As we wandered from The Metro station up to The Eiffel Tower, we were delighted to see this little friendly face from home, looming over us on a building.
It was the middle of summer when we arrived, and thankfully Paris wasn't yet in the grip of the heatwave that would finally arrive at the end of our trip.
We made our way to the Eiffel Tower, and found these gorgeous gardens and a rather beautiful merry-go-round, at the base of the tower.
Everything seems beautiful in Paris, from the Metro Signs to the street lamps or just wandering along the sidewalk.
Photo above: the base of the pyramid at The Louvre Photo courtesy of The Louvre Website.
We found our way into The Louvre from The Metro station. The metro is a great way to make your way to any of the wonderful sights of Paris. The entrance via the metro takes you underneath the main building and you will find yourself surfacing under the pyramid.
Contrary to many of the warnings we had about large queues to enter The Louvre, the ticket counters underneath, had very few people lining up and those that were there moved quickly. There are quite a lot of automated ticket counters with well marked line barriers, so no pushing in to be experienced.
Sadly this beautiful fresco by Botticelli hasn't photographed all that well, the colours were stunning and the artwork one of my favourites from The Louvre. To see more of these frescos visit The Louvre - click here.
Winged Victory was amazing, the size and presence of the sculpture hushed the crowds of people visiting.
We and hundreds of other viewers found our way to The Mona Lisa... hubby managed to find his way to the front of the viewing rail, I got this close ;). I loved the photo that I captured of this fellow artlover dressed in red, we had a similar smile - or was that just Mona Lisa's influence?
Coming in a close second for favourites were the sculptures. There wasn't enough time to 'ooo' and 'wwwooow' over them. Again, the skill of the sculptors and the way the details are captured are truly amazing.
If you've been I'm sure you'll understand what I mean. If you haven't been to see them, I so hope you get to go one day.
Just look at that detail, I wouldn't have been surprised to see that foot move! Then again ;)
I wonder what lucky lady once sat here? I didn't have time to read all the details, we were really pushing ourselves to see what we did, in the 7 hours we were there.
A piece created in the 1500's - it still looked as vibrant as if it had been created yesterday.
So many treasures - and so little time to see them all.
"La Joyeuse" The sword of Charlemagne is the only one known to have served as the coronation sword of the Kings of France. Visit the Louvre to find out more - click here.
The staircases that once Napoleon walked down, Louis the X1V
The Louvre has to be seen to be believed. Allow yourself many hours and days if you have the time to see just a little of what they have in the collection. It truly is awe inspiring.
