As you can see, we went to the Louvre and ate killer food on this day. In the Louvre there were tons and tons of things that we were interested in, but like the British Museum, there was just too much so we had to prioritize. We decided to check out the Egyptian artifacts room, the Mesopotamian room to see the Code of Hammurabi (one of the first written codes of law, famous for the eye for an eye practice and the strict laws), the room that contained the Mona Lisa, and the room that contained a set of portraits of one specific French Queen, Catherine de Medici in the Rubens (painted). This last one showed that Queen’s life story. I think she enjoyed showing herself off.
Of course, these weren't the only things we saw. The Louvre is huge and it also doesn't have any hallways. You just have to walk through different rooms to get to the ones you want. Of course all three of us got sidetracked whenever we did this. I was sidetracked by the early Mesopotamian ages, and it seemed that Ahmee got distracted by at least two things in each room. Read tons of things while waiting of course, and so we ended up killing time.
The Mona Lisa is something that made me laugh. Before we'd been warned by Louise (tour guide from New Zealand) that the Mona Lisa wasn't that big, that it had a swarm of people around it taking pictures even though you're not supposed to use flash, and that it was right across from one of the biggest paintings in Europe. All of those things proved to be true. I didn't even get to the front row of people to see the Mona Lisa; my view from the middle was just fine. Besides, what really interested me was the painting right across from her. It was a painting of the Last Supper. The artist had portrayed it like it was a banquet the Queen of England was holding. Only thing that totally ruined this effect was the tiny dog that was on the table. Yes, there was a dog on the table. Also there were midgets serving the food, musicians playing, and lords and ladies that had nothing to do with the last supper dining alongside the disciples. Since the Mona Lisa has acquired even more fame from Dan Browns: THE DA VINCI CODE, a fictional story that at the end shows that Jesus was totally mortal, I thought it was funny how she appeared in the middle of a time where all of the paintings were religious symbols or were depictions of scenes from the bible. The painting that in books leads to the discovery of Jesus’ children (yeah I just ruined it for those of you who haven't read it) and how he was just another man whose story has been edited countless times by men and the painting that is right across from it depicts a scene before Jesus’ death (that's totally off). Really quite a fun set up the museum has there.
After checking out the rooms we wanted to see most we headed back down under the pyramid where we checked out the bookshop and all of it's too expensive but nice goodies, and then after realizing we were starving we headed out. Of course Ahmee already had a place picked out for us to eat at, so we had to wait a short bit as we wound our way through the subway to get to the restaurant. Ahmee called this one our "splurge" for Paris. Very expensive of course, but delicious food.
Unfortunately this time we didn't get a fun Argentinean as a neighbor. We did however have a good time admiring the restaurant and all the mirrors that managed to make it seem even larger. I love mirrors. Not because I'm Narcissistic, but because they help make light reflect and they add so much more to a room. My favorite bathroom as a kid was one that was completely covered in mirrors. I was amazed at how there wasn't just one toilet, there was an endless line of toilets that went on the wall (mirrors).
We headed back to the hotel, where I typed, and crashed in my bed. I don't believe I've properly described our rooms yet though. When you walk in you walk in to a very short hallway, it's short because it rounds out-we were right next to the round staircase. On the left hand side of this hallway there is a door that has a slight step to it. This would lead to the bathroom that is not much better than the glorified portapotty we had in London (one tap on the shower curtain and you create a puddle all over the floor). Straight ahead after you get out of the small hallway you see a very large bed that's been shoved into the corner. This is my bed. About 3 feet above the right hand pillow is a switch that'll turn on the light for the entire room. I've hit this more than once on my way to getting into bed, kinda annoying having it there. On the left hand side of my bed is another door. This door opens up to a room that has two beds in it, one of which is Ahmee and Poppy’s and the other is our luggage's bed. There is a chest in this room but we don't want to bother taking our things out. The bed for the luggage is closer to the window while Ahmee and Poppy's bed is between their side table and a little desk that serves as a make-up table (has a nice mirror attached to it). I've got the good room. Ahmee and Poppy have to squeeze between the wall and the end of their bed to get out of their room (there's maybe a foot of space there).
Some other things that are in my room: a table and three chairs, a small kitchen area, a window that's never completely shut because we dry our laundry on the line out there (even though I fear the pigeons will sneak in or poo on Ahmee's underwear). This creates a breeze for me and also brings in all the noise that's coming from the courtyard at night. The night life of Paris is very loud compared to the day life. For some reason, I've been sleeping better with the noise.
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