Just another ordinary day in Paris (Day 5)

Seemed like we had a little slower start this morning.  Maybe it had something to do with the rainy day outside. 

We woke up to a gray and rainy day.  We had been expecting it and we were prepared for it.  In fact, we felt really lucky.  The rain was really scheduled to come a couple of days earlier and lucky for us we had an extra 2 sunny days. 

So our plan was to visit the Louvre first.  It was planned this way because with 5 floors of museum and a HUGE building to get through......we knew we would be there for awhile.

So onto the metro we go......next stop The Louvre!

 A view from a window in the Louvre

 Inside the Louvre.  This was inside the sculpture area and the first area we visited

It had such a magical feel in there that just can't be captured on a camera

 

 

 Some of the most beautiful (and very old) sculptures I have ever seen. 

This area was probably my most favorite of the entire museum

 

 

They didn't even have normal door frames.....everything was magnificent!

 

 The other side of the Louvre from the other side of the Louvre!

 I loved, loved, loved this painting.  The dimensional detail in it was amazing.  It was painted in either 1608 or 1649.  It was written in a foreign language so I was unable to figure it out.  All I know is, I would love to have this painting.  I assume it's out of my price range since it's hanging in the world's most famous museum.

Well we had only seen one small section of the museum when we decided that we just had to eat lunch....we were hungry.  We found an area that was selling sandwiches and chips.....so we ordered a ham and cheese on a baguette, chips, and a couple of sodas.

I took my first bite of sandwich and bit into something creamy and unfamiliar on a sandwich.  Upon further examination, we discovered that it was smeared with butter.  Well let me tell you, it was so good and we now have developed a taste for European butter.  It is so creamy and delicious and costs a little more at the grocery store.....but we're worth it.

We had an interesting selection of chips too.  Here was our choice:

 Spaghetti sauce flavored potato chips......heck yeah! 

Wish I could find them here, they were that good!

 

Now back to conquer the other side of the Louvre!

 

 The Italian artists section was amazing.  The ceiling were gorgeous!

 And of course.....this was the main attraction.  The most people crowded around here....I feel lucky to get this close of shot.  Hard to describe the feeling of seeing this most famous painting in the world.  You hear about it your whole life and then to have the opportunity to see it in person.

Each room and hall were filled with works of art.  So much to see.....not enough time. 

There are over 35,000 items on display.

 Another famous piece of work.....the Venus de Milo.  Amazing!  One of Paul's favorites and something he wanted to see.....although it took us awhile to find it.

 

The detail on these sculptures is unbelieveable!

 No.....we have no idea who this guy is, but if you want a picture of the doorway....you have to wait for the it to not have a crazy tourist in front of it.    We just wanted a picture of the 4 ladies guarding the doorway.

We spent about 5 hours there and decided we needed a break and we still had lots of things to do.  Lucky for us when we came out of the Louvre.....the rain had stopped.  It was a little gray and cloudy, but at least there was no precipitation dropping from the sky.

We decided to head back to the flat to freshen up and relax a little before we headed off to the next adventure.  We loved how long it stayed daylight out.....gave us lots of time to see and do things!

We found this outside the Louvre and looked like a great place to snap a picture.  Amazing....I didn't have to share the picture with anyone else!

After a quick nap.....I need to come back and document the rest of day 5 in Paris!