Musee Louvre

 The Louvre is the most incredible museum in the world, even if you don’t like museums.  The Louvre was originally a fortress and palace, but has been a museum for two centuries.  The building is grand.  The ceilings are especially ornate, from the days when it was a Royal Palace.  It gives some insight into why the peasants must have revolted at the excesses of French Royal life.  Everyone you’ve ever heard of has works in the Louvre.  There are paintings, drawings, sculptures, tapestries, jewels, furniture …  just everything.   The Mona Lisa is the most well-known art on display there.  The Louvre was also where we discovered that there truly are stairs that only go up or down (can you figure that one out?) 

Mom wanted to see the Opera building.  In my prior trips to Paris, I had never been there.  I decided to humor her.  It was a good thing.  The Opera, especially the Grand Foyer, is lavishly opulent.   The wealth and grandeur are stunning, and so are the elaborate mosaics that cover the walls and ceilings.  

The performance hall inside the Opera.  The building is large (118,ooo square feet) but the hall only seats 2200.  The famous center ceiling area holding the six ton chandelier was painted by Chagall in 1964, but I think it's out of place.  I wish we  could have seen the original.

SHOPPING!

 The French invented department stores.   Paris is home to three fabulous department stores - Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, and Bon Marche; each of them small cities.  We were interested to see that the department stores also have separate, enclosed areas within the stores for the major designer brands. 

Of course, we ate pastries there, too!