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Venus de Milo |
Today,
we're all heading to the Louvre. We got there just after opening, so the lines
for tickets weren't too bad. Rather than everyone trying to stay together, we
let everyone choose to view what they wanted and then rejoin at the meeting
point in three hours. Mary and I decided to spend our time seeing some of the
highlights: the original fortress walls of the castle, the Greek and Roman
sculptures including the Venus de Milo and then the 13th to 18th century
paintings including the Mona Lisa. We had paid for the audio tour and for us it
added a lot, especially explaining some of the symbols within the paintings. We
both agreed that one of our favorites was the Four Seasons by Arcimboldo
painted in 1573. With only an hour left we headed to the Egyptian portion of
the museum. We were fascinated by the Sarcophagus of the Spouses. The many
items reminded us of our trip to Egypt over ten years ago.
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The Four Seasons |
We
rejoined the group for lunch at Le Nemours right near the Palais Royale. Here
we encountered a band playing for the tourists and later on a string group, what
a contrast in music! Lunch was a traditional baguette with ham. The group split
up from here. We walked the Jardins des Tuileries, watching all the people
enjoying the park, and then onto the Place de la Concorde from where we could
see the L'Arc du Triomphe at the end of the Champs Elysee (the most expensive
boulevard in Paris). Mary and Cindy headed back to our hotel while I made a
stop at St. Germaine des Pres. The place I wanted to get to was St. Suplice
famous for three masterpieces by Eugene Delacroix as well as it astronomic
features. A whole in the roof causes the sunlight at noon to follow a bronze
line on the floor (the French Meridian) and pillar. At noon on the winter solstice
the sun lights up a gold disk at the
top. An oval plate near the altar is lit up on the equinoxes, all in an attempt to determine the date for Easter.
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Champs Elysee to the L'arc du Triomphe |
That night we met the tour group for an orientation and several glasses of
wine. We had a delightful dinner just down the block from the hotel.
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