Thursday, May 29. We woke to sunny skies but they soon turned overcast. Nonetheless, we headed off the Louvre. We are beginning to learn our way around the subway system. This is John’s first experience with the Paris subway; his only complaint is that the stations are not well marked at street level. We triple check our decisions just so we don’t end up somewhere unexpected, like we did yesterday.
The two photos on the left show the wonderful lighting provided by the I.M. Pei remodel on the Louvre. And to the right, the ultimate markings of civilization, Starbucks in the Louvre. You got to love it!
The crowds at the Louvre were massive, and they continued to build all morning. I was amazed; thousands of people. It is a French holiday of some sort; but that doesn’t explain the hordes of Japanese. We toured around – were lost most of the time – but saw some of the ‘must see’ pieces.
And then we sought out the stone containing the Code of Hammurabi. (Photo on right) We had read about this set of laws written by this Babylon king last summer. Some think this is the beginning of civilization; the first time that laws were written down. Tthey applied to everyone including the king; the law was written for the common man to read and understand. Of course some may grimace at the thought of civilization beginning with a lawyer.
We had a nice lunch at Café des Nemours (recommended by Rick Steves) then walked along the Tuillieres and took the subway back to the hotel. Tonight we’re taking a four hour “fat tire” bike tour of Paris. We’ll include that in tomorrow’s blog.
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