Paris – Museum Day
Today we dedicated to Museum day in Paris. We started out by heading towards the Notre Dame Basillica. At first we went in the general entrance and attempted to find the ticket booth to buy a 2 day Museum Pass. After getting some rough directions we found the line outside was already queuing for the tickets to climb the towers of Notre Dame. So we got in line had a great conversation with a lady from Pennsylvania who is in Paris with her husband who is contracting back to a French Power Authority. Anyway, we waited about 1 hour before we got to the ticket sales to purchase our museum pass. At that point they only take up groups of 15 -20 at a time as the area above is narrow and it only moves one way so all through the tour there are assistants with walkie-talkies reporting crowd conditions. You climb the tower in two stages and overall it is 400 steps to the top. But the view from the top was amazing, almost as good as the Eiffel Tower. The main bell at the top is 13 tonnes and you can climb inside the bell tower just like Quasimodo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. The bell tone is a very low F# for you musicians out there. For my Rube Friends it’s the same sound as the groan from the band when the musical director wants us to play Thin Red Line followed by The Contemptibles…. you get it? After the climb to the tower we went back into the main part of the church; it is amazing, the size, the grandness of the space, the carvings in the wood, the gargoyles, the granite and the stained glass windows are breath taking. Those who have been here will remember and understand what we mean. After this we rewarded ourselves with a Cafe au Lait at a sidewalk cafe directly across from the church.
From here we continued on to the Museum D’Orsay. the line up was very light and with our new 2 day pass we walked right in. There were works by Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, Rembrandt, Monet and so many other famous painters. In addition to the paintings there were a lot of sculptures, busts and a variety of art displays, so much to see, so much history it all seems like a blur! After this we rewarded ourselves with a Cafe au Lait at a small sidewalk cafe nearby.
So we decided to go for the “Trifactor”; why not tackle the Louvre! Plus it was later in the afternoon when the crowds were a little quieter. we basically walked right in as there was no line up and to our surprise we were able to keep our camera and take pictures. We immediately headed for the information booth…… which wasn’t a lot of help, since we were so awestruck by the size and scope of the place. Anyway, we wandered around and found enough help to first see the “Venus de Milo” from here we headed over to see “The Mona Lisa”. Crowds at both these were a little heavier however we waited our turn and were able to get pictures. Those were the two must sees for us and after that we walked around viewing many other works of art, however in addition to this the rooms and the buildings of the Louvre are indescribable…… you know what we mean if you have been fortunte enough to visit here. About 6 p.m. crowds started to really pick up as tickets prices are reduced on Wednesdays after 6 p.m. So, we had been there about 3 hrs which barely scratches the surface but we have seen what we came for. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with a Cafe au Lait at a small sidewalk cafe…… do you see a trend happening? Enjoy the pics….
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