The Louvre

When I told people that this would be my first trip to Paris, most of them urged me to go and spend time at the Louvre. I wasn't so sure.  I love museums, but this one is daunting, brimming with history, art and architecture.  The other issue was that I did not want to stand in line for several hours waiting to get in or worse yet, pushing through the crowd to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. So I decided to forgo the museum and face the critics.

Andrea was supportive of this decision, although in the end she decided to use her Getty credentials to get us into the museum quickly.  This is how it went down.   An arrangement was made between colleagues at the Louvre and the Getty, and we were told to meet a Louvre staff member at 9 am in front of the large glass pyramid at the main entrance.  As many of you know, the line to get in also starts at the pyramid and can be hours long.  Andrea and I walked right up to the pyramid and there was one single Louvre staff member standing there waiting for us, complimentary tickets in hand. She personally escorted us down the escalator and into the museum. It took less than 5 minutes. It was truly miraculous, even Andrea was marveled at how ridiculously fast we were admitted. We literally passed hundreds of people waiting in line.

Since we were early we raced up stairs to see the Mona Lisa. There were all ready quite a few people in the gallery milling about, jostling for position to see the painting.  I managed to get off a few shots, this is one of the only ones without anyone else in the photo.  

Next I wanted to see Nike of Samothrace, or Winged Victory.  I have literally sold hundreds of replicas of this sculpture while working at The Museum Company and wanted to see the real thing.  I was not disappointed, there she was looming over the staircase. Fabulous, especially from the side.

We managed to take in the Greco-Roman sculpture and Cycladic images before we were off to our next adventure, the catacombs of Paris.

More soon.