This day was particularly hard to get started, after the
20,000 step day before. It was no joke getting out of bed, but thankfully, the
construction guys started bright and early at 7:50 and ensured that we got the
day started. After a breakfast at the apartment we set out to conquer our
pre-determined itinerary:
·
Louvre
·
Lunch
·
Notre Dame
·
St. Chappelle
·
Seine River Cruise for belated anniversary
dinner
Louvre Museum: Closed on Tuesdays; hours on other days range
from 9am-6pm; with late nights on Fridays until 9:45pm (*See note on Metro in
notes). First Sundays are free, but I’ve heard busy; otherwise 15 euros for
adults and under 18 are free. We used Museum Pass.
So, everything I had read on the Louvre said, plan, plan,
plan. Every source said that if you went in there without a plan, you’d get
lost, not see all the best pieces, and be there for days. The problem was, for
me- how to plan. I found the website
to be user unfriendly, and couldn’t seem to find a good way to find the Mona
Lisa quickly, much less figure out which pieces were highlights. This museum is
HUGE. I mean, there’s really no way to describe it until you see it for
yourself. On the morning we woke up, it occurred to me to check and see if they
had an app I could download. I kinda struck out with that- because I did want
one that would work offline so I wouldn’t have to turn my out of country data
on for the day. HOWEVER, I hit the jackpot on the $5.99 bundle app- Paris
Museums Bundle by Museum Tour Guides LTD. This app bundle included the Louvre,
Rodin (too late for us), Musee D’Orsay and Musee de L’Orangerie. I 100% feel
this was money well spent. The apps include a map, tour options, and find art, art descriptions and notes,
as well as information like hours and ticket prices for the museums.
For the Louvre, this app allows you to choose the 4 hour, 1 day or 2 day
tour. We previewed the pieces and decided that the 4 hour tour covered the
pieces we most wanted to visit. The 4 hour tour covers 50 pieces, and we hit them
all with the exception of about 5-6; and then previewed the 1 and 2 day tours
to see if there were any additional pieces that we wanted to see. I will say,
the downside to this app, is that it appears to not be updated to reflect parts
of the museum that are closed for renovations, or pieces that may be on loan to
another museum.
We took the Metro down to the museum, and it dumps you out
into a jam packed, crowded mall. You may see signs that point to purchasing Museum
passes in little shops, but if you already have yours, just skip that and go
straight up the escalators to the road level. Security was pretty tight, but I
will admit that I was a bit unnerved that they missed checking my bag, but
checked everyone else’s. So, tight, but maybe not so thorough, which is unnerving
considering recent events. Anyhoo, after you go through security (we entered at
the pyramid), you go down some escalators to the actual museum lobby. It will
be packed. We immediately briefed the kids on what to do if they got separated,
since their cell phones were not in use. There is a rendezvous point there in
the lobby, but we showed them the uniforms on the staff, etc. There is a “locker
room” of sorts, where you can “rent” a locker to store coats and bags, and an
umbrella stash- you just follow the directions on the wall and enter a code.
Just remember to take a picture or write down/remember your locker number
because there are a lot of them.
After settling the “housekeeping” options, we grabbed an
actual, physical paper map, and I will say, Martin and I both agree that their
map is also not very user friendly. Or, maybe it was just us. I’m not sure. Even
though we were going to follow a tour guide, the boys all wanted to start at
the big ML, and then backtrack through. Okay, c’est la vie. You’re messing with
my plan. But, whatevs, go with it Mom.
We got seriously sidetracked by the shiny objects in what I
would say was MY favorite- and for lack of the official name, I’ll call it the
French Bling Room. I’m talking emeralds, diamonds, crowns, precious jewels,
ridiculous grooming items- I was in my element; and ladies- you shouldn’t miss
it. The boys tore me away, though- and had to press on for the search for
DaVinci’s greatest.
This was the point where we realized, we pretty much had no clue how to read that map, and were
grumbling about it when oldest Boy Scout son says, “Let me see it” in a bored,
exasperated voice. And voila. The kid has insane navigating skills. I mean, I
can’t even describe the looks on our faces as he manipulated that building like
no body’s business. Time after time, we were doubting him, and he would lead us
up and down stairs, around the corners, and there it would be…. But, I digress….
We finally found the Mona
Lisa, and pressed in among the flocks of tourists who were taking selfies like
they were on the front row at a rock concert. This is the number one thing that
has been on C’s bucket list for years, and poor little guy- his little ten year
old frame was not packing enough punch, so I played that card, and kept saying,
“I know you’re so excited about this” as I pushed him through the crowd (which
was probably about 10 people deep). I kept using that line, and people tend to
let kids through with a little more niceness, and he was able to get right in
front of it, and take some pictures. M and I scooted off to the side and, yes, we took a selfie. Since so many people had told me that it was small, and underwhelming, I was pleasantly surprised by the size. And yes, it’s a great painting, but there are so many others….. M
actually said that this floor has so many other good paintings in addition to
the the Mona Lisa; with Delacroix’s
Liberte Leading the People being his favorite. |
| Liberte Leading the People |
Favorite highlights- the French Bling Room, the Mona Lisa
(and DaVinci’s other works across the hall, which I actually liked more, and M
agreed), the Moat part of the museum from the original building, and the Egyptian
mummy, sphinx and relics. This was the part of the museum where I said, “Hey,
look- this stuff was Rameses’!” and C replied, “Gordon Ramsey’s?” Insert
history lesson here…. Also, our tour took us down into an area with amazing wood
carvings, and we felt like we’d hit the jackpot because we were literally the
only people there. It’s a shame that so many pieces are overlooked for the
bigger ones.
