Le Louvre

It was supposed to be rainy on Wednesday, so we planned to go to the Louvre on this day. No worries about trains and tickets - it was a five-minute walk from our apartment. It was always strange to emerge from our little door right onto a bustling city street, next door to a Japanese restaurant. So, around the block and we were there. Here you see us near the glass pyramid that covers the entrance. It is a big contrast with the old architecture, but I suppose it tones in somehow with the square pond nearby it... or maybe not. I can't make up my mind whether I like it or not. (Not that my opinion will count for anything with the French, I guess.)

Wayne reckoned the thing to do, apart from having tickets and getting there early, was to zoom around seeing the 'big three' attractions, before wandering around at a more leisurely pace. I am not sure whether I agree with art as something to tick off on your list, but I agreed. So, the second picture here is Fosters + 'Winged victory', which I confess I had not heard of, or have forgotten since my art history lessons at high school 100 years ago.

Zooming to the Mona Lisa, we passed lots of paintings I DID remember. Here I am, a bit disgruntled, in front of the famous lady. Then I put my foot down. We were coming back after lunch anyway, so I said we could go and look at Number Three then, and blow the crowds.

So, back we went, to some very nice Botticelli frescos and other Renaissance and mediaeval pictures. There was some other Da Vinci probably better than the M.L., which seems to have got famous for being famous nowadays. The Paris Hilton of the Louvre? (Perhaps I draw too long a bow...).

Eleanor liked this portrait of a man with a very warty, inflamed nose who was cuddling his grandchild. "It reminds me of Grandpa cuddling me," she said. (Take that as you will, Dad!)

Jack was more taken with the Romantic paintings of Delacroix, who seemed to do a lot of lions pouncing on other animals, as well as the famous big ones I remembered from my studies. Here is Jack near one of D.'s of a couple of tigers, this time.

We needed a cuppa after a couple of hours. There was a queue even to get into the gallery cafe, which we could not stomach. We were still tired after Versailles. So we went home and had our tea, and rested, and had lunch, before we came back for a second round. We were so glad of our convenient lodgings!

Back we went, to the scuptures bit. We soon located Number Three, the Venus de Milo, and luckily it was not too crowded around her or I would have been in trouble. I enjoyed the rest of the sculptures more than I expected to, usually far preferring paintings. Statues are more interesting in three dimensions than in art books, I guess!

Here is Eleanor near one of a little boy strangling a goose for some reason. (Our French wasn't up to reading many of the labels.) Wayne took this arial view shot of the pyramid from a window.

We finished in a room of absolutely huge paintings, depicting Napolean's campaigns (I think). I don't think this photo does them justice. There was an elephant in one, for example, almost life-size and only a part of the painting. Amazing!

Home again well before dinner. Then Wayne and I actually set off for a third round. We saw some Dutch and German paintings this time, including Rembrandt. We even had a little look in the shop and bought a few prints. We hadn't seen more than a fraction of this huge place, but we were satisfied nonetheless.