We definitely overdid it: 23,000 steps. Our knees and toes and stamina “ain’t what they used to be.” In order to save ourselves for the rest of our trip, Uber is now our preferred mode of transportation.
We have tickets for an audio tour of Sainte-Chapelle. This royal chapel was built to house religious artifacts with the greatest being the Crown of Thorns claimed to be that of Jesus Christ.
Louis IX built the chapel as a giant reliquary jewel box in a medieval design. Louis IX was very religious.
Everything is painted in striking colors which showcased the beautiful stained glass windows of the vibrant colors of royal blue, Castile red, golden yellow and emerald green.
There is a lower chapel with a statue of Louis IX. He was made king at age 12 and reigned for 44 years. He is considered the best French king. His mother Blanche served as regent until he was deemed old enough to reign and was a big influence on Louis.
Construction began around 1238, and the church was consecrated in 1248. It originally contained 20 relics including the Crown of Thorns which today resides in Notre Dame.
The stained glass windows date from the 13th century. Around 70% of the windows are original. The Rose Window dates from the 15th century. Each window depicts scenes from the Bible.
The windows are numbered 1 to 15, starting on the north wall which is on your left when you are facing the apse.
The windows should be read from left to right and from the bottom to the top.
I learned that this is the Jubilee year. I am always up for a celebration. Many people are familiar with Holy Week. This is considered Holy Year for Catholics when many people visit Rome. The concept of a Jubilee has roots in the Old Testament, where it was a time of restoration and forgiveness every 50 years.
Louvre
The Louvre needed a main entrance when they acquired the building on the other side of the courtyard. There was a need for one entrance, centrally located and underground. It was designed by I.M. Pei.
If you are not familiar with magic erasers, here is a good example. There were so many people that one couldn’t take a picture without others photo bombing. This is available in the edit of Google photos.
When they excavated the land for the pyramid in the 1980’s, they discovered the ancient moat that surrounded the castle.
The Building
Louvre was the palace before Louis 14 moved to Versailles. Previously, it had housed the military, then it was a castle, then a palace, and now a museum. In 1793, all the possessions belonging to the king and queen, now belonged to the masses. One might say that the royal collection was confiscated.
Venus de Milo
In 1820 on the island of Milo, the sculpture of Venus was uncovered. It is an ORIGINAL Greek sculpture in the Louvre. Most others are Roman representations of Greek statues.
At one time, Venus had bracelets and a tiara. She would have been decorated and perfumed in ancient times.
The nose is not the original nose. It is made of plaster and plaster did not exist when the statue was made. This was revealed in 2020. Additionally, 19th century drawings of Venus did not have a nose so the time of restoration is known.
Aphrodite is the only woman in sculpture that shows her breasts. Men are completely naked to illustrate perfection in the human body.
Winged Victory of Samothrace
This sculpture of Hellenistic Greek art is from the second century B.C. It was made from two blocks.
In 1863 Winged Victory was found on the island of Samothrace in 110 pieces. It was a real puzzle. Some parts are reconstructed. They are still trying to find the rest of the statue and have located a right hand. Winged Victory is very important to art history.
Her gesture is of victory. She is blue in some places. Nike is the goddess of victory, and it is said that the Nike Swoosh was inspired by Winged Victory.
Hall of Gold
Louis the 14th king of France called himself the sun king. This hall shows representation of seasons and zodiac signs. Paintings of important architects, painters, and sculptors of the Louvre are represented here. He took this idea with him to Versailles. There are many similarities.
The Coronation of Napoleon
This painting depicts an important event in history. One might call it Napoleon propaganda. There are around 200 important people depicted in the painting. Even his mother sits in a box overlooking the crowning although she was mad at him and would not attend. This painting is massive and is the second largest in Louvre.
Liberty Leading the People
This painting by Delacroix was made in 1830. All ranks and ages of people are represented: poor, rich schoolboy, old, etc. They are being led by Liberty. The painting was well received but then hidden because they thought that it would stir up the people, and it would start another revolution.
Leonardo da Vinci
We especially wanted to see works by Leonardo da Vinci. The Louvre had four in addition to Mona Lisa.
They are displayed in this long hall which has been given the distinction of the best way to showcase fine art. Other museums use as it a guide.
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa is a Florence merchant’s wife. Da Vinci never gave it to her because he wasn’t finished. Leonardo always took the painting with him. He died while in France so all his art went to Francis the 1st.
Mona Lisa became famous in 1911 when she was stolen. Former Louvre employee, Vincenzo Perugia, made off with Mona Lisa, with hopes to return the painting to her rightful home, Italy. She went missing for two years. He only got 1½ years in prison. People were understanding.
It was frustrating and painful to get close to Mona Lisa. Since she is so popular, she will have her own room at the Louvre. They have broken ground and it will be finished in 2031 … not soon enough.
Museum Fatigue
Museum Fatigue is real and hard to describe but you know when you have it, and you can recognize it when you see it.
Exciting Finds in the Louvre
The Mesha Stela (or ‘Moabite Stone’) bears one of the oldest written references to the kingdom of Israel. It was erected by Mesha, King of Moab, in the capital Dibon, on the occasion of his victory over a descendant of Omri, king of Israel from 885 to 874 BC.
This statue was discovered at ‘Ain Ghazal in Jordan in 1985. At 9,000 years old, this is the oldest work on display in the museum.
I love the great detail of these small cylinder seals.
Bull capitals at the Apadana Palace
The Lion of Darius
Eatwith.com
Rob and I heard about eatwith.com at a travel show where there are travel providers and informative speakers. We decided to give it a try.
This concept is where a local resident opens their home and provides a delicious local meal.
The meal was awesome, but the best part was talking about history, language, and travel with our new friends Cécile and Laurent and their Peruvian friend and tour guide, Luz.
Menu
- Appetizer: Gougères, a cheesy choux which is round, flaky croissant type biscuit with Swiss cheese inside. A gourmet grilled cheese!?!
- Starter: Radishes complete with ½ inch score at the bottom, butter, coarse salt and baguette. One even eats the 1″ green top. YUMMY! Cécile says that this is very traditional.
- Salad: Alternating green and white asparagus topped with an oil-based dressing
- Main: Lamb, Gratin Dauphinois (French Potato layers), and peas
- Cheese plate: with two types of cheese. I thought that this was dessert, but Cécile said that it was dessert before dessert.
- Dessert: Pavlova which had strawberries, cream, and meringue.
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