the Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries

Thursday, May 12, 2011: Paris


This morning, we started with the place we felt would require the most energy: the Louvre. From our research, the Louvre could take as much as two weeks to fully explore. We were set on touring the three-hour version. Numerous friends and family told us to determine what we wanted to see, and just hit the high points. We arrived around 9am, and the crowd was very manageable.

The entrance of the Louvre is the IM Pei pyramid, which when constructed was originally very controversial (it was thought too modern looking for some Louvre traditionalists). It is now the Louvre's most recognizable symbol.

The Louvre is huge - this is a side view from the Seine perspective.

The Nike of Simothrace, which is almost 2,200 years old. Crazy.

The Mona Lisa was behind bullet proof glass. It was by far the most protected of the artwork. Most of the other paintings were not covered and close enough to touch (though protected by alarm sensors). I kept wondering how many times someone sneezed on these paintings.

Even the ceilings were exquisite.

This was an interesting piece - two paintings based on opposing perspectives. I think someting was off with his robe, though.

We exited the Louvre into the Jardin des Tuilieries (Tuileries Gardens), which is located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. The gardens provided a very peaceful and beautiful walk. 

One note - Paris has strict rules against walking on grass in certain areas, which to us generally meant two things: (1) there were a lot of gravel or sand walkways, which in the wind kicked up a lot of dust and had a hey-day with my allergies by the third day; and (2) there were always a large amount of lawn chairs, benches and other places to sit provided to the public. This created a very communal atmosphere around many of the parks, gardens and fountains throughout the city. There often was a smattering of students, families and young people sitting around, talking, reading books, relaxing (shockingly, not on phones or texting) around these beautiful sites. (This was consistent even during work hours - I don't even want to get into our envy of how this fit into their workdays.) The atmosphere felt very relaxed, social and intellectual. We loved the leisurely pace, and it was nice to share the city with locals going about their daily routines, not just tourists.