We love the Louvre!

Today we left our apartment nice and early so we could get to the Louvre right when it opened in order to beat the crowds. Our first stop was the Mona Lisa. Not because it was something we were dying to see, but more because it seems like you should see it while you're here. She was the only painting behind a plexiglass ​wall. It was fine, but we didn't understand why it was so much more popular than the other Van Goghs they had. I decided her smile was her being patient​ with all the annoying tourists who came to see her.

My favorite part was the Apollo gallery which house the crown jewels and was incredibly ornate.

We also saw the famous Venus de Milo statue and Winged Victory statue and of course the pyramid entrance. This is the inverted part in the lobby. There is also the part that sticks up above ground.

Rather than visit the Egyptian and Middle Eastern collections, we decided to go to the Orangerie Museum which houses Claude Monet's huge water lily canvases. He worked on these 8 paintings for 12 years at the end of his life. Together they total 1900 sq. ft. of canvas. He painted them in what is now the gift shop at his house in Giverny that we visited yesterday. The space where that are excited was custom created for this art, making it one of the first art installations.

This museum also had some lovely Renoirs and other famous impressionist painters. This Matisse reminded me of myself when told to practice.

In between the museums we had a lovely walk in the Tuileries park.