Paris - Day 2 The Louvre

So on day 2 of Paris we were heading for the Louvre.  It was closed on Tuesday so we jumped on the train again and headed into Paris.  This time when we left the station, we took much better landmarks so we could find it easier.  It was also only three blocks from the Louvre and it was in a major shopping mall.  All of that helped out immensely!  So we started walking to where we thought the Louvre was.  We were on a corner and Dad asked a gentleman if the building across the street was the Louvre, he said he wasn't sure, but Go Cougs.  Yes we found another alumni from Washington State University in Paris across from the Louvre.  Small world!!

 

This is the church that is across from the back entrance to the Louvre.  We found out we came in the back way, which was fine, a lot less people there.

 

The boys and I in front of the Louvre.  It is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world.  The building is a former royal palace.  Part of the royal Palace of the Louvre was first opened to the public as a museum on November 8, 1793, during the French Revolution.

 

Mom, Dad, Michael and I in front of the Louvre.  AJ wanted to take some photos also!

This is us looking back from where we came with the church behind us.  A cool shot!  And a little closer look at it.

 

Inside the court yard of the first Royal Palace.  This thing was HUGE and it was only part of it.  I couldn't imagine living here.  You would need a scooter or something to get around anywhere quickly.

 

 

This is only about 1/4 of the Louvre.  It holds nearly 35,000 works of art from prehistory to the 21st century and 380,000 objects, which are exhibited over an area 652,300 square feet.  There are more than 8 million visitors a year.

 

This is the other side, there are statues along each of the sides on both stories.

 

Michael showing us some of his "tricks" - I don't think he was as impressed with the Louvre as we were.  :-)

 

Reading up on some interesting facts.

 

The boys in front of Mona Lisa.  It was really crowded at this one, but we managed to get up front and get a close view of it.  It truly is amazing how small it really is.

 

Walking down one of the halls, you can see how big they are and how big the works of art are. 

 

Grandpa sent AJ to count how many puppets are in this painting.  I have to say the Louvre is quite overwhelming.  If you don't really know about art it is hard to appreciate it all.  We only did one hallway on one floor.  There were three floors and you could spend a week or more in there and still probably not see everything in depth.

 

Mom at the Louvre - you can see how big the older paintings were.

 

Mom and Dad - looking good!!!

 

I am not sure if you can see Dad, but he is there with the red coat and arms out - that shows how big the pyramid is.  It was finished in 1989 and the inverted pyramid was completed in 1993.

 

AJ touching the top of the pyramid.  :-)

 

AJ wanted us to make funny faces and of course we said yes!!  :-)  After that we headed off for some yummy lunch on a side street at a local restaurant called Indiana.  The boys like the name of it!!! 

 

This is Michael on the train showing us his new snow globe. Grandma and Grandpa said that after two days, the boys earned some fun pool time at the hotel. So we headed back and spent the afternoon in the pool.  We had the pool basically to ourselves again!  It was awesome!!!

 

 

This was our evening routine after dinner and games, we came into our room and read books!!  It was another great day!!!  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we are heading back to Disneyland!!!