Museum Day!

I woke up this morning a bit earlier than I wanted to, but it was ok because when I checked the MLB playoff scores I noticed the Giants/Braves game was in extra innings. I was able to find it online in time to see Glaus make a great double play and then Ankiel hit the game winning home run. Nothing like playoff baseball to start a day!

My original plan was to visit the Musee du Louvre in the morning, followed by the Musee d'Orsay and Musee de l'Armee in the afternoon. They are so close together, why not? Suffice it to say, I vastly underestimated how long it would take to see all of the Louvre. Since that was my main priority, I took my time looking around, many times enjoying pieces of art that everyone else was merely walking past. A few general observations: the Louvre building itself is almost as beautiful and amazing as the art in it. Also, and I knew this already, but other than religious images I really prefer landscapes, and naval landscapes for some reason are especially appealing to me.

My main mistake with the Louvre, other than underestimating its size, was not going in with a plan of attack. When I entered, I simply followed the signs to the Mona Lisa, which meant that later I had to double- and triple-back to see things I missed. So the first things I really looked at were the Italian paintings in the Grand Gallery (WOW!) I remember seeing paintings of it in Modern Europe seminar, but that did not prepare me for the shear size of this hall. That's not to mention the beauty of the art. Fortunately or unfortunately, I began my Louvre experience with the best. I have to say, the Mona Lisa is quite nice and I understand its appeal, but there are so many other paintings that, in my opinion, are just as good if not better but do not get the acclaim. There are a lot of beautiful religious paintings in this area, and I took a lot of pictures but I will try to include just some of the best. I then saw the very famous Napoleon and French Revolution paintings, but did not really get to enjoy them because there were so many tourists surrounding them.

I then moved on to the Greek and Egyptian stuff, which I always really like. I then moved upstairs to the French and Northern European sections. The French have some nice painters, but in my opinion they cannot compare to the Italians.

I then moved down to the Middle Age, Renaissance, and Restoration decorative arts, highlighted by the Napoleon III apartments. I could not help but think of that horrible DirectTV commercial with the Russian guy, even saying under my breath "Oppulence, I has it."

I made my way down to more Greek and Egyptian halls (including the Venus de Milo, which is very beautiful, and the numerous sarcaphogi they stole from Egypt). The Mesopotamian stuff was ok, though I really liked seeing the Code of Hammurabi (which I could not believe most people just walked past!). Then on to French Sculptures before I was finally able to find a place to get a quick snack (chocolate muffin) and some much-needed water.

After that quick break, I moved on to the basement with the Medieval Louvre. After that I had to double-back to a few things I missed, including some European sculptures on the bottom floor and Spanish paintings I had missed on the top floor next to the Grand Gallery because they were temporarily closed when I first arrived there.

By this time it was past 1430, so I quickly decided that I would skip the Musee d'Orsay (at least for today) and head over to the Musee de l'Armee and Dome Church, my second priority. By this time my legs had about given out, so the walk to the Invalides was especially long. By the time I got there, around 1515, they were only going to be open for another 90 minutes, so I had to rush through it to see as much as possible.

I first went to see Napoleon's Tomb. Not necessarily because I cared about the tomb, though I realized it would be stupid not to see it, but more because I wanted to get into the Dome Church. Unfortunately there was a wedding going on, so the church was closed. So I made my way through the various military exhibits.

First I saw the WWI and WWII exhibits, which were interesting but not much different from what I've seen in so many other museums. I then made my way to the Arms and Armour exhibits, which were much much better. Amazing, actually. I really wish I had more time to more fully look at all the suits of armor and older weapons that are few and far between in the States. One thing I had to comment on was the many children's suits of armour they had, which made me slightly depressed to think someone that young and small had had to use them, or at least suffer under their weight.

I then had about 15 minutes to make it through the Musee de l'Armee. I (almost) ran through the Napoleonic history pieces, again wishing I had more time to see them. I climbed upstairs to see the scale models they have of various cities and castles for siege warfare, a remarkable display, especially considering the detail on them. At that time I started to hear the closing bells, so I made my way out and back to my apartment for a quick break and some water.

I ended up taking a quick nap while watching some of the Indiana/Ohio State game. When I woke up and decided it was time to get something to eat, my muscles groaned with every movement. But as I made my way down to the Cafe Roussillon again (yes, it was that good the first time), I started to feel a little better loosening my joints. At the cafe, I decided to have a very American chicken sandwich and Coca-Cola (despite my plan to avoid it) in preparation for some Aggie football. And so I returned to my apartment to write this little account before the big game starts.

Torrow I plan on trying to attend Mass at Notre Dame and perhaps seeing what is around there. I hope my legs will have regained enough energy to get me through tomorrow.