Paris- Day 1

So skipping back to my Vacation in October, last we left off I had finished my week in Amsterdam with my friends. On Monday of the following week, Paul & Simon took me to the Train station on their way to work, and I took a train to Paris. There was some electrical problem so we ended up having to change trains part way along the trip- I think the town was called Brugge. It was very odd as we all had the same seats, so we all got up & gathered our things, walked off the train, across to te next track, and sat in an identical (although older) looking train car, facing the same people we had previously and continued on our way.

I found my way to the flat I was lodging in with no problem via the subway, and was surprised to see the front door was between two Chinese restaurants! Ironic since this was the "I can't believe there is no baby yet" vacation.

Paul & Simon had a Paris museum pass someone left at their flat, so they gave it to me- it was a 4 day pass so I was determined to make good use of it! I arrived mid afternoon on Monday, so rather than waste time planning museums on Monday, I looked up directions and went straight to the Louvre. I actually had not intended to even go to the Louvre on this trip, as I had been before, but the closer my trip to Paris came, the more guilt I felt at the thought of not going to the Louvre! Is it really a Paris trip if you don't go to the Louvre at least one day? So off I went to spend a bit of time there my first afternoon.

As in Amsterdam, the weather was very very cold! The sky was beautiful and almost entirely clear, but it was quite cold! I think I arrived around 3:30 or 4, and I think the Louvre closed around 5:00 or 5:30- regardless, I only had about an hour and a half. I took some photos outside & went to the VERY short line.
I think I could honestly stare at the Louvre buildings for hours. There is so much beautiful architecture in Paris, no matter where you look, it's right in front of you, or directly above you.
I didn't have any specific direction once I went in, because as I said, I really hadn't been planning to come at all. The last time I was there I saw the Mona Lisa and some other well known works of art, so I just walked straight ahead & went where my feet took me. Turned out to be a lucky direction, as I ended up in the Sculpture segment of the Museum.
This was done in honor of a knight after he died...or perhaps it was a bishop. Regardless, it was a very complex and beautiful monument. 8 robed monks carrying the body of a fallen important guy. Most burial sculptures were simply raised reliefs of the dead man. This really went above and beyond the norm.
I tried like anything to get a better photo of this Sculpture. It's not that it was all that interesting, except for the look on the cherub's face. Normally you see cherubs in paintings and they have curly hair and rosy cheeks and little cherubic smiles. This one's mouth was in this sort of distorted cry or scream that looked less like a scream of "Oh something awful has happened" and more a scream of "I WANT MORE CANDY!!!"

This one I just thought was especially stunning. I don't know who she is or why she was memorialized in this way, but the light in the room and the skill of the sculpture really made this one just beautiful.
I know this is not a very good photo, but I had to add it. It's one of the salons of Napoleon IV.
While I might scold his over decadance, I couldn't help but drool a little when I saw his dining room table. I was thinking, I could fill that table...hmm...that's a lot of cooking....but think how many little ones we could get around THAT table!
And well, since we're on the subject of extravagance, after seeing Napoleon IV's Salons, I was surprised to see that his throne was so understated. Then again, it's entirely possible the entire back & seat were woven by hand by poor blind lepers made to work 20 hours a day...
As the closing announcement was sounding & I was trying to cram the few last rooms in before finding my way out, I managed to see a few rooms of decorative art (silver & jewels mostly), before coming out of the wing I was in to catch this view.
The first night in Paris I actually stayed in the Flat! I didn't go out- I really actually needed a night to kind of relax, unwind, and not be so overstimulated by all things amazing and beautiful. I looked through the museum pass list of museums & planned my Tuesday- picking out museums and trying to plot my way on the various maps I had either photocopied or been given by the man who rents the room in his flat.

Stay tuned for Day 2 in Paris, coming soon!