Europe 2018 - June 22 - The Louvre

Friday - June 23
I should mention that I (Donna) had wanted to see the gardens at Versailles on this trip. However, I was stymied by the rotating train strikes that had been taking place for some time. This was the day we had available but it was a strike day so instead we headed to the Louvre by bus.

A little temporary art along the way got us started.

We arrived a little after 9:00, before much of the crowds.

We decided to start at the back of the museum in the antiquities section since everyone else heads straight to the Mona Lisa.

As a result we had many of the galleries almost to ourselves.

We were disappointed to find out that the Egyptian hall was closed for renovations on Fridays all this summer as we really wanted Lori and Megan to see it. The hall that contained the statue of Mary of Magdalene that we had seen in 2011 was also closed on Fridays. Oh well .....there is still soooooo much to see.

We did eventually have to share the space with other tourists.

And this was our view of Mona Lisa, the painting that isn't supposed to have pictures taken.

The Wedding at Cana, which is in the same hall, was much more accessible....and interesting. It was painted in 1563 and is about 15 feet high. This is about 20% of the full painting.

Just a bit more busy than when we arrived.

We explored a little of the Seine waterfront before taking the bus home. Megan fixed us a fine dinner and we had a very quiet evening compared to last night. Go figure!