Cracking the Da Vinci Code

So back to Paris... I had planned to go to bed early last night but we were having way to much fun at our Picnic in the Tuileries. We really enjoyed the champagne we had purchase earlier that day at the Moet Cellars. I went to bed late and prepared myself for an early alarm to go off the next morning. I had a very exciting day planned for myself!

I woke up around 8 had an early breakfast and ran to wait in line for the Louvre Museum.  Meg and the other girls had made different plans for the day so I had the entire day to explore the museum. I got there around 8:45am and the line was just starting to build. The museum doesn't open till 9 so I had to wait for about 15minutes but then got right in without much waiting at all.

The Louvre is huge and a bit of a maze so I would definitely recommend getting a map/floor plan. I rented an audio guide for 5euros for the day and it was very useful. It even had a navigation system that could direct me anywhere in the Museum. I began looking at the history of the Louvre Museum but I wasn't that impressed so I headed for a section I knew I would enjoy. To get to the Egyptian Antiquities collection you first have to walk through a Collection of the Medieval Louvre which includes the model room and Medieval Moat pictured above.

When you get to the giant Sphinx turn left for the Egyptian Antiquities or right for the Greek Antiquities.

I went left. 

I love this little hippo, ain't he just the cutest?!

Tomb entrance 

Tomb walls -to bring prosperity to their afterlife.

I really loved all the Ancient Egyptian jewelry, anyone know where I can get something similar?

Ancient Sarcophagus 

Real live (well actually dead) Mummy!

The famous Seated Scribe 

I took an Egyptian Art and Architecture course at College so I got to see almost everything I studied. Real life > class/text books

The Winged Victory of Samothrace also known as Nike of Samothrace 

Next I headed to the Collection of Decorative Arts. The first stop was the Department of Decoratice Arts' new galleries:  From Louis XIV to Louis XVI, the Art of French Living 

A collection of Marie Antoinette's Snuff boxes

Anyone care for a Souvenir?

The French really do live quite glamorously, don't they...

Next up in the Decorative Arts collection was Napoleon III Apartments. 

So outrageously over the top...

I'll take both tiaras, k thanks.

After this I took a quick break for lunch, I went to one of the cafes towards the entrance of the museum. They are slightly expensive but they are the fastest and easiest option, plus they don't let you bring food or drinks into the museum. I got a water, preprepared sandwich and a bag of chips and after 30minutes I was back on my way through the museum. After lunch I noticed the museum had become much more crowded, which made it a little more difficult to get around.

I passed by the room of Greek sculptures on my way to the Masterpieces.

Room filled with only Peter Paul Rubens 

The Lacemaker by Johannes Vermeer 

The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I by Jacques Louis David 

These were the only decent pictures I could get of the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, because she was surrounded by a giant mob of people trying to get a picture of her. 

See what I was dealing with... but according to Instagram She IS always mobbed.

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Véronese

Unfortunately, this ends my magical tour of the Louvre Museum. I ran out of memory on my camera and I forgot to bring my other memory card with me. I took a bunch of pictures on my phone but I think everybody knows by now it was stolen. I plan to go back someday and I am reminding myself now to make sure I have enough memory cards with me... 

Tips for the Louvre: The museum opens at 9 but get there early, the lines can be a really long wait. Get an audio guide or go on a guided tour, its definitely worth knowing what you are looking at. There is also a phone app you can download, but it's not free. The Museum is open everday except Tuesday. The hours are 9am-6pm except Wednesdays and Fridays its 9am-9:45pm but be aware they start closing everything 30 minutes before the actual close time. And most importantly enjoy it! Don't listen to the people who say it's not that great or it's underwhelming. I was thoroughly enthralled the whole time I was there and I didn't even get to see everything. I could've probably spent the entire week there. I absolutely loved it.