Friday 23 November 2018

435. Moaners

Louvre, Paris

Top on Iris' bucket list was The Louvre. Jacqueline and I had not been either so were keen, the other three, not so keen.
So iconic. The tourists on top show the true scale.
A little larger than our Bridge of Remembrance
The opposite of every other roundabout rules in the world
Those entering have right of way
Arriving at the louvre carpark we realised that it might
not be crowded today
Audrey and Roman approaching the
iconic pyramids
Thingie swallowing the sun
Iris was very frustrated that she couldn't remember the name
though she did know that it is an Indian myth explaining
solar eclipses which is a lot more than her ignorant Dad knew
Audrey, unaware that she would soon be boooooorrrreeeed
The ticket queue
All the children were free and only €18 for us
Straight into an absolutely stunning sculpture gallery 


It is beyond me how anybody could see this
inside a block of stone - wonderful 

The floors are a feature in themselves 
The Winged Victory of Samothrace
stands majestically at the top of large stairs.
Impossible to believe she is two thousand years old 
Barely started and the three younger are exhausted
and Iris frustrated. Empty seats everywhere which
I guess is unusual 
The walls are a feature themselves, then there are
the hundreds of beautiful, life-size statues
This painting of David slaying Goliath is double sided.... 
... the other side
Awful painting but I like the two perspectives
The colours are astounding
Some watery tart...
Jacqueline, Fyfe, Mona Lisa, moaning Audrey
To my uneducated eye, there are better works everywhere.
This for example is wonderful 
I think it is often more crowded
The ceilings alone are worth visiting
Photos don't do the paintings justice..... 
..... as they are large and incredibly detailed
Same painting as above
The girls recreated this scene, with much hilarity, when going to bed
The ceiling of the crown room... well, you can see
The crown of Louis XV
 The diadem of the Duchess of Angoulême on the right
Looking out of the palace, over the high fences,
the view of the Royals
The crown room, not a big crowd 
Panarama of the ceiling
Ceiling detail
Looking into the palace courtyard from the crown room
Though the Palace was stripped bare during the revolution,
some of it has been returned and is spectacular





Truly beautiful views out the window 


Love the parquet floors and the way they yield
when you walk upon them 
New additional stairways are beautifully done 
The antiquities section is absolutely vase
and deserted and we were spent 

Below ground, the original castle foundations are now visible
complete with moats and turrets
After a long innings at the Louvre shop we were bowled out,
the iconic Louvre Apple store (Jobs first) the promised next innings only to
discover it had closed a few days previously now that the Champs-Élysées
store has opened 

5 comments:

  1. Fantastic to have it all to yourself!

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  2. Stunning photos, the louvre must have a negative impact on small girls- Eleanor had a total melt-down when we visited, we had to drag her around, she even did the full dramatic collapse on the floor routine. That was a couple of days before we descended on you with all our germs.x

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    Replies
    1. It isn't surprising Julie, we, as you, discovered that it is absolutely vast.
      I too was exhausted and we were only there for the afternoon. THere is just so much of everything that it overwhelms.

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  3. Moaning Audrey ... too good!

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