We had (as you can safely assume if you know me) a fully planned itinerary of Paris about two days before we left. As luck would have it, it rained on morning one and we had to rehash our entire plan. Imagine deviating from a plan, my plan! I had to actually live with it.
The husband urged me to stop crying and dragged me to the Louvre museum. Let's stay indoors while it rains and catch up on your plan later, he said. As it turns out, every tourist in Paris was probably in the same boat. At least they were under the same roof - the roof of Louvre Museum.
There is a separate entrance to the Louvre from the nearest metro station and that route lacks signs of any kind to the entrance hall. When we did manage to reach the entrance, we saw people standing in the queue with tickets waiting for a security check. We turned back and asked someone on the way where we can get tickets and were directed to this little kiosk selling souvenirs and cigarettes. The queue snaked away and we diligently awaited our turn. An hour later, we had the tickets and proceeded towards the museum.
When we got in, we realised that there were at least four different ticketing counters in the grand entrance hall, long after you had made way through the security. You didn't need a ticket to get through security at all. We could've saved at least forty minutes, if not more. It took a lot to put that disappointment behind us but we did eventually and moved in.
The museum is HUGE and that would still be an understatement. If you ever meet a first time visitor to the Louvre who admits to not feeling overwhelmed about where to begin, I want to meet them. The brochure helps by pointing out the main attractions in each section but seriously, what scale! It was crowded all right but the gigantic building seemed capable of holding it out.
We headed out to see the Mona Lisa, which apparently draws the maximum crowds. Our little daughter said she was 'disappointed that it was so small'. I couldn't disagree in a way. The wedding feast in the same room looked far more impressive.
Frankly, there isn't one single section worth missing. The paintings, art, history, engrossed us for the next three hours before our legs gave way, our patience waned and our bodies pleaded out.
It was still raining when we came out so we decided to head back to the hotel hoping to get back on to the list the next morning. There was the satisfaction of having visited one of the world's most famous museums, bungling at first, but all worth it in the end.
The husband urged me to stop crying and dragged me to the Louvre museum. Let's stay indoors while it rains and catch up on your plan later, he said. As it turns out, every tourist in Paris was probably in the same boat. At least they were under the same roof - the roof of Louvre Museum.
There is a separate entrance to the Louvre from the nearest metro station and that route lacks signs of any kind to the entrance hall. When we did manage to reach the entrance, we saw people standing in the queue with tickets waiting for a security check. We turned back and asked someone on the way where we can get tickets and were directed to this little kiosk selling souvenirs and cigarettes. The queue snaked away and we diligently awaited our turn. An hour later, we had the tickets and proceeded towards the museum.
When we got in, we realised that there were at least four different ticketing counters in the grand entrance hall, long after you had made way through the security. You didn't need a ticket to get through security at all. We could've saved at least forty minutes, if not more. It took a lot to put that disappointment behind us but we did eventually and moved in.
The museum is HUGE and that would still be an understatement. If you ever meet a first time visitor to the Louvre who admits to not feeling overwhelmed about where to begin, I want to meet them. The brochure helps by pointing out the main attractions in each section but seriously, what scale! It was crowded all right but the gigantic building seemed capable of holding it out.
We headed out to see the Mona Lisa, which apparently draws the maximum crowds. Our little daughter said she was 'disappointed that it was so small'. I couldn't disagree in a way. The wedding feast in the same room looked far more impressive.
Frankly, there isn't one single section worth missing. The paintings, art, history, engrossed us for the next three hours before our legs gave way, our patience waned and our bodies pleaded out.
It was still raining when we came out so we decided to head back to the hotel hoping to get back on to the list the next morning. There was the satisfaction of having visited one of the world's most famous museums, bungling at first, but all worth it in the end.
