June 2025 – A Traveling Fool

June 27, 2025

April in Paris: Adventures at the Louvre

After we had breakfast together and my friends headed out to catch their trains home, I walked south to the Rue de Rivoli and then east to the Place du Carrousel entrance to the Louvre. Back when I first learned about that entrance, it was a hidden, secret entrance. We had entered through an unmarked door, ventured down a dingy corridor, to some very industrial-looking stairs that weren’t all that well lit. Now it is all well-marked, well-lit, and welcoming. It looks much more like the entrance to a shopping mall than an entrance to a museum.

In the past, whoever I was with and I would be the only people navigating those stairs. This time, there were escalators as well as a wide set of stairs. There were several others going in the way I was and I just fell in with them.

Back in the day, anyone coming in from the Carrousel entrance would just merge at the ticket desk with those coming in from the Pyramid entrance. Now tickets must be purchased in advance. There are also multiple (three or four at various times) entrances which all merge downstairs to get into the museum.

I just continued to follow the others who had come in at the same time as I did as we wound around a few times to get to where everyone merged. Then, after what seemed like a longer walk than what it had taken to get to the museum, we finally got into the entrance line itself. I was quietly waiting for the line to inch along and was taking in all of the changes when a guy came up from behind me and accused me of butting into the line ahead of him.

I explained that I had just come in with all of these other people who were ahead of me and this was where we ended up. He then said that he had come in from the subway, “like everybody else”, but had never seen me until now. When I tried to tell him that there were multiple entrances which all merge there, he said that I was a lying bitch. So, since I choose which fights are worth fighting and which aren’t, I said, “If it means that much to you to go in two seconds ahead of me, go head.” Then I stepped back to let him and the woman who was with him move ahead of me. Unfortunately that didn’t satisfy him.

He just kept after me letting me know what a horrible, entitled person he thought I was. So I motioned for a security person to come over to us. Then I asked him to explain to her what his complaint was. Her response was to explain to him about the multiple entrances all converging where we were and asked me which entrance I had used. I told her and she said to him, “She came in from a different entrance and that was why you didn’t see her until you got here where everyone merges.”

He still wasn’t going to let it go. She pointed out that he was in front of me, so she didn’t understand the problem. He wanted me to be kicked out of the museum. She said to me, “Come with me”. He was a happy man now. He thought she was going to do what he told her to do. She didn’t. Instead she took me in through the security entrance. I thought that was very kind of her and thanked her. She wanted to get me away from him. She also told me that, if he found me and harassed me at any point while I was in the museum, let a security person know immediately and he would be the one tossed out.

As packed as the place was, I had already decided to start with some areas other than where the big crowds would likely be going first and then say “Hi” to Mona later. I headed for the excavations under the Cour Carrée, which is surrounded by the Sully Wing. This is where the base of the towers and the drawbridge supports of the fortress of King Philippe-Auguste can be seen.

This is the oldest part of the Louvre, which began construction in roughly 1190. The oldest portion of the palace still above ground, which dates from the late 1540s, is known as the Lescot Wing. It is the part of the Sully Wing that is on the western side of the Cour Carrée. It was built by King Francis I.

When I went up to the Ground Floor I was inside that part of the palace. The official Louvre website has an interactive map of the museum. One can click on a room and see what it contains. Also, if you want to visit a particular piece of art, you can enter its name and it will tell you the wing, floor and room number. Very handy for advance planning. I had my basic route figured out in advance, subject to any changes due to crowds or fatigue.

I crossed into the Denon Wing to visit the Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave sculptures by Michelangelo and Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss in Room 403. Then I returned to the Sully Wing to check on Venus de Milo before moving on to the Egyptian Antiquities in the eastern part of that wing. When I had last been there, I had not yet been to Egypt. So I was even more interested in them now, especially both Horus (I had visited a couple of his temples) and the Seated Scribe. The Seated Scribe was up one floor from where I was, but there was plenty to explore on the Ground Floor before moving up to the 1^st Floor. There were several more rooms full of Egyptian artifacts on that floor too.

Returning to the Denon Wing, I viewed the Winged Victory of Samothrace before moving on to the paintings. This was where the museum really became crowded.

I had some favorite paintings in both rooms 702 and 700 which I visited before venturing into Room 711, which was where Leonardo da Vinci’s ultra-famous Mona Lisa was located. Patience is definitely needed to be able to catch a quick glimpse of her. She is by far the most popular attraction in the entire Louvre.

