You can't go to Paris and not visit the art museums. To do so would be shameful! Well, at least it would be for someone with an Art History minor. Our first stop on day 2 was the Musee du Louvre, one of the world's largest and most visited museums. We passed through the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, a tribute monument to Napoleon's military victories, on the way to the museum entrance.
We paused momentarily to snap a few pictures, and then we joined the hundreds of other tourists that had already formed a line at the main entrance. After checking our guidebook and double-checking with a security guard, we made the strategic decision to enter through a secondary entrance near Starbucks. Yes, folks, the Louvre has a Starbucks in the basement. Actually, make that TWO Starbucks in the basement! Hey, when you're struggling with jet-lag, option 2 seemed like the way to go. Two birds, one stone. Ha!The guidebook claimed the basement was a little known secret. BREAKING NEWS...the secret is out! The lines were no shorter in the basement, but way more tolerable with a cafe au lait in my hand.
It was hard to imagine the interior of the Louvre being more impressive than the exterior. The former fortress/palace once housed the Kings of France. After the French Revolution in 1789, the Louvre was converted to offices and the first national museum.
The glass pyramid, designed by Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, was erected during extensive renovations in the 1980's. Originally, the design was met with protests, but today the pyramid is a beloved landmark. Apparently, the French are very critical of their landmarks/monuments. From what I understand, the Tour de Eiffel still hasn't been accepted by Parisians, but it does rank slightly higher than Montparnasse Tower, a modern skyscraper that towers over the city. Life as an architect in France must be rough!
I'll confess the Louvre is a bit overwhelming due to it's size and the number of pieces on display. I read that we needed to establish a set amount of time to spend wandering the exhibits since we were unwilling to dedicate an entire day. We settled on 3 hours and barely scratched the surface.
Luckily, we managed to see all the highlights/showstoppers. They were relatively easy to spot. One just had to look for hoards of people and blinding paparazzi-like camera flashes despite the "No Flash" signs that were EVERYWHERE!
Winged Victory of Samothrace was the first masterpiece we encountered. Believed to be a reconstruction of an original Greek statue that was found in pieces in 1863,
Winged Victory towers over one of main staircases in the Louvre.
With a bit more effort and the assistance of dozens of signs (Clearly, the museum employees were tired of being asked!) directing us to the #1 attraction, we stumbled upon this little lady. Look familiar? The
Mona Lisa is smaller than I expected and encased in protective glass. Hopefully, the glass is tinted because the camera flashing was enough to cause an epileptic seizure. Seriously, how can people ignore the 12 million signs clearing symbolizing NO FLASH?
It's possible that the
Mona Lisa on looked miniature because it was displayed opposite the monstrous
Wedding Feast at Cana. The painting displays Jesus Christ's first miracle, the transformation of water to wine at a wedding in Cana.
I don't know whether we were tired, confused, or simply dazed by the blinding camera flashes, but we spent the next hour or so just wandering the halls of the Louvre. Every square inch of the museum is impressive. In addition to all of the works on display, the structure itself was an amazing work of art. The ceilings, floors, walls, stairways, archways, and columns were all breathtaking.
With time ticking by, we redirected our attention to tracking down the final "must see," the statue of
Venus de Milo.
As we exited the Louvre, our tummies were growling and reminded us that regardless of the time zone it was time for lunch! We made a beeline down Rue de Rivoli to Angelina for their world-famous hot chocolate. YUM! After sampling that tasty treat, Hershey's syrup/powder will never satisfy. Angelina's hot chocolate is thick and rich and mixed with fresh whipped cream. It is heavenly!
The desserts were marvelous, as well. Not all of Paris' masterpieces are on display in a museum!
One could easily argue that the Louvre and Angelina are both tough acts to follow, but the Musee de l'Orangerie was up to the challenge. This stop was one of the highlights of our trip. Time sort of stood still as we gazed upon what very well could be the world's most famous masterpieces, and just as one would expect, the paintings are even more magical in person than the posters, t-shirts, candles, umbrellas, and the thousands of other items imprinted with their likeness.
Claude Monet's water-lily paintings known as
Nympheas should be considered required viewing for everyone! The series of paintings are displayed in two adjacent all white galleries, and their beauty is indescribable. You simply have to see these masterpieces!
Several other Monet pieces are also on display, and in hindsight, we probably should have viewed them first because they paled in comparison to
Nympheas.
Of course, collectively, all the other artists' work on display was equally amazing. Do the names Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse, and Picasso ring a bell?
Knowing that Musee de l'Orangerie would be impossible to top, we switched gears entirely and headed to one of Paris' most famous streets, Rue Saint Honore. Every single major designer has a store within this area. In addition to all of the fashion houses, we saw Place Vendome, one of Paris' many famous squares. The Ritz Paris is located within this square, and to our surprise a large crowd had gathered outside of the hotel. Everyone was hoping to catch a glimpse of Shakira who was scheduled to depart from the hotel at any moment. No disrespect to Shakira, but we had some shopping to do!
