Day 5-The Louvre and cafes

Paris is a lot smaller than London and the sites are so much more closer together so it is not hard to walk from one place to another.  This morning we stopped at a cafe on the way to the Louvre and the waiter was much more friendly than I would have expected.  We ordered a breakfast to share and with coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice, a croissant, buttered baguette, jam, and a ham omelette.  It was delish.

picture of our breakfast, and me unaware

We walked to the Louvre and got to enter in a different way because we had Paris museum passes.  We passed a lot of people waiting in line.  It was a little overwhelming at first because the museum is so large and there are so many people.  Our first noteworthy stop was Napoleon’s apartments.  They were ornately decorated and I took a lot of pictures because it was like stepping back into a fancy pantsy time.

Napoleon's Appartements

bus to Disneyland Paris at the Louvre

The Louvre

By this time we could easily find our way to other big pieces like the Venus De Milo, Winged Victory, and the Mona Lisa.  We figured out the map but even if we hadn’t, we could have followed the throngs of people heading towards them.  The crowd in front of the Mona Lisa was an overzealous one.  Museum staff were shouting at tourists trying to jump the barrier and tourists were throwing jabs with their elbows.  I feel bad for the other 30 or so paintings that are in the same room as the Mona Lisa because they probably aren’t noticed very often—which is a shame because some of them are more interesting.  I wanted to spend more time in the Louvre but we were getting hungry and tired so we decided to go to lunch.

Winged Victory

Venus de Milo

At lunch I had a croque madame, which is a piece of bread with fried cheese and a fried egg on top.  Mom had an Italian salad which she says she will remember for a long time. 

lunch

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Sainte-Chapelle which is a 13^th century Gothic chapel with some of the most complete stained glass window from that period.  It was a quick trip, and luckily we can do that with our museum pass (no waiting in line or deciding whether or not something is worth the entrance fee.)  The stained class was so colorful and bright.  I’m glad we saw it.

Sainte Chappelle

After resting at the hotel we decided to see the 3^rd arrodissement which is known for being the gay and artsy district, as well as any remaining Jewish Quarter area.  It was a lively bar area but we didn’t spend too much time there.

Instead of spending more time in the 3^rd, we went back to the Louvre which is open late on Wednesday and Friday nights.  There were very few people which was so nice.  It was so much more pleasant to see everything without all the people there.  Without all of the crowds, some things seemed less special—like the Mona Lisa.  If crowds aren’t fighting over their view of the Mona Lisa, is it still the most famous painting in the world?  Some things still looked magnificent like Winged Victory. 

big painting by Veronese at the Louvre

Our last stop for the night was dinner at a café on the edge of the Latin Quarter and St. Germain.  We had a misunderstanding with the waiter when after we ordered he kept saying in French “One or two menus?”  I had no idea what he was talking about because we already ordered and didn’t need menus anymore.  We learned later that he was asking us if we really wanted 2 full meals or just one.  Not knowing that’s what he was saying, I said one.  That was probably good because we couldn’t even finish the three courses intended for one person.  We joked that the waiter probably thought we were dumbasses ordering so much food.  Oh well.

at dinner

That's all for today!