Spain, France, England 2025: 9/4/2025 Breakfast, Louvre, dinner-Le Calife Seine River cruise

9/4/2025 Breakfast. Just toast this morning. I'm excited because I have tickets for the Louvre. I'm disappointed that Richard will not be going but he doesn't seem to mind missing this great museum. Uber to the Louvre. Cost 15.96€/$ Pass by Pompidou Center again. This building is interesting and I will pass by it often during our time in Paris. We never did get the chance to visit it though.

Uber to the Louvre

Pompidou Center

Louvre. I have tickets for 9:00 am entry. Cost 46.00€/$52.33 My main focus will be the Denon wing. Then the Sully Wing. This place is immense and there's no way to see it all in one day. I have done some research so I have a list of my "must sees". I arrive a bit early and there's a long line of people with tickets waiting to enter. This is the Pyramid entrance. I get in line with the others. I take pictures while I wait in line. Once the museum officially opens at 9:00 am the line moves quickly.

Pyramid entrance-designed by I M Pei

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

I follow the crowd to see the Mona Lisa. It's in a room of sorts by itself. Lots of people but to my surprise I get right up to the front by the rope barriers. picture is small as I had known it would be. It's nice but TBH I just don't see what all the fuss is about. I take my pictures and have someone take a picture of me in front of the Mona Lisa. I then turn my attention to the other painting in this area opposite. Wedding Feast at Cana. It's huge and very detailed/striking. This is to portray a wedding feast that Christ was invited to and where he performed his first miracle of turning water into wine per the Bible. Now I'm off to find some more. Mind boggling. So much beautiful and emotionally moving art.

Michelangelo-Slaves

Leonardo De Vinci-Mona Lisa

Paolo Caliari known as Veronese-Wedding Feast at Cana

Grande Gallerie

Andrea Solario-Lamentation over the Dead Christ

Theodore Gericault-The Raft of Medusa

Postcard

Theodore Gericault-Officier de chasseurs a cheval de la garde impériale chargeant

Postcard

Eugene Delacroix-Liberty Leading the People

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres-Grand Odalisque

Jacques Louis David-Leonidas at Thermopylae

Jacques Louis David-Coronation of Emperor Napoleon and coronation of Empress Josephine in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, December 2, 1804

Jaques Louis David-The Sabines

Postcard

Soon I find the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Found on the island of Samothrace in the sanctuary of the 'Great Gods' to whom people prayed for protection from the dangers of the sea. Hellenistic marble statue of the goddess Nike landing on a warship's prow. Dating back to around 190 BC. Celebrated for its intricate clinging drapery and billowing cloak and wings which convey movement and fluidity. The wings, the warship, the sanctuary all point to the goddess Nike, the messenger of victory. I walked up the Daru staircase and then walked around this piece of sculpture looking at all the detail. Amazing.

Daru staircase

Postcard

Apollo Gallery-French Crown Jewels and royal collection of hard stone vessels. First royal gallery in France. King Louis XIV identified himself with the sun god Apollo. The ceiling has paintings of Apollo driving his chariot across the sky.

In the Sully wing I see Greek antiquities-Venus de Milo, The Caryatids. I've seen so much but I also have missed so much. I should have stayed longer. As it is I spent around 2 1/2 hours here.

Venus de Milo

Postcard

Other pieces of art I saw-paintings and sculptures. Every where you look there is something amazing to see.

Aphrodite, known as the Venus of Arles-added mirror and an apple as references to her victory in the Judgment of Paris

Statue of Athena

Funerary vase

Funerary lion

Procession of the Panathenaic festival; fragment known as the 'Ergastines Panel'/Parthenon-Athens

Old centaur tormented by Eros/Cupid god of love

Sleeping Hermaphrodite

Artemis, goddess of the hunt

Canova-Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

When I exit I find myself in an area of stores. Laduree. I bought a box of 12 hand picked macrons. Cost Starbucks. I get a cold drink. Cost Pandora store. I bought a charm for myself and had the back engraved 2025 Paris. Cost Taxi back to the apartment. Cost 10.20€

Macrons I bought

Starbucks

Pandora

Engraving machine

Paris charm I bought

Taxi back to the apartment

Le Calife. I booked this for our dinner cruise on the Seine. Uber from our apartment. Cost 21.98€/$

Le Calife. The terrace. Depart at 8:45 pm from Pont Des Arts, left bank facing the Louvre. Sailing for 2 hours. We board at 8:15 pm. From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower. Menu Royal. Cost Welcome drinks-champagne for me and non alcoholic cocktail for Richard Welcome appetizers. Bottle of wine. I chose the red- We both chose scallops and gambas/seafood and vegetable casserole with lobster sauce for our starter. I picked the beef tenderloin/Rossini style, foie gras, gratin Dauphinois and seasonal roasted vegetables. Richard went with the grilled sea bass fillet, celery, root mousseline, tarragon beurre blanc. My beef tenderloin was done perfectly medium. Richard said his fish was done just right. For dessert I did the seasonal fruit and Richard did the Paris cheesecake-lemon cheesecake, lemon cream, limoncello and lemon sorbet. Because Richard was on medication he didn't drink any alcohol so we had half a bottle of wine left. Staff offered to cork it for us to take with us but for some reason I chose not to which for the life of me I don't understand! I could have finished this at our apartment. It was a lovely time. I am disappointed that most of my pictures did not turn out-showing refections in the glass windows. The front part was open so we did get some nice pictures of the Eiffel Tower. Service was excellent and the food was fabulous. I even ate foie gras!