Paris | the louvre
The Louvre is definitely a place worth visiting... but only in the morning.
The last time I went to the Louvre, I only saw the outside and only in the morning. Paris was one of the last cities on that first european trip, and after four weeks of seeing museums we were sick of seeing artwork and wandering museums. On this trip with my cousin, Sam, she and I went to see the Louvre twice. First to see it at night and then the following morning to actually explore the museum.
We arrived at the Louvre early in the morning and ate breakfast in line. The line was quite short so we only waited maybe ten minutes to get in. When we actually started going through the museum, most of it was considerably empty. We took our time and looked at all the artwork. Our first stop was the statues. Paintings are kind of interesting, but I'm really amazed by these carvings. How is it that people can make stone look so organic? It's incredible. I like that area the best. By the time we reach the other parts of the museum, it was considerably crowded. Being scared of crowds, I was not the happiest camper. At one point a grown man pushed me and tried to knock me out of the way. He pushed me so hard I would have fallen if not for the crowd of people behind me. At that point I was done, so Sam and I took a break.
And then we extended our break. I drank a bottle of Orangina and then a bottle of water. I was thirsty. And it was extremely crowded in the museum. Imagine going to sporting event and trying to exit from a single exit. That's what it was like everywhere in the museum. I kept on imagining getting trampled on if there was a fire.
There were a handful of pieces of art that were of some significance. I saw the Mona Lisa, but I wasn't that awed. To me, the statues in my pictures, like the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo, were much more interesting.
So there's a lesson to be learned. Go visit the Louvre... it is worth it. But go when it opens to truly appreciate it.
