The Louvre and the Batobus

The Batobus
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Our day began early, at around 8:00 am. We took the bus to the Louvre which took only a few minutes from our apartment. We exited the bus, crossed the street, and entered the Louvre through the Carousel area which houses all of the stores and restaurants. I had the museum pass and Madeline is free so we zipped right in. People were running madly to see the Mona Lisa. It was surprisingly small and anticlimactic. We rented the audio guide which proved to be well-worth the 5 euros. We spent about three hours there and only saw the Italian and Spanish paintings from the 15^th-17^th century. When we came to a painting that we wanted to know more about we punch in the four numbers corresponding to the painting. A voice then tells a wonderful story and history regarding the painting. The narrator points out specific things in the painting that we probably wouldn’t notice other wise. We spent a brief time in the Egyptian antiquities area and saw a real mummified man; pretty cool.

Maddie and me in front of the Eiffel Tower (on the Batobus).
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Around noon we left the Louvre to catch the Batobus. It is a large, covered barge-type boat that ferries tourists along the Seine. It stops at many places along the river and we can hop on and hop of when our fancy strikes us. Although we didn’t get off at the Eiffel Tower, we saw it up close and it was breathtaking. Today we got off one stop early and ended up eating at a too-smoky restaurant. After lunch we caught the Batobus back to an area close to the apartment. Guess where we went next??? Surprise: The bolangerie. It was very bush today so we opted for crème brulee, chocolate Madelines, a baguette and two pieces of delicious pizza that we had for dinner.

A view through the glass pyramid at the Louvre.
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Tomorrow we are riding the Eiffel Tower to the top, taking the Batobus to the Louvre, and going to the Musee de Orangerie to see Monet’s Water Lilies.

Love you all.!!