The Louvre

Looking back to our first day in Paris, it seemed so long ago.  As I settled into the hostel, I thought about all of the wonderful things I would do in the next few days...but first, the Louvre awaited my arrival.  All I needed was my passport and a metro ticket and I was all set to head out for the largest museum in the world.  With our passports, we were all able to gain access to the countless pieces of artwork in the Louvre for free (at least from 6pm-9:45pm).  Upon our arrival, we split off into groups and spread throughout the museum in order to see each piece that we desired.  Although we had almost four hours to wander, I feel I merely scratched the surface of what was there, waiting to be seen in the Louvre.

The one piece that I was set on seeing was the Mona Lisa.  I had trouble figuring out exactly how the museum was set up, and got lost a few times because of the overall size of the Louvre, but eventually, I was on the right track and I found the area where it would be found.  I completely forgot about how large (or small) the painting was supposed to be, and I ended up anticipating a huge painting, when, in fact, it was extremely small.  Even after the slight disappointment of how tiny the Mona Lisa was, I still traveled on through the vastness of the Louvre until closing time.  I felt as though I would need a week to successfully find my way through the entire museum and I hope one day that I will be given the opportunity to return to France and see all that I didn't get a chance to see.

Overall, this trip has been phenomenal and I am so blessed to have been given the chance to attend this class and I thank Dr. Logan and Dr. Pflanze for coming up with the curriculum for this course to allow us all to partake.