With only a few days in Paris and a wedding taking up a lot of time, we certainly couldn’t see everything Paris has to offer. However, besides the Eiffel Tower, the one other must see location is the Louvre. We headed there Wednesday morning.
The Louvre is one of those places one could spend hours, even days going through. Filled with a variety of art from different eras, locations, and styles, it is an art lover’s dream location. We didn’t have hours to spend so we decided we would give it about two and a half hours to see what we could see. Even from the outside the Louvre impresses with its modern glass entrance in contrast to its large and detailed exterior.
The Louvre’s construction began in 1546 by Francis I as a palace. However, being an art collector, the design included space for art. Subsequent kings added to the building increasing its size with each addition which sometimes included space specifically for art. In 1682 the king’s residence moved to Versailles. Later talks began of making the Louvre into a museum. In 1793 the Louvre finally opened to the public as such. Nearly two hundred years later in 1989 the museum went through a much needed update which included its current entrance through the glass pyramid.
After we finally got through security and into the museum, I suggested we should head to one of the most famous paintings in the museum, the Mona Lisa. However, as often happens with us, on the way there we were distracted by other things. We ended up in a wing that was part of the royal palace. The rooms themselves were as much a part of the story as the art that was in them. The ceilings were particularly impressive.
The rooms contained a variety of art forms not just paintings. These included small decorative items as well as basic household utensils for the wealthy.
We finally got ourselves back on track and found the Mona Lisa. Because of its popularity, there is a line to get up close to it, at least as close as one can get. I found the crowd to be quite interesting. It seems to me in much of the modern world, the works of older artists are not really appreciated. Here, crowds swarm to see this one painting. Someone decided it was famous, and everyone follows fame. You can see other larger paintings in the same room, but no one is looking at them.
Moving away from the Mona Lisa one can discover a lot of other paintings by various European artists. One room I found interesting showed paintings of Napoleon. It seemed that Napoleon himself had commissioned the paintings as a way to increase his visibility and favor among the people. Apparently using media to get attention is not as new as some might think.
Because this was Holy Week, I was particularly struck by some of the artist renditions of Jesus on the cross. For years religious art dominated the art scene, but now there are few artists of religious works, and they seldom get any public recognition.
When we decided it was time to leave, we had a terrible time trying to figure out how to get out. However, it led to us seeing some old statues and even the old walls of the building underneath the main building. (Yes, we were that lost)
Finally we found our way back to the main entrance hall. We then discovered it was connected to a sort of shopping mall, and not just for museum souvenirs. Eventually it led us out of the building and into a garden area which offered nice views of the Louvre’s exterior.
We went back to our hotel to rest as the week’s adventures were starting to wear on us. However, we did head out later on a short shopping expedition that took us behind the Louvre. We walked back across a different bridge and enjoyed the views of the Seine River from there.
The other particularly Parisian part of life I noted are the book/art stands along the river. These appear to be permanently build into the walls along the river. I think vendors might rent them. They may have old books or old magazine, art work, or tourist prints to sell. It’s always fascinating to see what they have as one walks by.
We eventually ended our time having dinner outside at a Parisian cafe. That seemed a fitting way to end our time in Paris. The restaurant was not as crowded as some we saw, but the food was good,
We had thought about going back to the Arc de Triomphe. We wanted to go up to the top. However, at the end of the day, we just didn’t have the energy to go back so we missed that opportunity this time.
The next day we were off to Porto in Portugal. We took three Metro lines to get to the airport, but it was actually a pretty smooth trip. However, the Orly airport was small, and we stood in line for a very long time to board. Once onboard we were informed that the air traffic controllers had gone on a two hour strike earlier in the day so traffic at the airport was backed up. We had a connecting flight in Lisbon so we were concerned about making it, but it wasn’t a problem.
Once in Porto it was a very long light rail trip to get to the area of our hotel. However, finding the hotel was another story. We finally asked a young man for help. He graciously pulled up the map on his phone and walked with us part of the way and then pointed us in the right direction. We finally made it. The hotel is in an older part of town and somewhat dated. We were on the 6th floor and had our own large balcony, however, there wasn’t much of a view, just the apartments across the way.
After settling in, we walked down toward the historic district of town to find something to eat. Our first impression of the town was not the best. We passed a lot of empty store fronts and closed restaurants. Perhaps because of COVID shut downs, the area seemed depressed. However, once we got to the historic area, things changed. For one thing there were people everywhere as well as restaurants and businesses open and thriving.
After we had eaten, I spotted a distant church that looked interesting, but because of construction the most direct path there was impossible. We spent the next 30 minutes trying to get to it but never succeeded in doing so. However, as it was getting late, it did afford me the opportunity to take some night time photos of buildings in the area. The last photo is of a church near our hotel with the cross draped for Holy Week.
Walking to the historic area is downhill so returning is uphill. Instead of walking back up, we took the light rail. We had had enough walking for this day. Tomorrow we would spend more time exploring the second largest city in Portugal.
Thanks for joining us on our journey through Europe. Your comments, faves, and links to other medias are always appreciated. It’s never too late to get on the mailing list for the weekly post if you haven’t done so yet. Until next week.
Credit: The photos taken at the cafe in Paris were taken by Silvette Lee
Your dinner in Paris looks fabulous.
Thanks, it was good and not as expensive as one might think.