On the last day we had in Paris we went and visited the Louvre museum. This time buying tickets ahead of time really did pay off since we got to walk right into the museum!
Heading down into the glass pyramid:
Venus de Milo:
Winged Victory of Samothrace:
Apollo Gallery: the crown jewels
... and there she is - the Mona Lisa. Last time I was in here she was in the main gallery, but they now have her on a wall all to herself in a more private room. It was a madhouse - what you can't tell from this picture is that there are approximately 100 people scrambling and pushing like mad to get a picture ... all at the same time. Ugh.
We randomly headed into the Richelieu Wing to see Napoleon's Apartments - and they were fabulous!
Under the smaller pyramid:
Our last stop before we went to the train station was the Pantheon - yes, the Pantheon in Paris :) This was literally across the street from our hotel (you would look just to the right). It ended up being a neat sight!
The outside:
Below was a crypt with famous French artists, scientists, etc:
Marie and Pierre Curie:
There was an amazing clock established in 1851 to illustrate the rotation of the earth. It uses a Foucault pendulum that is bolted to the Pantheon roof. The ball in the picture swings back and forth all the way across the clock and tells time as the earth moves!
A full view (the wire attaching the ball is attached up in the dome):
After we were done here we jumped in a cab to the train station to take our overnight train back to Rome so we could fly home. 34 hours later we arrived back in SoCal! A big thanks to my dad for watching our bebes and the house while we were gone!
This was definitely a trip of a lifetime :)
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