June 29, 2019 - Retracing our Steps, but in a Different Direction

Today we journeyed back to the Louvre to see those pieces of art we were unable to view in 2017, and so very glad we did.  This day's experience for us was so much better than before - more peaceful (less crowded in the galleries we visited; surprised to see descriptions actually in English instead of all French as they were two years ago.  Plus this time throughout the galleries we carried audio recorders with us to further provided meaning to those paintings you look at and wonder - "What the heck is so special about this? -- Oh yeah, now I see it!"  The audio proved to be partially educational for John and I as well, giving us a better understanding of how to interpret the artist's meaning behind the work of art.

The LOUVRE stretches along the Seine

The first section we entered was the Near Eastern Antiquities.  We had the most enjoyable time in this area to start our tour.  Quiet, cool and lots of artifacts to view. 

I see a slight resemblance with the smaller mask with the beard and perhaps the ear, 

but definitely not the nose.  ;)

Now, this next set of three photos are of extreme interest to me.  As many folks in our families and social circle know I have dabbled for years in paper crafting, which entails using stamps.  I do believe the trio below will certainly prove that stamping has been around for thousands of years.  If you look closely at the first and last pictures, you will see the carved "stamp" and then the impression left in hardened clay next to it.   Evidence that this "hobby" has been in practice for ages.  Of course, this is all in jest simply because of my husband's teasing throughout the years that paper crafting is a dying hobby (his wishful thinking).

The tablet in the middle picture is incredible.  The carving is tiny and truly mind-boggling of the intricate work involved in preserving whatever idea needed to be set in stone.  There were many tablets of this type on display in these galleries.

The following photos depict gold jewelry from this time period.

This little fella made us chuckle in its appearance.

Could this be the first image of what we now call a "double boiler" or perhaps an ancient incense burner?  Hmmmmmmmm......

In the below photo, John is looking at a bronze possibly column of sorts which had 

engraving around it for the entire length.

I've discovered while walking through these first galleries at the Louvre that my interests have broadened into learning more about the Mesopotamia era - the beginning of written history, approximately 3000 BC.  Their artifacts are fascinating to view. The relics shown in the below photos are replicas

A near perfect fit!!!!  :)

THE SCULPTURES

"Satan"

The below sculpture entitled "Satan" is listed as one of the 5 sculptures not to miss when visiting the Louvre.  It depicts the fallen angel shown in a melancholy mood.  There are two vases which accompany the piece.  The piece is intricately carved even his clawed feet.

"Napoleon I in Triumph"

"Napoleon Awakening to Immortality"

After Napoleon's ashes were returned to France in 1840, the sculptor produced a bronze monument in honor of the emperor.  The eagle at his feet represents the empire.  This symbolically represents the deceased emperor.  Both of us found this allegoric piece interesting.

"Joan of Arc Listening to her Voices"

At the age of 13, she heard the voices of saints Michael, Catherine and Margaret telling her to deliver France from the English.  To the right she holds her armour.

"Philopomen"

This military strategist was wounded in a battle against the Spartans in 222 BC.  

After pulling out the javelin that pierced this thigh, he returned to the fight.

"The Child Oedipus Revived by the Shepherd Phorbas"

In Greek mythology, the King of Thebes was warned by an oracle that his own son would eventually kill him. The King therefore ordered one of his officers to kill baby Oedipus by hanging him from a tree by the ankles.  The shepherd Phorbas untied the baby and tried to revive him.  As legend has it, Oedipus was adopted by the king of Corinth and grew up to fulfill his destiny.

"Venus Teaching Cupid to Use his Bow"

"Mercury Fastening his Heel Wings"

"Love Embracing Friendship"

Cupid has placed his bow on the ground has he embraces Friendship, who is not afraid.  The flowers at the feet of Friendship represents the seasons, and even though love only lasts one season, friendship lives forever.

"Louis XI as Jupiter"

"Julius Cesar"

"Milo of Croton"

Milo was a 6th-century BC Olympic wrestler from the Magna Graecian city of Croton, and won many victories in  athletic festivals of ancient Greece. Milo was also said to have carried a bull on his shoulders, and to have burst a band about his brow by simply inflating the veins of his temples. In the sculpture below, Milo is of old age, trying to tear apart a tree trunk only to have his hand become trapped.  While trying to free himself a lion begins to devour him.  In the true story, it was a pack of wolves that kill him.

"Four Captives"

The following three photos depict victory for King Louis XIV.  Each captive figure represents a country which the king defeated during the Dutch Wars (1672-1678).

The captive on the left represents Brandenburg and the captive on the right represents the Dutch Republic.

 The captive in the middle represents the Holy Roman Empire and the captive on the right represents Spain.  (The captive on the left represents the Dutch Republic, as noted above).

"Satyrs, Known as Albani Atlantes"

And finally, this little gem -- we had to chuckle.  

This could be a great social media meme if someone could come up with a clever phrase!

This sculpture is believed to have been part of a stage decoration in a classical theater around 1775.  The four Satyrs were used to support a fountain basin at Villa Albany.

