The Louvre

We (and 20 gazillion others!) went to the Louvre today.  When we were here five years ago, our visit was very rushed due to an electrical fire which had knocked out some of the access points, necessitating a long walk to get in, and to an obnoxious local guide who was somewhat Hitlerish, so we were looking forward to ambling our own way around.

So many people, especially in the areas leading to the Mona Lisa.  Must be so much money tied up in the art here.

We split up, agreeing to meet back at the hotel.  Allan was a bit dubious about leaving me to negotiate the Metro alone but we wouldn't have had a hope of keeping track of each other amongst the masses.

As it happened, I was fine with the Metro, but it took me half an hour of walking around in circles to find the station!  I loved the sculptures especially.

It was very warm inside - they don't seem to temperature control the environment to protect the art as they do in the British Museums.

My complaint, if I had one, would be about the maps they give you, and the general 'traffic' flow.  I'd be the first to admit that I am a bit of a girl (sexist I know, but true) when it comes to reading maps, but I struggled to figure out where I was, let alone how to get to where I wanted to go!  Gave up in the end and just followed my nose.  The tourist attractions I like best are those which have a defined route so you can a) see everything logically and b) so everyone is going the same direction.  At the Louvre, there are side alleys with different exits, there are dead ends so you have two way traffic, so it's easy to miss things, and you end up with a melee of people.

Anyway, all good.  I finished first and checked out the underground Carousel shopping centre.  Very elite shops with the most beautiful window displays, but window shopping was all I did.

Allan went on to the Pompadou Centre which he enjoyed.  [Allan: the building at least as fascinating as the art!]

We found a more 'quality' restaurant to eat at last night.  It was done out with upright canons used for up lighting, and the lights were a set of three cannonballs strung together with a chain.  Pretty cool!  Food was good too!