After the Mona Lisa, Jane and I wandered through some more of the Louvre. We ended up wandering into Napoleon’s apartment, which was a stunning exhibit that we weren’t expecting to see. It was full of rooms decorated in an elaborate manner more complex and exorbitant than what I saw at Versailles. We were consistently in awe of the shockingly extravagant decor and immense chandeliers.
I wandered through the long hallways of the Louvre, taking in the spectacular Renaissance works of art and searching for the Mona Lisa. After taking a right hand turn into an adjacent room, I found the mass of people pushing towards the one painting we had all come to see: The Mona Lisa! There it was against the wall all by itself, placed behind a piece of bullet-proof glass.
I had to push my way towards the front, but I had to see it as closely as I could. When I got to the front I just stood and stared at this magnificent piece of art. How incredible to see the most famous woman in the world up close and personal.
My last week in Paris was a little bit scattered and distorted. We came back from Antwerp on a Sunday morning train, leaving behind several people at the hotel who nearly missed the train because they overslept. After getting back to Paris we went to a few designer’s trunk shows and then were free for the evening. Since it was Jane’s birthday we ended up wandering down to the Eiffel Tower and then going over to a cafe a few blocks away where we got chocolate mousse and crepes and talked for hours until we went home.
The next day Jane and I spent all day on a vintage search, starting at the gigantic market that we’d visited the day before. After that we wandered down towards the Seine, stopped at another vintage shop, went onto one of the islands in the middle of the Seine (THERE ARE ISLANDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEINE?!) and we got ice cream at an adorable little ice cream parlor, then wandered home.
On Tuesday I woke up very, very sick with a fever and chills, so I spent all day in bed. Boo.
Wednesday Jane and I spent most of the day at the Louvre, hence the pictures. As soon as we got to the Louvre I was shocked by the immense size of it. I knew it was one of the largest art museums in the world, but I never comprehended the sheer size of it. I had never been before, so I immediately wanted to go see the Mona Lisa. As I ran through the halls I was stunned to come across so many works of art that I had studied in art history over the years. There is nothing quite so surreal as seeing famous works of art in person.
Day 3: A visit to the Musee des arts Decoratif where we saw an exhibit of Louis Vuitton and Mark Jacobs, followed by a quick walk by the Royal Opera House of Paris.