In Room 702, the Death of Marat has always interested me because I was once in a production of the play “Marat Sade”, which was based upon the death of Jean-Paul Marat. The character I played had originally been a priest in a straight jacket representing the real life priest Jacques Roux. We changed the character to a nun. The habit I wore was real as was the straight jacket. I needed to trust that they would actually let me out of it.

The painting of the Coronation of Napoleon in the same room depicts Napoleon crowning Josephine by the altar of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. In the upper right can be seen the Pieta just behind the altar. She same Pieta my friends and I sat in front of during our visit to Notre Dame earlier in the week.

I had debated skipping seeing the Mona Lisa this time as enormously large crowds are not at all something that I enjoy. But it would have been like not saying “hi” to an old friend (we first made our acquaintance in 1984). So I took a deep breath and waded into the fray. Yes, she is worth seeing – whether for the first time or the seventh.

Emerging unscathed from that room I ventured over to the Richelieu Wing to visit the apartments of Napoleon III. These aren’t merely decorated rooms that have been set up in the Louvre. These are the actual rooms created during the time of Napoleon III in the Second Empire (1852-1870) as state rooms for the use of the Minister of State (whose family occupied private rooms nearby) to hold receptions, dinners, masked balls, etcetera. They have survived miraculously mostly intact for over 150 years and have been open to the public since 1993. I had only seen them once before in 2000, so wanted to take a better look at these rooms this visit. They are quite sumptuous.

The photo that I have of the Salon Theatre is quite interesting for a couple of reasons. The room can be converted from a salon to a theatre relatively easily. The piece of furniture that can be seen in the center front of the photo is a chair made for three people to sit together closely for a private conversation.

From there, I took the stairs down to the Cour Marly, which was created in 1993 when this portion of the Louvre Palace was integrated into the museum. It had been an open courtyard which was then covered with a glass ceiling and the entire space temperature-controlled. Then it was filled with monumental sculptures from the gardens, fountains and groves of a leisure residence of King Louis XIV at Marly, near Versailles. These had been scattered all over Paris after the destruction of the royal residence. Since 1993 they have been housed together in this glorious space. The beautiful Marly Horses are displayed at the top level of the courtyard.

Next time –The Marvelous Musée des Arts Décoratifs

June 20, 2025

April in Paris: A Great Lunch and Exploring the Musée Rodin

We retraced our steps to where we had passed the Musée Rodin on our way to explore the Hôtel des Invalides and had lunch in Le Café du Musée right across the street from the museum. I had checked this particular café out on the Internet before leaving on this trip as I wanted good French food at a reasonable price close to both of the places we were going that day. I had escargot and crème brûlée with a glass of Orangina. All were delicious. My friend was quite happy with what they were having too. It was one of our best meals away from the hotel.

I was familiar with The Thinker, The Kiss, and the Monument to the Burghers of Calais, but that was it prior to visiting this museum. In addition to the friend I was with, who had visited this museum before, the Concierge, the Head Waiter, and the Bartender at the hotel where we were staying had all said that this was a “must see”. They were right. I have gained a real appreciation for the works of Auguste Rodin.

Once we entered the grounds of the Musée Rodin, we began in the Rose Garden with Rodin’s most famous work, The Thinker. I loved being able to see (and photograph) it from every angle. I had a vague memory of getting a glimpse of The Thinker as our tour coach passed by the museum on my first time to Paris in 1984. But, unless the layout of the sculpture gardens was entirely different back then, I don’t see how I could have seen it. The whole place is bordered by tall walls other than the entrance gate.

We walked a little further into the garden to view the monumental bronze version of The Kiss before we backtracked to enter the mansion called the Hotel Biron. This mansion was built in the early 18^th century. In 1908, Auguste Rodin rented four rooms on the ground floor. Other tenants included the writer Jean Cocteau, the painter Henri Matisse, and the dancer Isadora Duncan. By 1911, Rodin had taken over the entire building. He left the building and his works to the French state in 1916.

In the 1880s, the young female sculptor, Camille Claudel, joined Rodin’s studio. She became his assistant, rival, muse, and lover. They had a tumultuous relationship for 10 years, with her leaving him in 1893. She ended up declining mentally and was shut away in an asylum for 30 years. Many of her works are also on display in the museum, as Rodin desired them to be. In Room 16 of the 18 rooms displaying artistic works, are some of Camille’s finest pieces. I have included a photo of The Waltz here.