Even the Paris Opera in all it's glory wasn't able to distract us very long.
What captured our attention? Laduree with it's whimsical window displays and mouth-watering confections caught our eye.
And, of course, no woman can resist Chanel! Sadly, no purchases were made. Hey, you can't do everything during your first trip. You have to guarantee there will be a reason to book a second trip!
What captured our attention? Laduree with it's whimsical window displays and mouth-watering confections caught our eye.
And, of course, no woman can resist Chanel! Sadly, no purchases were made. Hey, you can't do everything during your first trip. You have to guarantee there will be a reason to book a second trip!
So after checking our bags with the front desk, we downed a couple of cafe au laits & croissants and headed out the door to explore the city. The streets showed very little sign of life and the silence was magical in a way. Paris was all ours!
We made our way down the deserted streets, past the Musee d'Orsay and over one of Paris' many bridges spanning the Seine river. The railings were decorated with padlocks which was quite a mystery to us. As it turns out, lovers place the locks on the bridges as a symbol of their eternal love. After a passionate kiss, the keys are tossed into the river below. The French and their romantic gestures!
We strolled through the Jardin de Tuileries on the way to Place de la Concorde. The green chairs that dot the garden were all empty. A sight we would never see again, as this central garden is usually a hub of tourist and local activity.
The center fountain sparkles and commands your attention. Again, we marveled at the fact that the entire was ours and ours alone in that moment.
The lavender garden adjacent to the fountain looked and smelled heavenly. It was a little piece of Provence right smack in the center of the city!
The Place de la Concorde obelisk marks the site where thousands (including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette) were beheaded by the infamous guillotine. The Egyptian obelisk was erected on the site to honor the victims.
The Arc de Triomphe was clearly visible at the end of the Champs Elysees from the Place de la Concorde. It summoned us and we could not resist!
As we strolled down the Champs Elysees, we spotted a large crowd gathering in front of these massive palace gates. We figured this was the entrance to one of the many museums we would be exploring during our week in Paris. Feeling weary, we decided to wait and investigate the attraction later. Skipping ahead in the timeline a bit, when we strolled back by the gate a couple of hours later, the line had tripled in size. There must have been 300 people now waiting for the gates to open. Anh and Mike asked someone what they were waiting for and were dumbfounded to learn that these people weren't waiting to enter a museum. They were waiting for the brand new Abercrombie and Fitch store to open. What?!? I'm not kidding! One, that's the ritziest store entrance I've ever seen, and two, A & F?!? These people are waiting in line to spend $50 on a tanktop???
Of course, the French might be equally confused by the tourists' desire to spend $3 on a single macaroon at Laduree. Their irresistibly cute window displays and store design might have something to do with the brainwashing, and the macaroons really are a little piece of heaven that melts in your mouth.
Almost as impressive as the Arc itself was the Louis Vuitton flagship store. Anh was counting his blessings that the store was closed each and every time we passed by. We heard J. Lo and Shakira were in town during our visit. Maybe they bought the place out!
By mid-morning, we had made it to our destination. It wasn't really on our itinerary. This is just what happens when four delirious sleep-deprived jet-lagged tourists set out with no real mission except to wander. When we returned to the hotel hours later and looked at our route on the map, we acknowledged the insanity that we had just endured. We also confessed to loving every minute of the journey. Too bad our feet weren't screaming the same delight!
Thank you, Paris, for being everything Anh & I have dreamed of for years! We thoroughly enjoyed our amazing week in the City of Light and have now returned home and are readjusting surprisingly well to reality. I think the most shocking aspect of the adventure was how well I coped with jet lag and the 6 hour time difference. I usually struggle when we travel to a different time zone. Even visiting the West Coast wreaks havoc on my internal clock. So, I was very worried about how well I would be able to function in France.
Anh and I had a game plan to tackle the jet lag issue. We would take allergy medicine during our 8+ hour transatlantic flight to Paris to feel drowsy and aid with sleep. That way, when we landed at 6am in Paris, we would feel refreshed and ready to start our day. Of course, we didn't account for the adrenaline rush and our general excitement neutralizing any effect the allergy meds might have had on our systems. We were wide awake the entire flight, but luckily, the adrenaline rush continued for most of our first morning in Paris. We managed to stay awake until shortly after dinner, and then crashed until 3am. After a short nap from 5am - 9am, we were off running and didn't slow down until the morning of our return flight!
As luck would have it, Anh was seated across the aisle from an older gentleman that developed a strange habit of glancing at Anh every 5 minutes throughout the duration of the flight. It was extremely odd given that Anh's seat was actually angled behind the man requiring him to turn and look over his shoulder to directly view Anh. I have no idea why the man seemed so captivated by Anh, but at times, I confess it was very unsettling. Thankfully, the man did not follow us to baggage claim. After one final glance as we exited the plane, he went on his own way. Weirdo!
