Chapter 11: "Lisa? Is that really you?"

Today was the day after the night I realized that in order to not forget anything important during my trip I would need to make a list of to-do's and forgo the slightly sloppy nature I was enjoying so much thus far; there was only so much time and really much more to see than time would allow. I fought hard against such reason but struck a healthy balance as things went on. It was a Wednesday and since it was looking like an indoor day I decided to go to the Louvre. Good call.

The Louvre is big - everyone knows that. What they may not know is that there is a metro stop dedicated for just the Louvre "Palais Royal Musee du Louvre." Actually there are two stops if you count the "Louvre Rivoli," a stop directly before the Louvre that is made up to look like the Louvre's inside. I got off there first just to check it out. American tourist strikes again. When I got off at the Louvre I went out the metro exit and directly into a mini-mall full of gift shops - the Louvre had been built around the metro stop so-to-speak, or maybe the other way around. Paris has the world's oldest metro system but which came first - the Louvre or the Metro? As I pondered ancient history the pain in my bladder beckoned me towards this high class looking bathroom that I had to pay 1 euro to use. It was kind of worth it in a (stupid American tourist) way. The super-sonic air dryer thingy was cool... I went up the escalator and bought my ticket from the kiosk - only 9 euros! Cheap! Back down and around, through a line that ended in an x-ray machine for my bag and I was in a hallway of more gift shops. Is there anywhere I won't find a Starbucks?! Actually, to be honest I kind of enjoyed a small piece of home away from home just this once ;) Through the hallway was a huge indoor promenade and in the center an info booth full of maps in seven different languages and a thoroughly linguistic staff there to assist all the camera-faces. The ceiling was a huge glass window made up of triangle panes. There were three main escalators - one for each wing the museum. The noise of a thousand tourists echoed off every marble surface as normal conversations at deafening volume. I realized immediately that what my mom had said was true: you really could spend an entire week in the Louvre! I had one main thing to do first: find the Mona Lisa.

Like any smart marketer knows, you put your prize attraction at the end of the maze so that everyone has to go through everything else to get to it. I swore many times that I had taken a wrong turn until I saw the familiar 11" x 17" photocopy of the Mona Lisa with the big arrow on it (pointing the way) attached to a metal stand. These were set out at every corner for us mice. The Louvre's architecture inside was equally impressive as it's outside (well, it was nice anyway) with high ceilings with tons of adornment, all marble floors and winding staircases. Very easy to get lost; I did numerous times. There was an incredible amount of work put into transforming the interior for each exhibit - definitely a prized possession of France. Good job dudes.

At the base of a huge staircase I found myself staring up at The Winged Victory of Samothrace. She stood upon a massive base of stone at the stairway's center like a diva holding the spotlight, perfectly complementing the stairways split upwards on either side. There's just something hard to understand about a sculpture over 2,000 years old. The brain no gets it. I went up the left wing and into the royal ballroom where napoleon and others once danced and drank. The ceiling was incredibly intricate with paintings on the walls themselves as well as some that hung in frames (which I think were actually part of the wall meant to look like frames) all adorned by sculptures of angels and grape leaves etc. So cool. Oh - and it was all gold. I forgot that part. That does say Royalty... After a few more twists and turns (and the feeling that this whole Mona Lisa thing was just an elaborate rouse to get me to fly overseas) I caught several flashes out of the corner of my eye from a small, pretty inconspicuous doorway. This had to be the place - I just knew it.

Sure enough: there she was surrounded by guards on either side and a sea of 100+ people all crammed together like the front rows of a rock concert. The room was medium sized and a bit more normal than I expected. Light came through a glass ceiling above like the one from the promenade I saw earlier. She hung inside a thick glass case (flash-proof I'm sure) that was incased in steel and covered to match the rest of the surrounding decor. It was it's own partition in the center of the room - a vault that was constructed to look not so vault-like if you know what I mean. It didn't matter either way; it was pretty rad to be a few feet away from the Mona Lisa. I tried to get closer but everyone was packed so tight and pushing and shoving that I had to do things traffic-style and wait until someone wanted to get out, then grab their bubble before someone else got it. Within 20 minutes I was front and center surrounded by cameras over each shoulder within inches of my head. Claustrophobic? Nah. I took some pictures and soaked up the moment.

After I squeezed out of there I went into the room beyond and saw some other nice paintings. It was all red and pretty. Haha! I visited the statues as well, some of which were sculpted by Michelangelo. I think I was there for a few hours but man I got tired fast! Something about the sheer overload of information since I'd arrived in Paris was starting to wear on me I think. What a great way to wear out!

I picked up a few things at the gift shop before I left and sat for a while at the Starbucks inside where a crazy lady made a scene. It felt good to sit and do nothing at all. I sat there thinking about the whole experience thus far: how crazy it was that I decided to just up and go and that right now for the first time ever I was on the other side of the world sitting in a coffee shop wondering what MY side was up to. Well, sometimes the grass is greener and sometimes you really do find the best patch.

On the way home I was looking out the window as the metro came to a stop and I saw mon petit shu (my little cabbage.) All dressed in black (and she's so pale, she's waiting there for me!) she stood there looking down as she balanced on the outsides of her feet while waiting for her metro. She looked just like Amelie! So Cute! We waived goodbye as I departed. That marked the second farewell to beautiful women I had seen that day. How else would things end up in the city of romance?

Later in the evening Lotfi and I jammed a bit. I think I was on the second bottle of wine I had bought since I'd arrived and it was very nice. Jams in the finest wine country can never go wrong...