The Louvre

We spent most of Wednesday at the Lourve. It took us six hours to see a tiny fraction of what's there. I focused on older stuff, because I find that more interesting that froo-froo 18th century neo-classical French stuff (sorry if I've offended anybody). So the boys and I spent most of our time in the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Medieval sections. Those sections weren't too crowded, but parts of it were a madhouse (at one point we were overlooking the main lobby, and I asked the boys what they thought of it, and Andrew said, dead-on, "It looks like an airport."). We got there early enough to see the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and the Venus de Milo w/o massive hoards. Of those three, only the Winged Victory statue was more impressive than I thought it would be.

The coolest things we saw where fragments of the earliest hieroglyphics writings, three-thousand-year-old dice, and the Code of Hammurabi, inscribed in hieroglyphics on a black marble pillar. Even with the crowds, it was an awesome experience, reminding me that some small part of human nature is truly grand.

In the evening, Suzie and I went to dinner alone. We found a charming little bistro on a small, tree-lined square in the Marais, and had a delicious romantic meal together. We sat there amazed that we were sitting there.

A few favorite random images from the day follow.