 |
| This is the moat that the Louvre was built on. Who knew? |
 |
| The wood carving room |
This museum was the great bulk of our day, and I highly
recommend it, but I wouldn’t do it without the app and the map. We completed
the 4 hour tour and a few other highlights in about 3 hours, because hey, we have
a short attention span. But I will tell you that the walking is BRUTAL.
There
are a lot of stairs, and the elevators will be packed to maximum weight, and
the one we rode had us holding our breaths because of it- M was doing a
headcount, and said we exceeded the recommended number of people on board. They’re
not shy about crowding in Europe.
After touring the Louvre, we were beat, and I mean, beat.
The day, plus the one before had killed our feet. We knew we needed a quick
lunch, somewhere close by. At this point, we didn’t have the mental capacity to
pull out trip advisor for recommendations, so we spied a McDonalds across the
street, and off we went. Do not judge me for eating at McDonald’s in Paris. We
were at the point of hangry, and it was there, ok?
Now I haven’t eaten anything
but breakfast at McDonalds in probably 10 years, but this McDonalds has
machines that you walk up and order from, and then pick up at the counter.
Maybe that’s the new norm, I don’t know. But it ended up being a pain because
you had to figure out where everything on the menu was; the machine ended up
declining our credit card twice, and a different card once, and we ended up
having to go up and pay at the counter. The declined credit card in Europe
thing gave us near heart attacks, and since we were all hangry and tired, let’s
just say, things got a little testy with the family at this point. We forced
our way through the throngs of people to get our food, and then went upstairs
to find a non-existent table. We came back downstairs to look for another
non-existent table. We ended up eating outside in the cold rain (at least it
was covered), and quickly discovered they’d left something off our tray and
sent M back inside to figure it out in French (HAHA!). All in all, between
finding out that our card was indeed fine, and they had 2 pending charges in
addition to our actual charge- it ended up being a bit of a tense lunch. C
lightened it up by feeding the birds and M by saying he “had to have the Paris chef’s
hat” from the souvenir store next door. Side note- the food was better than
expected.
I say all this, because I want to express that our mood was
less than stellar for our next attraction; and I don't feel like we gave it a fair shake.
Notre Dame: hours: 7:45am - 6:45pm; free entry for church, but not to go to top. Long security lines move quickly.
 |
| I mean, the faces kind of say it all... |
Now, I can’t say for certain if that was the reason, or the fact that we had purchased a toboggan hat for C at the souvenir shop (since he was freezing, apparently) and he promptly lost it as soon as we walked into Notre Dame (we’re talking mere minutes people); or if we have been jaded by the grandeur of Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, but I felt like we rushed through this attraction, and I’ll be very honest- I don’t have much to write about here. (Hello, run-on sentence that feels like my feet felt at this point). At Westminster, we did the audio tour; but here we did not, and I regret that. I feel like I would have appreciated it more if we had. The church is beautiful- as you’d expect, and there are some really cool drawings and such to show how long it took to build. But I feel like I spent the majority of the time trying to catch up to Martin’s back- we’ve tested it and he takes about 1.4 steps to every one of mine.
By the time we finished, we did not have the fortitude to
even think about climbing the steps
to the top. I’m talking- feet were dying; not to mention it was so cold and
rainy and we knew it would be worse at the top.
So, right across the street was St. Chappelle (hours 9:30-6pm; 10 euros for adults, free for kids under 18) and let me
tell you- do this one. You will enter on the bottom floor. Use the museum pass-
we waltzed right in (well, as much as one can with security these days), much
to the chagrin of the people in line. I was prepared to walk in and see the
most amazing stained glass in the world, and when we walked in, I was all, Meh.
 |
| Downstairs chapel |
It was a small chapel- and I’d seen better. I mean, not to be snotty or
anything…. But then I realized….. crap, stairs. Really narrow ones. And we all wanted
to cry. Apparently, this chapel is attached to what was formerly the royal
palace, and the King would enter from his terrace- so the real show is
upstairs. If you go, grab one of the brochures that explain the stained glass
when you go up, and be prepared to have your socks blown off. It is gorgeous
and beautiful and it tells a story, and it is worth the climb. We spent more time here than we did at ND, I
think. It was amazing. I wish I could’ve come back several times with different
times of day for different lighting.
 |
| St. Chappelle |
At this point, we were approaching the 4:00 something hour,
and Martin and I still had the anniversary dinner cruise on the Seine to go. So
we jetted back to the apartment, took off our shoes, took a little nap, and
then the day continues….
This has been a really long post, so I will have to split
the dinner cruise into it’s own blog. Talk to me though…. If you’ve been to
Notre Dame, what did you love about it? I feel like a loser for not giving it
the time it deserved….
No comments:
Post a Comment