The first eight rooms are on the ground floor. The first two rooms are dedicated to Rodin’s early works, such as the Man With A Broken Nose and some of his Belgian landscapes before he settled into being mainly a sculptor.

One of the things I really liked about the museum was that it is still clearly a house and a house in which Rodin actually lived and worked. We could see his works displayed where he created them. That brought an extra dimension to it that isn’t found when someone’s art is displayed somewhere not connected to the artist.

In the third room is the sculpture titled the Age of Bronze (photo included). This is considered to be Rodin’s breakthrough piece, which earned him the commission for The Gates of Hell. In Room 5 are more lifesize versions of both The Kiss and The Thinker, which were originally created to be parts of The Gates of Hell until Rodin decided to keep them as stand-alone pieces.

Room 6 has a study for the Monument to the Burghers of Calais. The story behind it is quite interesting. After Calais was besieged by the English, King Edward III of England ordered the citizens of Calais to deliver six of their top citizens along with the keys to the city. These six men would be expected to be executed. The sculpture depicts the six men chosen as they are leaving the city to face their deaths, unaware that the English king plans to spare their lives.

The remaining two rooms on this floor deal with Rodin’s fame and his time at the Hotel Biron. I have included a photo of a work titled The Danaid.

Upstairs on the 1^st floor, in addition to Camille Claudel’s The Waltz, I also took photos of The Cathedral in Room 10 and The Walking Man in Room 17. The Cathedral is a sculpture of two right hands entwining around each other while The Walking Man consists of legs and a torso, with no arms or head. It is thought to have possibly been cast from an earlier study for Saint John the Baptist Preaching. That sculpture is located in the same room as Age of Bronze. I have photos of the two works side by side here and I do think they are very similar.

Then we went back outside to the gardens to see the finished version of Monument to the Burghers of Calais, as well as The Three Shades, The Gates of Hell, and Adam and Eve. The Gates of Hell were said to have been inspired by the Gates of Paradise on the bronze doors of the Baptistry of San Giovanni in Florence (which I have seen and photographed on visits to Florence). Rodin based his work on the first section of The Divine Comedy, called Inferno.

We inspected the gift shop before heading back to where we had been dropped off. About two weeks later, I received my own version of The Kiss. This one was 6” (15.24cm) in height.

When we timed our walk to get to the places we wanted to visit, we tried to allow a little extra time just in case. Good thing. We got slightly turned around a couple of times and needed to backtrack just a bit. Fortunately we both realized we were heading the wrong way each time, so no arguments. Just a discussion about where we thought we were compared to where we actually were according to the map and an adjustment was made. It was the fact that we needed to cut through the park plus the construction going on in the park (necessitating some detours) that was throwing us off. Finally we got to where we could see the Eiffel Tower looming ahead. Then we knew to just walk towards that landmark.

We still had some wine back at the hotel, but I did pick up another bottle of Orangina at the grocers enroute. My friends were heading home to their respective countries on the train the next day (Saturday), but I would be remaining in Paris until the following Monday.

Next time –The Louvre

June 13, 2025

April in Paris: Dôme des Invalides and Musée de l’Armée

You would think that with all of the times I have been to Paris, I would have visited Napoleon’s tomb and the army museum well before now. For some reason, there were always other priorities and I never got around to it. So glad that I did it this time and plan to go again the next time I am in Paris. There is so much to see there that it takes more than just one visit.

This was day two of the Hop On Hop Off Big Bus. Our group split up for the day as different people wanted to see different things. We arranged to meet up for dinner at 7:30pm. We all got on the bus at the same time and same place. We would just be getting off at different stops. Two of us stayed on the bus until the stop to visit the Hôtel des Invalides.

The stop was in the Parc du Champs de Mars behind the Eiffel Tower (on the other side from the Seine). We needed to walk through the park to the Military School and then angle over to the Avenue de Tourville to get to our destination. There was some major construction going on in the park, so we had to skirt around to our left instead of heading straight to the Military School. Once we reached the Dôme Church where the tomb was located, we found that the entrance to the entire complex was all the way around on the other side at the Place des Invalides. The entrance at the end we were was only open from 2pm to 6pm. We were definitely getting our exercise just to get into the place. We timed our walk to the spot where we passed by the Rodin Museum so we knew how long we would need to get back to where we had been dropped off.

