As you can see from her sudden French greetings, The Princess just came back from Paris (must pronounce as paa-ree) and it was so bloody cold and damp. The first day was spent in museum and ambling about in central Paris, but she spent the second day coup up in the room as it was really too cold to go out.
Yeah, The Princess just can't stand extreme hot and extreme cold weather condition, so it's ironic she found herself a job in The Sandpit, where in the summer temperature can shoot up to 50ºC.
She has done Eiffel, Montmarte/Sacré-Coeur, Notre-Dame Cathedral and Champs-Elysées before, so this time she's off to pay a visit to the famous Louvre Museum. She just loves sitting in the Paris metro listening to the nice lady announcing the station names in French. So lovely!
The Louvre covers very huge grounds. My, you can spend a week there without even managing to cover all the exhibits. She entered through the main entrance (for the glass pyramid's sake) and this former palace's imposing structure hit her hard at the face.
The courtyard of Louvre
Pyramide Napoléon
Mini pyramid in the middle of fountainWith a giant glass pyramid as it's main entrance, flanked by two smaller pyramids at both sides, one can see the the Arc de Triomphe at the end, with Tuilleries Garden and Champs-Elysées lying along in a perfect line of sight.
Of course must cam-whore in front of the pyramid larThe Louvre houses over 35,000 works of art, ranging from Egyptian Antiquities, Sculptures, Paintings, Islamic Art to Decorative Arts. Overwhelming isn't it, but one has to start somewhere (more like a plunge, if you ask her). After getting her copy of map (a must, if you intend to keep track of your location), she proceeded straight to Monalisa. Yes, Madame Monalisa, the beauty with half-smile by Leornado da Vinci, who some actually say is a self-portrait of Leornado himself.
Man, was The Princess disappointed. There she was, sitting in smaller-than-blackboard frame, smirking at all those people congregating to get a glimpse of her, it's almost mocking. And so The Princess tried out the "Monalisa stares at you from all corners" theory, and stared at her Monalisa did!
Now, the huge painting directly opposite Monalisa, that's a beauty (bearing in mind she knows nuts about paintings). Les Noces de Cana (The Wedding at Cana) by Paolo Caliari, depicts a grand feast attended by many people, and the only person The Princess can recognise is Jesus. Her best guess is this illustration is based some story in the Bible (?).
Works by Giuseppe Arcimboldo are cute. See, he creates imaginary portrait heads out of flowers and vegetables. For example, in Spring, he painted Spring as a young woman made of spring flowers and foliage. Genius, huh?
Sorry, peeps, but no picture of any of the paintings here as photography is not allowed. She didn't want to be fined €30, 000 just for that. But in other section, she did take a few photos.
The Louvre also has very interesting exhibitions on Egyptian antiquities, but sadly The Princess could only breeze through a fraction of it, because she's preoccupied on hunting down Monalisa.
Mummy shroud and panel portrait
A nicely preserved mummy
A marble statue of Alexander The Great
On close up, maybe not that great after all
Antinous, Hadrian's lover
Here's the close up
This is your ultimate male Greek 
Inside The Louvre
Inside The Louvre, looking out into the courtyard
3 statues having a garden picnic in the rain
Can you spot Eiffel Tower?
Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden) is the starting point from The Louvre to Champs- ElyseesTuileries Garden is not just any garden. In true Parisian style, Tuileries Garden exudes charm and elegance. Placed casually around the garden are sculptures by Rodin and Maillol (no idea who they are, but their names sound famous, no?) You know what would be great? Lazing around here during spring with a good book in hand and a picnic basket nearby and oh, the lingering flower scents are complimentary.
Taking postcard picture is a no-brainer in Paris - just point and shoot
Jardin des Tuileries
The Obelisk, transported from the temple of Ramses II at ThebesFor those who think French are snobs, The Princess is going to proof you wrong. See, she met this sweet, old little gentleman and in her non-existent French (and his limited English), they managed to strike up a conversation. He even walked The Princess all the way down Tuileries Garden to Place de la Concorde and recommended places to visit. He warned The Princess on pickpockets and insisted her to zip her bag then and there. Before parting, he planted 2 bises (The Princess just stood there, as it confuses her on which side to start) before bidding goodbye. How sweet.
West of Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe can be seen
La Madeleine (Greek temple with tall columns in the background)
Place de la ConcordeShe was walking west of Place de la Concorde heading towards Champs-Elysées when some grand buildings caught her attention. The detour justified the extra legwork. Hey, she has been walking from The Louvre, past through Tuleries Garden and Place de la Concorde in cold wind, ok? (Cue "These Boots Are Made for Walking").
Musée de Petit Palais
Sign of spring is approaching
Pondering maiden
Le Grand Palais
Musée du Petit Palais
The classic "tourist spoilt the photo" moment
Pont Alexcandre III
Sunshine boulevard
On each end of Pont Elexandre III stood gilded statues on high granite pillars
Cherubs and nymphs adorned both sides of the bridge
Pont Alexandre II connects Hôtel des Invalides on the leftbank with Petit and Grand Palais on the right bank
Another view of Palais Royal with the glass dome
The river Seine
Another view of Pont Alexandre III
Champs-ElyséesWalking down Champs-Elysées really make one feel like a million-dollar (and you probably need as much to shop there). The Princess was trying her darndest to avoid the Louis Vuitton house as she was going down the avenue, but hey, that 1800 square meters of store filled with instant gratification is hard to ignore.
The cold must have frozen her brain as she walked right past the store before going down the metro station. And took the next train back to the hotel.
Damn, she wanted that passport holder.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
LOL @ alexander's small bit...
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