After Thursday's picnic lunch, Kathleen, still nursing a cold, went back to the hotel for a nap. She needed the rest and I needed to see the Louvre so splitting up killed two birds with one stone (please note: no actual birds were harmed in the making of this cliche).
I continued on to the Louvre museum. The Louvre was first constructed as a defensive fortress under Philippe-Auguste before he left for the Crusades in 1190. It became a royal residence in 1358 when it was occupied by Charles V. The architect, Raymond du Temple, converted the fortress into an elegant Gothic palace and added extensive gardens. Subsequent rulers continued to modify the palace and grounds. In the early 1980s a glass pyramid by I. M. Pei was created to serve as an entrance to the museum. In this way, the Louvre displays architecture and art from more than 800 years of French history.
The French love the Mac. I was delighted to see a tangerine iMac placed as a point-of-sale terminal in the Louvre gift shop. The original design for the Macintosh in 1984 is on display in the New York City Museum of Modern Art so I was not surprised to find the iMac also on display in a museum. It is nice to see people value good industrial design. The store manager was surprised when I asked to take a picture of his computer but he got into character with gusto as he hailed the nearest available female for a kiss on the hand.
My favorite part of the Louvre museum was the Egyptian antiquities section where I took this picture of a colorful mummy.
Here is a picture of me with the pharoah Ramses.
I also liked the Greek antiquities section. I really liked this relief but I failed to get the name of it. If anyone out there recognizes this work, please email me at steve@stevenestrella.com so I can update this section of the web site.
Finally, there is the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) which was painted in 1503 by Leonardo da Vinci and titled "Portrait of Lisa Gherardini". That evening, Kathleen and I enjoyed dinner at Chez Jean and went back to the hotel to pack for our return home the next day.