At every site visited (including the boat ride the day before) everyone had to pass through a security check where any bags, backpacks and sometimes even purses, were opened and checked. Some locations also had metal detectors to pass through. Large bags and backpacks were not allowed and suitcases? Forget it. The churches that we visited (other than Notre Dame) were the only places where we could just walk right in.

After we passed through the security check at the entrance gate, we walked up to the entrance itself and purchased tickets to cover Napoleon’s tomb, the army museum, and the Rodin museum. Our plan was to do the military stuff in the morning and then see the Rodin sculptures after lunch.

We got the booklet showing what was where for the tomb and army museum and stepped aside to confer on our “plan of attack”. We quickly realized there was so much there that we needed to agree on what we wanted to see the most. Fortunately for us both, it was the tomb and the arms and armor 13^th to 17^th centuries. We figured that, if we had some extra time, we would also visit the Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, which is the national cathedral of the French military.

King Louis XIV had the complex built (1670–1676) to create a hospital and home for disabled and aged soldiers. The church and chapel were added in 1676. The Dôme is the tallest domed church in Paris.

On the 14^th of July 1789, the Hôtel des Invalides was stormed by Parisian rioters who took the cannons and muskets stored in the cellar to use against the Bastille. It was after Napoleon Bonaparte was interred within the Royal Chapel of the Dôme des Invalides that the Dôme and the church had separate altars created as well as a glass wall placed between them.

The rest of the building continued to be a retirement home and hospital until the early 20^th century when the military veterans were dispersed to other smaller facilities outside of Paris. Two existing museums were combined and moved into the space. There weren’t as many people with the twenty years or more service required for residence at the military hospital, so there was a lot of empty space.

We checked out a couple of the exhibits on the side of the museum we were on. Then we headed to the Dôme to spend some time visiting the tomb before heading to the other side of the museum. On our way, we saw an artillery gun much like those that Napoleon and his forces would have used at Saint Roch. I have a photo of that included with this post.

We needed to go all the way around to the main entrance of the Dôme church and then up the stairs. Once inside, we found it to be quite beautiful. The Tomb of Napoleon was created here in 1840 after his remains were returned to France from Saint Helena. I took several photos of it. Then we ventured down into the crypt to explore that area too. When we were done, we headed over to the arms and armor, which was in another wing of the museum.

This collection of ancient armor and weapons is quite amazing and makes this particular museum one of the three largest arms museums in the world. The #1 museum in this category is the Imperial War Museum in London. I have been there too. If you like the really old stuff, both the Tower of London and the New York City Metropolitan Museum have loads of wonderful armor on display. But this museum really takes the prize in the medieval armor category. They also have arms and armor from other countries and from the Renaissance and early modern periods.

Some of the really special pieces of armor included the Hounskull bascinet helmet (1350-1380). This had a lighter weight than earlier helmets and an open-faced design, which made it easier to see and breathe during combat. Important factors I would think.

There was a suit of armor that had lions carved upon it. It is believed to have belonged to François I (1494-1547). I can’t say that I have ever seen another suit of armor quite like it. There was also a suit of armor called the “armour of the Dauphin”, which supposedly belonged to the future Henri II (1519-1559). I have photos of all three of these included with this post.

We started off in the Salle Royale (the Royal Room) and walked around with our mouths open through pretty much the whole area. Then we realized that we had better get ourselves out of there, have some lunch and get to the Musée Rodin while we still had time before heading back to meet the last bus leaving the Parc du Champ de Mars.

The last photo I have included is of Napoleon’s camp tent setup. I would have also liked to have checked out the portion of the museum dedicated to Charles de Gaulle and World War II. I have a family member who was de Gaulle’s attaché at that time and wrote a book about it. Another good excuse to return to this wonderful museum.

Next time –A Great Lunch and Exploring the Musée Rodin

June 6, 2025June 6, 2025

April in Paris: Cruising Along the Seine

I know I have said this before, but I love water. Looking at it, gliding along on it, swimming (or just bobbing around) in it. So whenever I get the chance to take a river cruise or get out on a lake in a location where I am traveling, I do it. Every time I go to London, I take a ride on a boat there. The same with Paris.

After our morning visit to the Musée d’Orsay, we originally planned to visit L’Orangerie, with many more impressionist paintings, especially Monet’s Waterlilies. But we revised our plans and chose to take the boat cruise on the Seine instead of doing that the following day. This was a one hour trip from the Eiffel Tower down and around both the Ile de la Cité and Ile Saint Louis and back to the Eiffel Tower.

