Day 8 was another museum day! We needed to bunch them all together to take advantage of our Paris Museum Pass. We purchased the 4-day version.
This day started at the Picasso Museum. I was really looking forward to this one, but was deeply disappointed. What they had was excellent, but most of the museum was inaccessible. Had we known, I may have suggested we give it a pass. But we got there only to discover that most of the areas were closed for rehanging. It was a ten minute tour of what little they had.
The building was beautiful, but every step we took led to another dead end where NO ART was displayed.
Our next museum stop was the iconic Louvre. It’s always a great idea. We made some notes to see some of the things we didn’t get to take in on our last visit back in 2021.
The sculpture section was one of the ones we did NOT see in 2021. Such an amazing section, too. There were so many breathtaking pieces to look at…
I think my favourite piece in the Louvre will always be The Winged Victory of Samothrace. I remember seeing this one WAY BACK in my childhood when it served as a backdrop for the flawless Audrey Hepburn in the movie FUNNY FACE.
When I go to the Louvre, I go to the Winged Victory.
After the Winged Victory, we made a mild pass through ‘The Mona Lisa Room’. This snap is from far away, because we were not going to line up to see the underwhelming Must See Louvre painting. Not again. (-;
In 2021, we did the line up and it was a zoo…a masked zoo. When I went to see her in 2014, it wasn’t as busy…there was no line up, just a crowd.
The Louvre will always be a stunning place to while away a day in Paris. Around every corner, you will find something to fascinate.
Look UP when you’re in the Louvre. Of course, even the ceilings are beautiful…
Once we caught up on the Louvre offerings, we went to a little cafe inside the complex attached to the Louvre.
This was an unscheduled stop, but the raspberries in the window spoke to me. Deeply. Raspberries ALWAYS speak to me.
It was a swanky little place!
After our little side-bar at the cafe, we were ready to take another impromptu side-bar. This one a little more substantial. With our heavy schedule, I didn’t think we could add anything else. But it seemed that every day we would inexplicably find lag-time somewhere in the schedule. This day, we discovered we had enough time to squeeze in a visit to Musée de l’Orangerie. It was just on the other side of the Tuileries from the Louvre. We booked tickets on our phones and set out on the beautiful walk through the gardens. Unquestionably, this is one of my favourite Paris walks. With the huge trees and the endless paths and the gorgeous fountains…it has everything!
We saw the museum before, with its breathless and endless Monet gardens. But it didn’t hurt to pay it another visit. This is a great little museum!
Monet just wraps around you like a warm soft blanket in this museum. Immersive.
We ate all the things! Le Petit Bouillon Pharamond was a great choice! And a nice end to another amazing day. We were not that far from our hotel, either. Another great walk through the streets of Paris!
KEVIN CRAIG 