We had a Louvre-ly day at…

Well, we bought that 4-day museum pass, so we were going to use it! Buying the museum pass was definitely worth it. After seeing the Rodin the night before, we visited the Louvre. All I can say is…WOW! That is one big place. I had no idea. Thank God for Rick Steves, our travel guide guru. We’ve been reading his travel books and he points out the best and most important things to see, especially if you want to maximize your holiday. He gave us wonderful tips, such as purchasing the museum pass so we don’t have to wait in lines, ordering/reserving tickets on-line, and informing us what to see in the Louvre since it is so large and you just can’t see everything. We also downloaded his audio guide tours to our iPhones, so we could learn a little as we walked through the museum. Listening to the audio made the artwork come alive. It wasn’t just another picture or sculpture anymore. It had meaning. Some of the artwork we saw was the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Colossal Statue of Ramesses II, Captive by Michelangelo, St. Mary Magdelene, and The Wedding Feast at Cana. The artwork in the Louvre spans from Near Eastern Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities, Paintings, Sculptures, Decorative Arts, Prints and Drawings, Islamic Art, Arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, as well as History of the Louvre and Medieval Louvre. We could have easily spent a week just in the Louvre and probably still have not seen everything. It is that big! PLUS, the crowds were ridiculous! I couldn’t believe the amount of people.

After the Louvre, we enjoyed a lunch at the museum’s restaurant. I needed something familiar and ending up with the club sandwiche. Jon ate the salmon. Délicieux! After lunch, we strolled through the Tuileries Garden and I had to pee. Luckily, we had our museum pass/pee pass and it allowed us to get into the Musée de l’Orangerie. This museum is quite small compared to the Louvre. I was so glad we stopped because there were huge rooms dedicated to Claude Monet, plus I really had to pee. He actually designed the rooms where his paintings hang. We saw the massive Water Lilies and his Weeping Willow Tree collection. Unfortunately, we could not take photos. YOu’ll just have to come here to see it yourself.

After all of the walking to the museum and through the museums, we both took a much needed nap back at our flat. (You can tell from the picture that I am exhausted – I’m tired and hungry!) In the evening, we ate at a nearby cafe called Café du Marché, recommended by Rick Steves. Jon ordered steak tartare and I went the safe route with roasted chicken. I can’t believe Jon was eating raw meat and raw egg! When I met him, he wouldn’t have touched the stuff…he’s become so adventurous with food. I was just glad he didn’t get sick! For dessert, we walked up the street and ordered gelato. (This was our second visit to this place!) I had already ordered the pistachio and caramel. I decided to go the sweet route and try passion fruit and strawberry. Jon had mango the first time and nutella, pistachio, and strawberry the second time. You’re able to order a few different flavors and they make the cone look like a flower. It’s quite a piece of art! And it’s also quite tasty in our bellies! We just might have to go there again…

With our desserts in hand, we headed toward the lawn of the Eiffel Tower to watch it sparkle! We knew this happened but weren’t quite sure when. The sun sets here around 10:00 p.m. and the sparkles don’t happen until the top of the hour. We had to wait until 11:00 p.m. to see the sparkling tower. It lasted 5 minutes, but was well worth the wait. It was a brilliant ending to a very long day.

More museums to come… and of course, more food, too! We have to eat, ya’ know…