We jumped back onto the Big Bus at the stop across the street from the Musée d’Orsay and rode it around until we got to the Eiffel Tower. En route we passed the Place de la Concorde, rode along the Champs-Elysées, circled the Arc de Triomphe, and went back down the Champs-Elysées to the Grand and Petit Palais. Then we crossed the beautiful Pont Alexandre III to the other side of the Seine for a while before crossing back over the river again to go by the Shangri-La and the Palais de Chaillot. We crossed the river one more time to stop in front of the Eiffel Tower.

We had a bit of a walk to where the Bateux Parisien boats were docked. Then we stood for a while in the snaking line to get on board. It was a bit chilly so we opted to stay inside on the lower part of the boat instead of going upstairs, with the majority of people, out in the open air. Once the tour began, several people changed their minds and came downstairs. We had settled into a booth for four right next to a window.

Here and there I took some photos. But I mostly just watched the scenery roll by. Those who remained on the upper deck were encouraged to whoop and holler and wave at anyone we passed along the way. Many people responded in a friendly manner, but some not so much. My accompanying photos include both some from the Big Bus before and after the river cruise and some from the cruise itself. The photo taken under the Pont Neuf was the only one not taken by me.

I enjoyed seeing the bridges from underneath. A couple of the really old ones were lined with bricks. The Pont Neuf, despite its name, is the oldest of the bridges (it was begun in 1578 and was the first to be built without houses on it). It has several carved heads on its sides. They are all different from one another.

I also really liked the Statue de Sainte Geneviève. This was on the Pont de la Tournelle which crosses from the Left Bank (the Latin Quarter) onto the Ile Saint Louis. Instead of facing Notre Dame de Paris, she is facing the opposite direction. Why?

Geneviève was born in Nanterre in 423 and moved to Paris when she was 20. She was then ordered by the Bishop of Paris as a “Consecrated Virgin”. When, in 451, Attila and the Huns crossed the Rhine to invade Gaul, they plundered Metz and Reims along the way and were heading to Paris, most Parisians chose to flee. Geneviève urged Paris to fight and began to pray for the city. Attila decided to head to Troyes instead on his way to besiege Orleans.

Paris was miraculously saved and Geneviève became one of the patron saints of Paris. The other is Saint Denis. He’s the fella who was beheaded for his faith on Montmartre sometime between 250 and 270 and walked several miles afterwards carrying his head and preaching. The spot where he finally fell dead is the present day location of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, where many of the kings and queens of France are buried (as well as Denis himself).

Sainte Geneviève’s statue faces in the direction from which the Huns would have come – away from Paris rather than towards it. The statue’s sculptor, Paul Landowski, was not at all happy about that. Her position does make it rather difficult to see the details. Landowski would go on a few years later to create one of the most famous statues in the world, Christ the Redeemer, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Once we disembarked from the boat and got back on the Big Bus, we stayed on until we would be deposited at the Big Bus office along the Avenue de l’Opera. That was the closest stop to our hotel. Unfortunately, about the time we reached La Madelaine, the traffic began to crawl and then stop, and crawl and stop and sit. It took us a very long time to actually reach the Opera Garnier, which was the last stop of the Big Bus before we could get to the office.

Turned out that the stop lights at the Place de l’Opera were not working. This created a huge traffic jam. Although most people were relatively patient, there were some whose tempers were on their last nerve. Some of these folks just yelled a lot, while others began to do some things that could have made things much worse by causing an accident. At one point it seemed that our bus was surrounded by other vehicles all facing us and demanding we get out of their way. Fortunately the calmer folks, which included our driver, prevailed and we eventually got to move around in a circle behind the opera house, where the stop there was located. By that time, there was a motorcycle next to us with a doggie riding with its daddy. I took a photo. The very calm and quiet dog was wearing a jacket and some goggles.

When we finally got to where we could get off the bus and walk back to our hotel, it had been over an hour and a half since we had finished the river cruise. About an hour of that time was spent in the traffic jam.

Along the Rue Saint Honoré we came across a small grocers. We stopped in to see what they had. I bought a large bottle of Orangina plus a couple of small bottles of wine. Back at the hotel, we went for dinner at the their restaurant again. We had really liked the food the night before, plus the restaurant was cozy and intimate. This time we didn’t dress up as much. Really didn’t need to do so.

Next time –Napoleon’s Tomb and the Musée de l’Armée