Thursday, May 30th
The Louvre - After buying a forgettable hotel breakfast, Pam said she was sick and couldn't go to the Louvre with us, so Gabi and I sallied forth down the Rue de Rivoli. Three "college students" accosted us with "petitions" to sign which were supposed to distract us from them unzipping Gabi's backpack. Her timely shriek dampened their spirits and they disappeared before any gendarmes could arrive. We continued on, shaken but determined not to waste our skip-the-line passes. We entered the museum grounds and asked directions to the skip-the-line (elite)waiting line. It was as long as the non-elite line this early in the morning, but, based on some mystic formula we got in before most of the cheap liners. I was, again, astonished by the buildings, decor and presentation of room after room of masterpieces (or near masterpieces). We hunted down the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, and other legendary art works, all the while passing paintings and sculptures that people come around the world to see.
Joe
