Ah well, since the Musee d'Orsay is near the Louvre, we decided to head there straight. The Louvre was already famous before the "Da Vinci Code" but I think the book has made it even MORE famous. The Louvre used to be a palace (the royal family shuffled between the Tuilerie @ Louvre and the Chateau de Versailles) and it really is an impressive building.
There is so much art in the Louvre that it is said to take a few months to see every single art piece and exhibition! Well, I haven't got that much time and it was our 2nd time to the Louvre (mine being 12 yrs ago and Gor's being 2 yrs ago).
Armed with a Louvre book guide, we mainly focused on what we wanted to see (yes, the Mona Lisa included) and just walked around. Mind you, we still managed to spend 3 hrs in that place despite our focused plan. Enjoy the pics!!
Medieval Louvre...
The Three Stooges? Hahaha....nah...its some Roman tombstone thing.
Victory, represented in the form of a winged goddess placed on the prow of a warship.
Part of the huge oil painting entitled "The Wedding at Cana", which is 666 x 990cm in size.
Who can forget the uber famous Mona Lisa?
I'm sure most of you will recognise this Delacroix painting of the French Revolution from Coldplay's Viva La Vida album cover.
This is the view from Cafe Mullien, which is the cafe that within the Louvre on the 2nd floor. I would suggest going to this cafe and put up with the overpriced drinks/ food as well as the stares from hungry, opportunistic pigeons just so that you can enjoy this fantastic view. Just relax a little from all the walking and bask in this wonderful veranda. Perfect for summer.
After the Louvre, we hunted down for the elusive but famous Pierre Herme pastry shop. Pastry shop sounds so unclassy...but that's essential it, isn't it? I can't call it a cafe cos there aren't any tables for you to sit down and have a cuppa. Ok, how about boutique? But...that's just french for shop. That being said, I highly recommend going to this shop and buy their macaroons!! Scoff them down immediately after leaving the store to get the best flavour/ taste. If you're there during winter, perhaps you need not worry so much but if you're there in Spring/Summer...those delicate things will get soggy. Nonetheless, the macaroons from Pierre Herme are just bursting with flavour. They don't taste like sugar and almond powder with cream sandwiched between.After our sugar hit was a trip to the Jewish Quarter (we didn't quite follow the sequence of our planned itinerary, which goes to show how you can be flexible when you're free & easy). It's nice to see a part of Paris that most people don't visit...but I wouldn't put it as a "must see".
At the end of our day, we went to Galerie Lafayette, which is THE departmental store to visit. Longchamp was having 30% off and their signature foldable bags were going for like SGD50!! But nobody ordered any from me...so...too bad.
