Small rooms … and large museums

After all the walking of yesterday, I certainly looked forward to a lie down… the only problem was that for me to actually lie down took the entire width of the room. The lesson here is when people tell to that rooms are small in France they actually mean it.

Anyway… on with today… following a cafe breakfast of a ‘mixed omelette’ (mixed meaning ham and cheese) and a coffee we navigated the metro to the Opera House to pick up our ‘Big Bus’ tickets. We caught 3 different trains… didn’t wait for any of them… but did get a little personal with the large number of fellow passengers. Australian cities could learn a lot about building public transport networks.

Then it was onto the Louvre… reputedly the worlds’ largest and most visited Museum. It has the most amazing collection of ancient sculptures, renaissance paintings etc… The buildings outside and in, are stunning and whether you like art or not… it is definitely a great experience.

Here’s an idea of the number of people… and the sculpture spaces

and then the grounds ….

So after all that culture, sculpture and art … particularly the Dutch masters … I was a little bit thirsty and needed a small beer before lunch… 

Then it was onto the the ‘Big Bus’ (one of the many tourist buses) to the Arc de Triumphe. This is a spectacular monument to French military successes … first thought up by Napoleon, back in the days when France was a successful military power. He never saw it completed, but nonetheless it is an impressive monument that includes the ‘Unknown Soldier’ memorial. You can go up to the top… but lift is broken so it’s an ascent up 400 odd steps up a spiral staircase. the views are worth the climb…

We checked out of our little hotel room and settled into our apartment this afternoon… which is delightful.. despite having the smallest lift I’ve ever seen… 1 person plus a bag is about it… The apartment itself is great though … plenty of space as compared to the hotel…

Anyway… until tomorrow….

Rob