Places to be......

There are some places in this world that every person should visit. I think perhaps that Paris is one of those places.... and at the moment it is full of every person in the world visiting it and it is not even tourist season yet!!!!
I had met the crowds of tourists on the day I arrived as I ventured out into Paris to get a quick orientation. Notre Dame oozed thousands and the other million was walking along the Seine.
I decided that it would be  better to get out early so that the beauty was not hidden by people.
Walking through cobbled streets towards the Seine, I saw the signs that spoke of stories long ago - Rue Voltaire, Rue Monsieur le Prince , and especially Boulevard St Michel.... cos we all know the song.
The Seine was calm... no boats and no people. The city was gradually coming to life as workers plodded to their daily job and cars were driven through quiet streets. I wandered into the Place de la Louvre... I was about first there.

The architecture is wonderful. The sheer beauty and splendour of the constructions is amazing and I guess it is really the grandeur

I spent ages wandering around the outside.... wondering how one actually got inside!!!!!!!

THEN... I went through an arch and saw across the place a line of people.. already!

The Louvre is amazing.. an awesome collection of beautiful and wonderful pieces. I can't possibly write about all of it... but yes Venus de Milo was there.... but I couldn't find Mona. One of the most awesome sights was the Napoleonic Apartments.. such absolute splendour. You can almost imagine the intrigue and the whisperings within those walls and amongst that wealth.

This was the sight that greeted me when I left!!!

And then came the hordes.. it became impossible to move as there were so many people. I know.. I had been told that there would be crowds but I still imagined some level of motion occurring! I had been there for three and a half hours.... and I had seen what I wanted to and could see.

It was beautiful to wander in the Jardin de Tuillieries and along the Place de la Concorde... along the Champs Elysees and towards the Arc de Triumphe... I thought of Hitler , when France surrendered and he had his troops drive up the Champs Elysses..........

By the time I wandered and so on I had done 6 hours so I figured it was time to have a little sleep........