On Saturday, we had a half day guided tour of the Louvre. We saw the famous works, like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Afterwards, we continued on with our own tour of the museum for a while, then decided to do some shopping near Saint Chappel.

Day 9—The Louvre

Did we use this gate? No, we were special and got in quickly from a parking garage

Some of the famous I.M.Pei pyramids at the Louvre

The nearly touching inverted pyramid made famous in The Da Vinci Code

The main entrance to the massive museum, which was once a residence of the kings of France, and is nearly 650,000 square feet in size

Why is the Louvre one of the most visited museums in the world? Is it to see each and every one of the 35,000 pieces of art?

Maybe it's the The Diadem of the Duchess of Angoulême or the Coronation Crown of Louis XV

I think we're getting warmer with the Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. It is believed to depict Aphrodite (called Venus by the Romans), the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 6.7 ft high. Its arms and original plinth have been lost.

My personal favorite is Antonio Canova's statue Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, first commissioned in 1787. It exemplifies the neo-classical obsession with love and emotion. It represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness, right after awakening the lifeless Psyche with a kiss. A replica of the statue now resides in our house.

Well although those are all nice, along with everything else in the museum, I don't think it's what we came to see. No, Madeline and Dana were excited to see none other than...

After the Louvre, we walked towards the center of the city and toured St. Chappel, a church with amazing stained glass windows

One last Parisian dinner. We ordered traditional French food. When I ordered the dish on the right, the waiter said, "Are you sure you want that? It is very, um, French." I told him "Why not?". I don't know precisely what it was, but it was four fowl of some sort in a broth with onions and cheese (I've since figured out it was probably pigeon). It wasn't bad, but I'd probably not order it again. Of course, we had some crème brûlée and chocolate mousse, so no one was complaining.

Perhaps it is to see the Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, which is a third century B.C. marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). Since 1884, it has been prominently displayed at the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world. It is said by tourists that the statue carries the aroma of the spring it was found in.

... the Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda), a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. It is only 30" x 20", but was Da Vinci's favorite painting and the one he really wanted to give to the museum. Four other works of his are also there, but this is the one people come to see.

I find a friend outside Notre Dame