Day 62- 16 October 2008
Bonjour,
Today i had breakfast at the hostel which was not too bad and there were plenty of baguettes to eat (i get the impression that baguettes will be the number one food i eat here in paris - besides crepes of course).
I then got the train to The Louvre and there was only a 2 minute line through security and then i was able to walk straight up and get my entrance ticket which was excellent. I then got an audio guide and spent the next few minutes on figuring out where to start. I believe the Louvre has around 38,000 pieces and is supposedly the largest museum in the world. Well all i can say is that its big, confusing and like a maze. Of course leave it to the french to also close of huge chucks of the museum just because its a "thursday"... Nevertheless there was still plenty to see and after about 5 hours i was all louvre'd out. Highlights were all the great french paintings, the egyptian antiquities, the amazing sculptures and of course the mona lisa. The unfortunate thing was the mona lisa is behind a large piece of glass and there is about 200 people trying to take photos of it with their flash. So you can not really get a full appreciation of the painting itself. From the Lourve i walked across the sein and got onto the train and headed for the Eiffle Tower. The 320 something metre wonder towers over you with its impressive steel garters and massive structure. Given the lines were reasonable, i decided to jump in the que and take a ride to the top. The first lift goes on a angle and follows the strut to the 2nd floor which is about 120 metres off the ground. you then need to que up again for another lift which goes straight up to the top. The view at the top was magical. there is an enclosed section and an open section which you can view the world from. It had been raining in the morning but luckily the sun came out and the sky was quite clear providing magnificent views all around. I decided to wait for the sun to go down as it was late arvo. Finally after 2 hours the sun went down and the skyline transformed before me to dazzling paris lights. After taking a few choice photos i headed back down and checked out the exhibition on the first floor (which shows movies of the fireworks displays which have occurred at the tower and various other things). The Eiffle tower is all that you expect and more. The grandness of it and the views were amazing, so much so that i spent about 5 hours there.
Yes i know that i use the word amazing in nearly every entry, but fortunately, each new adventure, city and site gets more and more amazing and is just as, or more impressive than the last.
From there i jumped in a taxi back to the louvre to see what it was like lit up. I then headed back to the hostel by train around 10pm.
What a day in Paris !!
Day 62- 16 October 2008
Bonjour,
Today i had breakfast at the hostel which was not too bad and there were plenty of baguettes to eat (i get the impression that baguettes will be the number one food i eat here in paris - besides crepes of course).
I then got the train to The Louvre and there was only a 2 minute line through security and then i was able to walk straight up and get my entrance ticket which was excellent. I then got an audio guide and spent the next few minutes on figuring out where to start. I believe the Louvre has around 38,000 pieces and is supposedly the largest museum in the world. Well all i can say is that its big, confusing and like a maze. Of course leave it to the french to also close of huge chucks of the museum just because its a "thursday"... Nevertheless there was still plenty to see and after about 5 hours i was all louvre'd out. Highlights were all the great french paintings, the egyptian antiquities, the amazing sculptures and of course the mona lisa. The unfortunate thing was the mona lisa is behind a large piece of glass and there is about 200 people trying to take photos of it with their flash. So you can not really get a full appreciation of the painting itself. From the Lourve i walked across the sein and got onto the train and headed for the Eiffle Tower. The 320 something metre wonder towers over you with its impressive steel garters and massive structure. Given the lines were reasonable, i decided to jump in the que and take a ride to the top. The first lift goes on a angle and follows the strut to the 2nd floor which is about 120 metres off the ground. you then need to que up again for another lift which goes straight up to the top. The view at the top was magical. there is an enclosed section and an open section which you can view the world from. It had been raining in the morning but luckily the sun came out and the sky was quite clear providing magnificent views all around. I decided to wait for the sun to go down as it was late arvo. Finally after 2 hours the sun went down and the skyline transformed before me to dazzling paris lights. After taking a few choice photos i headed back down and checked out the exhibition on the first floor (which shows movies of the fireworks displays which have occurred at the tower and various other things). The Eiffle tower is all that you expect and more. The grandness of it and the views were amazing, so much so that i spent about 5 hours there.
Yes i know that i use the word amazing in nearly every entry, but fortunately, each new adventure, city and site gets more and more amazing and is just as, or more impressive than the last.
From there i jumped in a taxi back to the louvre to see what it was like lit up. I then headed back to the hostel by train around 10pm.
What a day in Paris !!
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