The heat wave continue unabated. Today, Friday, we’re expecting somewhere between 38 and 40. Our plan is to get to the subway early, enter the underground shopping concourse at the base of the Louvre and enter directly without going outside. I doubt the French do any usability testing on their signage because following the signs led us outside and on the wrong side of the security perimeter. Luckily the guard recognized us and let us back in. He says “just go down the stairs, it’ll be obvious.” Of course, what he means is that it will be obvious if you have done this a dozen times. It’s not and we ask several times for directions. Eventually we find the correct entrance.
Now you must understand a bit of the history of the Louvre in order to appreciate it. The word comes from a Frankish word meaning hilltop tower or fortification…which is what the original structure was – a fort. It kept growing (as the invading hordes grew in number) until the 12th century when Philip II rebuilt it as a fortress. It was extended many times, as Louvre Palace until, in 1682, Louis XIV decided he wanted something more modern for his cozy little home and had the palace at Versailles built. He left the Louvre Palace as mainly a place to display his collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. Needless to say, following the Revolution, the state took over the vanity collection and create the Louvre as a public space. Much of the personal effects and accoutrements of the rich and powerful because priceless artefacts for generations of visitors.
I should add that if you were to strip the Louvre of all its displays, paintings, sculptures and other items on display, it would still be a remarkable place to visit. The art on the walls, ceilings, the woodwork, fireplaces and tilework, are all items of beauty and worthy of their own place in the museum. In the three wings of the museum, in a bit of haphazard order, there are paintings, sculptures and artefacts from the Romans, Greeks, French, Egyptian people throughout time and small pockets of others, like the Thracians, various African and Asian nations. There is too much to absorb in a single day so you end up walking past stuff without exploring them fully. And every now and then you stumble onto something wonderful and familiar.
Because there are so many objets d’arts in the museum you find many people unwilling to take the time to walk leisurely through the palace. Instead they rush from one “star” attraction to the next. 
And by far the biggest star is a surprisingly small painting by some Italian named Da Vinci. The Mona Lisa attracts crowds not unlike Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga, but consistently, over generations. People used to jostle just to get a closer look, now they try to get selfies with “The Mona”, even though the museum frowns on selfie sticks. Now with the glass cage, the “keep your distance” table and the “protective ballustrade”, it`s not really possible to get close enough to La Giaconda to really appreciate the artwork and to observe the subtleties of the painting that King Francis I loved so much he bought it from Da Vinci himself.
Other artists, fortunately, remain accessible or at least approachable. Vermeer’s The Lacemaker occupies an inconspicuous space but his fans don`t hesitate to stop by and examine the brilliant colours and brushwork. Other works by Constable. Pannini (the artist, not the sandwich), Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Delacroix et others too numerous to mention fill all the horizontal space in dozens upon dozens of rooms in all three wings. Too much to see in one day as one`s sense of wonder becomes dull after awhile.
We made it through the Egyptian and early French, Italian periods but couldn`t make it to the medieval period or even the contemporary painters. The crowds were huge but the museum is so vast that we never felt inconvenience by the hoard.
One of the most powerful exhibits, for me, was Winged Victory, a recently restored Thracian sculpture still missing its head and arms. The details are quite amazing and the lack of a head makes it even more mysterious and mystical.
By 7 pm we are all knackered. Not just because of all the walking (there is lots of walking — 3 wings, 4 floors each) but all the stairs — so many stairs and few elevators and escalators. But quite a day…I`m thinking we might go back early next week and see the contemporary artists and the medieval parts we missed…