Friday, May 11, 2018

May 11, 1969 Paris, France

Another day in Paris and my diary records our aggravation.  Funny that after all these years I still remember how disappointed we were in our experience that day.

We started the day by going to the Louvre.  Here is my picture from 1999 with the I. M. Pei pyramid that of course was not there in 1969.
In the couple of hours we were there we did manage to see the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory at Samothrace and the Mona Lisa.  Here I am as Venus in 1999:

As I remember it, we spent two hours roaming around with a museum guidebook that seemed out of date.  We were frustrated and ended up leaving.  We chalked it up to being unwelcome Americans. My 1999 trip back was much more enjoyable.

We went through the Jardin de Tuileries
The Garden of the Tuileries on a Spring Morning
The Garden of the Tuileries on a Spring Morning - Camille Pissarro

and on to the Place de la Concorde.  Up the Champs-Elysee
Oil by Christa Kieffer that hangs in my family room.

to the Place de l'Etoile and the tomb of the unknown French soldier.

From there it was onto the Tour Eiffel where we had lunch on the 2eme etage at the Plein Ciel.  It was marvelous.
Eiffel Tower in 1999 with countdown to the new millenium.
The view.

One cannot go to Paris without cruising on the Seine and so we spent an hour doing just that!

The day costs me $10.30 including the aforementioned useless guidebook.

11 comments:

  1. It just amazes me how little you spent on most days. Such a fraction of what today's amounts would be.

    betty

    ReplyDelete
  2. The last time I went up the Eiffel Tower was with a group of schoolmates when we all turned 40 the same year. Nice restaurant up there! Another great wander aroung Denise.

    Welcome to Keith's Ramblings!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember being frustrated in the Louvre as well, Denise. We wandered a lot - did see the Mona Lisa and Venus, but I knew I was missing so much.
    Still, seems like you got a lot out of that day for $10!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe they keep a special stack of guides just for Americans, lol.

      Delete
  4. I had the same problem with the guidebook at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum a couple years ago. Was there for three hours by myself and didn't see hardly anything. Though I did develop a fondness for Dutch painters! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really want to go back and check out The National Gallery in D. C. to view all the Russian artwork that was sold to Andrew Mellon so they could fund the new Russia after the revolution. Have you read the Madonnas of Leningrad?

      Delete
  5. You didn't comment on the Mona Lisa - apart from intensely disliking the painting, I was shocked at how tiny it was/is. Did you cruise on a Bateau Mouche on the Seine?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't comment on the Mona Lisa but I should have said that when we first saw it you could stand much closer than we did in 1999. When I read that Leonardo may have done a self-portrait of himself in the Mona Lisa, it made sense considering I did not find her in the least bit attractive. Can't remember what we were on for the cruise.

      Delete
    2. I always remember, many years ago, a friend of my mother's saying she thought Leonardo had painted all the things he least liked about women in that picture. I read about the self portrait too which could also be right.

      Delete
  6. Lovely images, Denise. My one and only trip to Paris was in 1966. Sadly, we never went up the Eiffel Tower or into the Louvre. The Pyramid looks so out of place! A pity you didn't have a better experience. At least you were able to go back at a later date!

    ReplyDelete
  7. My ex went up the Eiffel Tower but not me and I’m fine with that. We didn’t cruise on the seine but I plan to rectify this in the future. I had a great experience in the Louvre. We spent the day in the German/Netherlands area for most of the day and then we scooted to the Italian area to see the most famous paintings like the Mona Lisa, Napoleon crowing himself and Liberty freeing the people. It is fun to remember back...

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your comments and will try to reply on this blog and visit your blog when available.