THE PAINTINGS

"The Four Seasons" 

by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Link:  The Four Seasons

"The Death of Dido"

by Petrus Paulus Reubens

Link:  The Death of Dido

"Unfinished Portrait of General Bonaparte"

by Jacques-Louis David

Link:  General Bonaparte

 "A Young Tiger Playing with Its Mother"

by Eugene' Delacroix

Link:  Young Tiger

"The Death of Sardanapalus"

by Eugene Delacroix

Link:  Sardanapalus

"The Crucifixion"

by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon

Link:  Crucifixion

We wanted to end our tour of the Louvre by visiting a few iconic paintings of Napoleon, such as the Coronation and Napoleon Crossing the Alps.  Even though replicas were hanging at Versailles during our visit, we were anxious to see the originals.  Unfortunately, these paintings were undergoing restoration and will not be on display until September 2019.  We were disappointed to say the least, but at least we saw the replicas at the palace Napoleon called home.

Thanks so much for stopping.  This blog was a big long, but I was anxious to cover as much of the famous works as I could.  Hope you enjoyed it.  

Next up:  The d'Orsay Museum.

June 28, 2019 - It's Up to the Top We Go

We saw the Eiffel Tower in 2017, taking a Skip-the-Line Tour (which, by the way, is the best type of tour to take to see these famous sites), and only went to the second level.  This time, however, we were determined to see Paris from the very top - no how long the line was to get on the elevator nor how much sweat rolled down our backs as it was still in the 90s at 7 p.m.

And we did it.  😃

We were very glad we took this tour in the evening since we have been visiting the City of Light with historical record-setting temps.  The breeze was nice while we sat along the lawn area before the Tower.  Great place to people watch...we saw a couple become engaged, about 10 twenty-somethings enjoying lots of shots (you can drink alcohol in the open in public places), parents of all nationalities chasing after their young ones, and even witnessed a guy spraying water from water blaster at the pretty girls walking by, who then called him a few choice words after getting wet.  It doesn't matter what nationality you are, as****e and f****r are spoken the same in every language.  We learn something new every day.  😉

Throughout our visit here so far, for some silly reason, when folks learn we are from Minnesota, they think its cold 365 days a year and are surprised to learn that we also experience soaring temps during our summers.  One gentleman had to be reassured though the winters were very cold.  

We met our group at 9:15 p.m. at a Souvenir Shop, which was about a 5 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower.  Leo was our guide and was extremely knowledgeable and dramatic as he spoke about the monument and its location in the city.  We learned a few new tidbits of trivia that we didn't learn back in 2017.  Leo was funny and refreshing to listen to.  Glad we had him as our guide.

Here are a few sites from the Ground level:

Beautiful Gardens line the Mall

The phones we have take fantastic pictures -  this site never gets old.

This site never gets old either.  :)  XXOO

On our way up...(turn up your volume)

A few sites from the 2nd Level

In the photo below you are looking at the River Seine to the Right....

The closest bridge seen in the photo is named the Alma Bridge. It was named to commemorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean War (per Wikipedia).  This particular bridge was also dedicated to Princess Diana as the bridge is closest to the tunnel where Princess Diana lost her life in 1997.

And as you look at the River Seine to the left.  

There are four bridges visible in the picture below.  The second bridge from the top is a replica of the Statue of Liberty, which was gifted to France from the U.S. in 1889 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the French Revolution.  France gifted the U.S. with the Statue of Liberty in 1886 (a much larger scale than what the U.S. gifted).  The Paris statue faces West towards her big sister in NYC.  The Parisians truly refer to both as the big sister and little sister.  

The road to the right of the River Seine is dedicated to President JFK.

In the below photo, as you are looking straight ahead of the Eiffel Tower are the grassy lawn areas where John and I were first waiting for our tour earlier in the evening.  The grass is somewhat "dead" for lack of rain at this time.  Off in the distance, at the end of the lawn area is the Palais de Chaillot, which is another one of those structures built for the an Exhibition in 1937.  More historically, this building was where Hitler stood in front to have his picture taken with the Eiffel Tower in the background.  

That tall structure in the background in the below photo....yeah, that is an eye sore to the entire Parisian population.  It was built thinking this area would become the business district of the city.  That was not the case.  According to Leo our guide, this will be the area in which the 2024 Olympics will be taking place and this structure will be taken down.  Leo was not convinced that will happen, but he did express how much the people of this city hate that building.  

Just a view looking down from the 2nd level

In the far distance in the below photo you can see Paris' highest point - home to Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris.  In 2017, John and I journeyed to this religious site with our friends Lauri and her mom Sheri.  We did not tour the inside of the Basilica, but life is most certainly celebrated around it.  It's a beautiful location and very glad we were able to share the views with our friends.

WE MADE IT TO THE TOP!

Celebrating our journey to the top of the Eiffel Tower with a bit (and I mean a teeny bit) of bubbly!

Those two teeny glasses weren't even full and they cost 35,00€ - but it was completely worth every drop!

Just a few incredible twilight views from the very top of the Eiffel Tower.  When it is dark, the spotlights shine down and around the entire city.

We decided to take the stairs from the third level down to the second level as we didn't want to wait in another long line.  To keep myself focused, I counted the steps....343 steps between the third and second levels.  What was impressive,  we passed two young gentlemen going UP the steps.  

We couldn't have asked for a better evening to enjoy our final views of this iconic monument.  And to top the entire evening off, the US Women's soccer team won the match against the "home team", France and the game was being played somewhere in Paris,

Thanks for stopping by!