Louvre(ly)

Day 5 and we show no signs of slowing!

Today was an early start so that we could eat breakfast and hop onto the Metro to arrive at the Musée du Louvre a few minutes prior to opening - Rick Steves recommended it to avoid the lengthy lines that can form. (a small side-note here...my friend Mary loaned me her Rick Steves' Paris 2008 guide and an excellent map of Paris, both of which proved invaluable. Anyone traveling should seriously check out and consider making an investment in a guidebook and map to really maximize their visit time!)

Walking through the archway and into the courtyard was awesome - there it was. Old and new architecture set the stage for an incredible journey through art.

We went straight for the Mona Lisa first...and she did not disappoint. The canvas it self is surprisingly small, but a close-up study (at least as close as we were allowed to get) reveal a lot of complexity and detail in this painting. It is truly a historic piece of work and, we learned, one of but just a few Italian paintings that originally made up the collection that eventually became the Louvre.

Once we had our time with the Mona Lisa, we turned to the other masterpieces, winding through all 3 wings of the museum (and thanks to the many twists and turns, sometime we went through the different sections more than once!), getting our fill of Greek sculpture, Egyptian relics, Italian Renaissance, French classical and French romantic paintings. As we viewed the different works of art, it was exciting to tick off the true 'masterpieces' that we had been privy to see. So much so, that I wanted to make sure we saw one remaining work of art by DaVinci - The Last Supper. One of the curators managed to keep a straight face as he told me that I could view it in Italia, as it is naturally at the Vatican. Whoops. I felt SUPER smart after realizing that I was going to be the joke of the break room later in the day!

We spent about 6 hours at the Louvre and as we came back into the entry hall we realized that the arrive early advice was sound - the place was PACKED. We went outside for a few more photos (check them out here...Paris - Day 5) and got back onto the Metro for our next major landmark destination - The Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower is easily one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. As we came out of the Metro tunnel, I found myself almost giddy with excitement as it came into view. It is huge and it is impressive from every angle. Our original plan was to go up the tower late in the afternoon to catch the view in both daylight and then evening as the sun set and the lights of Paris started to glow. After many pictures a block or so away (we liked having as much of the tower in the frame as possible), we sauntered over to the tower to buy our tickets.

Crazy lines prohibited us from even seriously considering riding the elevator or walking the stairs to one of the first two levels. It was cold, windy, crowded and not looking very appealing. Instead, we took more photos from the Champ de Mars (pronounced: shahn duh mar) and then found a farmers market some 4 blocks away where we ordered crêpes and cappuccino. There is no denying that the Nutella in Europe is far richer and creamier than the version here in the States. Probably a ton more fat and whatever else isn't good for us, but BOY is it tasty!

By the time that we had finished our snack, the sun had set and the Tower was glowing blue. A bit of patience and at the top of the hour we were treated to an awesome light show that was worth the trip alone. More pictures and a photography lesson once again that no flash plus zoom equals some blurry photos. Oh well, we are working on our own 'Impressionist' view of Paris!

The very full day finished with an excellent Italian dinner at a local restaurant named Finzi. One word...YUM. The pasta was handmade and fresh, the service was excellent and David even was filled up on his pan of lasagna - it was a seriously big portion! The dinner was fun and energetic as Holly's French continues to improve, allowing her to interact with the wait staff on our behalf! I am not the 1st choice for translating, as I tend to process in English and then translate over to Spanish - it really messes things up. More than once I answered "Si" instead of "Oui" for yes and of course received a lot of grief from Miss French translator for it.

I think that the French get the gist of what I am trying to say!