The Louvre…. Speechless. Another place that wasn’t on my list of places I gotta see before I die.

Right off, I’m gonna tell you, this was a bit much. The place is enormous! And confusing…. It really needs three days to visit properly. One day, no way….two is pushing it.

You see, I want to see everything!!!

It was the last part of the day when I realized I hadn’t seen The Venus de Milo!! I’ll get back to that later. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!!

The pyramid thingy is the entrance to the Louvre under the pyramid. That pyramid is in the midst of three building in a horseshoe shape and that horseshoe shape extends under each of the buildings. So, the maps are drawn that way …..but it would have been much better to have an app with a 3-D map for understanding and locating featured works of art.

Yes that’s a bath in the upper left photo and not the only one on display.

The map gives an idea of what pieces of famous art can be found in each section….but, it’s a lot of walking. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very organized to make this trip. Hell, I wasn’t organized at all!!! If it weren’t for signs down the ‘HUGE’ halls pointing to where the Mona Lisa was at….I’d have most likely not found it. At least in that one visit.

And, honestly….I wondered if it was really worth it after I found it. It’s the most popular piece of art and it is surrounded by people along with 4 rotating guards and it’s in a sealed glass encasement.

The Louvre

Teachers were having class field trips on the day I was there. Even in this cold blustery winter weather the crowds seem rather large. I can’t image what it would be like when tourist season arrives!

I got the link and a message popped up that there were so many people there today that they had to halt admission for the day!!! https://www.louvre.fr/en/homepage

I’m sure I would have been disappointed trying to get around in such a crowded place.

By the way, these places in Europe have security much like going thru an airport. Some places you can’t bring your backpack in and must put it in a rental locker. To get your ticket you have to choose a day and a time block based on what’s available. For instance right now to buy a ticket for August 1st.(today is July 25th) the soonest I could get in would be 3:30pm!!!! I’m gonna tell you there’s no way to see everything that I’d want to see starting at that hour.

Here is a page from their website showing who can get in for Free https://www.louvre.fr/en/free-admission-musee-du-louvre. Neither you or I qualify, sorry. It’s 17 Euros (about $20 U.S.)on line and 15 Euros (about $17.50 U.S.) at the Louvre.

As I mentioned in a recently blog of my arrival to Paris…..students are busy doing their drawings all around….must are where the statues and ornament art work is located.

Coming out of the room where Mona Lisa was kept I enter the same hallway that I arrived by. This is a rather large hallway fixed on the outer edge of the building and is about 30 foot wide. All down this hall are bust and paintings. The first painting to my right as I enter the hall is about a 16 x 20 and it needed to be dusted. I may go back and apply.

Paris — The Louvre

This place is nothing short of ‘magnificent’!!! The architecture is astounding!!! These are rather old buildings….I guess the saying goes ‘they don’t make them like that anymore’ is true.

The diversity of this place had me in awe. This isn’t just ‘French’ art with the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo thrown in for good measure. This is some of the finest art from around the world bringing a lot of history with it too…

The Greek and Roman statues really caught my attention. These aren’t some artwork that was cast from some mold!! These are pieces of hand made art, a block of stone that was sculpted either from a pose or from a picture in the artist mind. This is just amazing!

That’s Hercules to the top right….for some reason all the sculptures of him are with him naked, even in battle!! Most of the male sculptures depict the male nude, for women it’s not that way although there is many topless.

Art was also a way of communications….

Here’s one of my favorites…..

Back to The Venus de Milo. The day was long and I was done. I’m totally worn out when I’m reviewing the brochure and I’m thinking……didn’t I see a picture of Venus de Milo on one of these pages??? Yep, there she was!!! I can’t possibly leave The Louvre and not visit this awesome and unique piece of art that is so nonchalantly sung of by the late Chuck Berry (“Brown-eyed Handome Man”). Where in the heck is this!!!

I’m in Paris in search of Venus de Milo

Okay, logically I know it’s got to be among the sculptures. So, I find where that is on the map and head that way. Simple huh? Nope!! I’m where I believe I should find her but, she’s nowhere to be found. There’s a busy attendant that I patiently wait to speak to and he smiles and in fluent English (with a French accent of course) points me in the general direction. As an added bit of customer service he provides me with some very accur