Playing tourist

With Judy's cousin, Tom, and his wife, Peggy, in town for a few days, we did some touring together. The weather is still cool, but occasionally the sun comes out and it is quite comfortable. It is Easter school vacation here in France and elsewhere in Europe, plus many school kids in the states are on vacation. So, it is VERY crowded in most tourist spots.

We started with the Musee D'Orsay, once again. It is such a great museum that I don't  mind going back there. Tom and Peg had the Museum Pass which enabled them to go in a different line and they got into the museum about 25 minutes ahead of us. The Museum Pass is highly recommended for busy tourist season. Here is a view from a vantage point on the 5th floor looking towards the huge clock about the entrance.


From there it is a short walk over the Seine to the Louvre. Once again, they used their Museum Pass to walk right in while others stood in line for quite a while. Here is the entrance to the museum. It is so weird and probably so French to have a modern version of an ancient monument as the underground entry into an historical building.

Judy and I roamed around the garden and sat by the wading pool while they hit the big 3 of Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. We haven't been back in there for years but our guests have said that the signage is good to find these masterpieces. You can see the Eifel Tower in the distance. This spot in the Tuilleries Gardens is a nice spot to people watch when the weather is better.



We walked around the gardens a bit on our way out and found these guys engaged in a game of Petanque, which is the French version of Bocci. I think every country has their version and you see guys all over Europe playing their game on any flat space they can find. That is a wing of the Louvre that you see in the background through the leafless trees.

We took the exit to Rue de Rivoli right at the statue of Jean D'Arc, the Maid of Orleans. In Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, when they were asked by their mentor, "who was Joan of Arc?" Bill, or Ted, responded, " Uh, Noah's wife?". I love that line.

Gotta go grocery shopping, to be continued...