A day in the Louvre

There was a tempest last night at 1:14 AM and then again at 7:30 when our alarm went off. By the time we ate breakfast and got ready, the sun was peeking through. If there must be a tempest, it is best at night . . .

We walked around the corner, crossed the Pont Royal and went in the Lion’s Gate at the Louvre. Other people are using it now but there was no real line. We sight-saw our way through to the “Treasures of the Abbaye de St. Maurice d'Agaune” exhibit and entered. The pieces are on loan because they are currently renovating the abbey. It was a wonderful exhibit and we’ve decided we want to visit the abbey when the renovations are done. No photos are allowed for a special exhibit so I only have a picture of the poster.

I took photos of the da Rimini paintings in 1996 on film and when I compared them with the ones I took on my digital camera today, they are reversed. The people who developed the film must have flipped the negatives.

We fought our way through tourist central at the Napoleon apartments to get to Café Richelieu for lunch and were immediately seated. Big change . . . Angelina’s now has the concession and prices have doubled. Counting on the name Angelina’s, we decided to try it and ordered the chicken supreme. The chicken portion was huge but tasteless. It was served with mashed potatoes and gravy that were all right and roasted artichokes that were very dry. I didn’t know artichokes could be dry! We got a bottle of Perrier each and I had an espresso and the cost was 90 USD, very overpriced especially considering the quality. That will be our last lunch there and we’ll never visit Angelina’s. You can’t eat a reputation. Any local bar would have better food at much less cost.

After our expensive lunch, we found the Flemish painters Ed so enjoys and wandered through rooms of paintings. Then we wandered until we found my favorite Houdon sculptures of Franklin and Washington. George has his back turned to Ben as though they’d had an irreconcilable argument but were stuck in the same display case. Surely the Louvre can do a better job of displaying our forefathers?! All they need to do is switch the sculptures and they would look quite friendly.

We saw it was pouring out so decided to hike back through the crowds to the Lion’s Gate to minimize time in the rain. It might have been easier to walk in the rain, but we made it . . . and the sun had come out again by the time we got out. Crazy weather!

We walked home and rested a bit, then went to our corner Proxi market for dinner and breakfast supplies. Got some beautiful tiny strawberries, Rocamadour and Compte cheeses along with a half baguette and a nice Bordeaux. Now for a nice quiet evening!