Day 5!
Today we explore the Marais District and the Louvre!
The louvre experience was a big reason why I booked this trip.
One of the most special highlights of the day was getting up close with the Mona Lisa!
The Louvre has a 'for disabled persons only' area right in front of the Mona Lisa. When we worked our way to the front of the Mona Lisa 'mosh pit', we were surprised to see a helpful museum worker behind the velvet rope that allowed us in to get closer.
I snapped this photo of Jason up close with the Mona Lisa, and from this distance, he was better able to enjoy the painting. What special treat!
The day began for us walking through the historic Marais District in Paris!
We learned a lot about how the French nobility lived here, in an area that was formerly a swamp, prior to the French revolution.
After the revolution, the government owned many of the mansions in this area.
The buildings were very cool and beautiful to check out.
There were many statues of of the sun king around, but this one outside of the Carnavalet museum was very cool to see.
You see a lot of statues with him sticking his leg out a little bit, because he felt like his leg was his best feature. ​
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After lunch and a rest at our hotel, we were off to the Louvre for the evening. We followed our tour guide, Rolinka, to the museum. Her bright red coat made her very easy to spot.
The Louvre was absolutely a bucket list must for me and the entire evening was a magical experience full of some of the world's greatest art treasures. ​
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One of the coolest things we got to do at the Louvre was see the Mona Lisa up close.
I had no idea that they had a special access area for people with disabilities, but we go to go right up to the front, which was very special. My husband was better able to enjoy the painting this way.
We used the rick steves' audio guide going through the louvre and it worked very well for us.
This is a day we will remember for the rest of our lives!
Some of my other unexpected favorites were the sculpture of winged victory and venus de milo.
I had seen photos of winged victory but photos don't do the sculpture justice in person. For one thing, it's MASSIVE. For another, it's detail is hard to see in photos. Jason loved it too.
Venus de milo was beautiful, and a reminder that the 'modern' standard of beauty hasn't been the standard for all time. Venus's curves and contrapposto pose were delightful to see in person.
Another delight was the Louvre pyramid. I had always wanted to see it, and getting to see it was so special, especially with it all lit up at night.
It really helped me understand why people call Paris 'The City of Light'.
It also brought a lot of natural light into the lobby below the louvre's upper square, making the space below feel lively and accessible.
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We spent the evening after wandering the halls of the louvre and seeing masterpiece after masterpiece.
I absolutely have to come back to the louvre at some point. It's impossible to see it all in one day. I feel like I could spend an entire week here and not get bored once.
I loved seeing my art history class 'come alive' with so many beautiful pieces of art from the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci and others.
