The Adventures of The Tylers: Paris Day 3

We started our last day in Paris at the Lourve. We spend just over half the day there and saw more than we thought possible. The crowds around the Mona Lisa were as wild as everybody said they would be. I don't get it but we saw her and Vince even got to the front to get a clear pictures without any other heads.

Once we had a fill of art we headed over to Sainte-Chapelle. This was probably my favorite thing we went to in Paris. It was quick because there is not much to see but the windows were breathtaking. It's next to the Conciergie and we had time so we went in there too. It was the first castle/fort thing in the city and then became the prison. It was the main prison during the Reign of Terror and Marie Antoinette's cell was there. It was interesting, not too crowded and had nice bathrooms so we enjoyed it.

After that we headed to Notre Dame. It was beautiful but had a very different feel than Sainte-Chaplle and the churches we saw in London. There were more tourists (granted it was a Saturday and the day before the Tour de France came in) and you were allowed to take pictures everywhere. They also had signs requesting silence and people were talking like crazy. We did do the audio tour and it was nice. The highlight was seeing (sort of) the crown of thorns. It's amazing to us that it actually exists and literally sits in a church everyday. It's behind this huge chunk of red glass and you really can't see much of anything but the thought of it actually being on Christ's head is so awe inspiring. We were about to leave 30 minutes or so before their Saturday night mass and stayed a bit longer to listen to the organ prelude.

As we walked back toward the flat we stopped at a small bakery and managed a tiny bit of French to order two sandwiches. We weren't sure what we were going to get but it all worked out. We recharged a bit then headed out to find wine before making our way over to the Eiffel Tour. This time we came at it from the Trocadero (across the river). The views were even better so we settled down for a picnic on that side. We stayed awhile but knew we couldn't make it sitting there until 11 when they light it up.

So we went back to the flat for a while and walked around. We found a spot on a bridge that we had come across earlier in the day and watched the light show from there. From 11:00-11:05 each night they light up the tower in a way that makes it sparkle. It was beautiful. We walked over to the concert for a while after that. On the way back to the flat we were lucky to find an vendor open selling crepes. We each got one and they were a delicious midnight snack, literally.

The Lourve early in the morning

Original foundations of the Lourve from when it was a fortress

A sphynx

Exploring the Egyptian Antiquities sections

The building itself is as much art as the pieces they showcase

"The Winged Victory of Samothrace"

The hall of the Italian painters - packed with people searching for the Mona Lisa

"The Wedding Feast at Cana" by Veronese - beautiful, huge, and completely overlooked by being in the same room as the Mona Lisa

There she is

Some famous French painting that we can't remember the name of

"Psyche and Cupid" by A. Canova

Another beautiful sculpture

Cool view from inside one of the rooms

"Aphrodite" known as the "Venus de Milo"

I can't remember if this was a Dutch or French artist but it was amazing how her face seems to light up

"Gabrielle d'Estrees and Her Sister" - this was the most hilarious piece we saw...leave it to the French

"The Lacemaker" by Vermeer

Some in between level with sculptures

Inverted Pyramid

Bridge with a nice view of the Eiffel Tour where we watched later that night. We were there right when the opened the man made beaches along the river. On of them is in the right hand corner of this picture.