Good morning! Today we take an Uber to the part of the city where we have tickets to visit the Louvre Museum. Today, the sun is shining, it’s very warm and we are among the many people enjoying the outdoors.
The art collections here in Paris are endless. And not just the collections…the buildings and their architecture are ornate and detailed. I marvel at the millions of hours the thousands of artists and engineers spent perfecting their craft and adding to the beauty of this city over hundreds of years.
Before we get to Le Louvre, we visit the Church of Saint Etienne du Mont. We admire the woodwork and the stained glass, along with the art, the staircases and the huge pipe organ. The feelings evoked are awe, peace, and a sense that those who created this majestical place were greatly devoted to our Higher Power.
We also visit the site of the great Notre Dame Cathedral, but it is not open to the public until December of this year. Renovation is still taking place following the fire of 2019. We tell ourselves that we will come back to Paris after its reopening. There are barriers up all around the perimeter and upon those barriers are large, beautiful photos of the people working on the restoration, along with descriptions of their jobs, their expertise, and exactly what their roles are in the project. I love the sense of humanity that is highlighted here.
Along the way, we stop at Pont de Arts. Historically, people brought “locks of love” to attach to the bridge. Shawn prepared our lock ahead of time, painting “S+S 2024” in standout pink. I am able to take his picture, attaching our lock of love!
Le Louvre was an experience I was not expecting. It was noted that if we covered all the areas within, we would walk at least 9 miles. It is not possible to see all the artwork in one day. In fact, if a person were to spend three seconds looking at each piece of art, it would take more than three days and nights, without a break, to view all of them! We decide that the best approach is to see a few highlights, enjoy the art along the way, and focus more on the building, the grounds and the history. It was a project that evolved over 800 years. We did get to see the Mona Lisa, along with hundreds of others at the same moment. I noticed that I was especially drawn to the magnificent ceilings as well as elaborate chandeliers.
We are delighted to be able to walk along the Siene River today. Previously, the walkways were closed due to security for the Olympics. We eat pasta and ice cream…drink wine and spritzers. We challenge ourselves to drink all the water placed before us at each stop. We also notice that there are water bottle filling stations throughout the city.
Throughout the day, we saw several musicians including a woman singing opera in a walkway entrance at Le Louvre, a violinist playing her instrument as we were leaving Le Louvre, and a third woman singing and playing piano on the roof of one of the many tour boats floating on the Siene. We stopped each time to listen and enjoy.
We walk back to our hotel, mostly along the Siene, and we are able to see the lights come on the Eiffel Tower. We also stop to purchase a painted picture of the same to enjoy when we get home. At the end of the day, we find that we have walked just over 30,000 steps (noted by my Fitbit!) or 10 miles (noted by Shawn’s tracking on Strava!) I am thankful to be able to walk, and we are thankful to have seen so much beauty today. We settle in for another restful night.