Louvre Continued (and more of day three)

Here are some more sculptures from the Louvre. Again, these all appealed to me in some way, and all are drop dead gorgeous.


I actually managed to catch this one with no one in the background. I love the intimacy and intricacy of Psyche and Cupid.



Here is Hermaphroditus, who seems strangely appropriate in this day and age as the lines between genders appear to be blurring all the time. Not physically, necessarily, but emotionally and mentally. For example, the stay at home dad is not the farce Mr. Mom once portrayed. And power business women are not considered a threat to men any more. I think it safe to say gender boundaries have been successfully blurred when you have women like Donna Dubinsky and Carly Fiorina dominating the technology sector for years.

Here is Athena. She has always been one of my favorite Greek deities, as she didn't seem to take crap from anyone and was powerful in her own right. Both Athena and Hermaphroditus were in an area that was supposed banned from taking pictures. But as they were statues, the security guard in the room let me take them.

After we left the Louvre, we headed for the Arc de Triumph. I knew it was big, but didn't realize just how big until we got there. Andra and my dad walked up to the top of the arc, but Suzanne, Mom and I decided to hang out below. I figured that walking to the top of anywhere in the city other than the Eiffel Tower would be pointless, as none of them would offer the view that the tower offered. Here is a picture of the Arc (Notice the trophy wife in the foreground):

After the Arc, we walked back towards the tower/hotel. When we arrived at the tower, we decided now was a good time to go up it. The tower had been closed on a couple of prior walks underneath it due to the high winds. And even with it approved for ascent, it was still really windy on top. Warning! Cheesy tourist photos to follow.


If nothing else, proof we were there. Below is a shot I took from on top of the tower leaning out and looking straight down. Don't they look like ants down there?


After three tourist traps in one day, I was starting to feel pretty done in. All five of us decided to go back to the previous night's restaurant and have more of the same. This time, I had a fish meal and a divine creme brulee for dessert. The food was wonderful yet again, the service was fantastic and all was well.

And finally, the tower at night. The digital noise in this one is pretty bad, but considering it was taken at night without a flash or the use of a tripod, I am happy with how it turned out.


More to follow with all the fun and excitement of day four.