mom could climb out and make her way to the almost angry mob peering at this art work, I was grabbed by a security guard who guided me and my wheel chair mama up to the front.  I mean the very front.  We were literally 3 feet from the glass.  No clawing tourists around us.  No velvet rope holding us back.  For one moment it was just me, my mama, and Mona Lisa.  I swear time stood still.  Mom was taken aback by the moment and cried.  It was a personal favorite moment.

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Some personal family favorites from the Louvre:

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We had packed a quick lunch and ate it on this patio overlooking the square below with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

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Two happy “Art Campers” in the Louvre!

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After at least 7 exhausting hours strolling and rolling through the Louvre we decided to come out for some air and see the Eiffel Tower.  We had late night tickets to go up after dark so we had some time to explore and take photos.  We found a restaurant on Rue Cler and had some dinner and saved our dessert for crepes under the tower. 

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Love this crepe stand by the Tower.  It’s tradition to get crepes here!

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Mom playing name that famous art statue

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Going up was a real treat at night.  So pretty and everything is lit up.  Kandra and Pat's visit 436

Every half hour it lights up for a few minutes and looks sparkly! 

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