Part 3, the Louvre...What can we say?...It was all we imagined and more...Venus de Milo...Final photos of the Louvre...

Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch, also known as Aphrodite of Milos. It was
amazing we got this shot free of on lookers when 100's where crowded around
also trying to take photos.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity to get a photo without more people in the photo. I have an app that removes people however, it impacted the quality inspiring me to leave them.

With only today and tomorrow remaining to see more of Paris, when Friday is laundry and packing day, we must admit we've done our fair share of sightseeing. We're ready to call it a day keeping in mind we have two weeks in London coming up in a few days and more sights to see.

Many of the statues were of a spiritual nature.

Exquisite fireplace and mantel.

Actually, we've seen most of which we wanted to see in Paris leaving nothing nagging at us as a "must do." Considering our combined general lack of interest in sightseeing, we're satisfied that we've done exactly what we'd hoped and we're ready to move on.

Artimes, the Moon Mistress.

Scary looking skeleton statue.

The high cost of great food in Paris and the taxis required to get to the higher quality restaurants can take a huge dent out of one's wallet. London, although not known for great food has reportedly improved over the years and we except prices to be the same.

This statue was make incorporating color.

Tom's picky taste buds makes dining out in mid range restaurants challenging. Either he likes fine dining or fast food, neither of which we do often... the fast food, never.

One can only imagine the skill required for the detail in this sculpture.

Tonight, we're booked for Bistrotters which was in the #2 spot of best restaurants in Paris upon our arrival. It's moved down to the #5 position dropping since we originally booked it. Last night we dined at a very popular restaurant that gained added notoriety when the Obama's dined there awhile ago. We'll report on both restaurants with photos and pricing tomorrow.

These three statues were placed together perhaps created by the same sculptor.

It was hard to get either reservation. Somehow we got lucky when there was waiting lists for weeks. Tonight's reservation sent us several email messages asking for confirmation for our reservation. Guess, they don't wan to miss a beat. Good planning on their part.

It was necessary to raise the camera over the heads of the visitors in order to take this photo.

Overall, dining in Paris has been a bit disappointing. Unless one is prepared to spend US $200, EU $150 for two, most of the food is mediocre at best. Yes, we've had a few good dinners, although not filling, especially when my meals contain a small portion of protein and a few cooked vegetables

The Louvre contained many nudes difficult to identify online.

There's an extra charge as much as US $8, EU $6 to order a side salad of only greens. They don't have salad dressings other than olive oil which I don't care for alone on greens.

I wish we could identify each statue. There hasn't been enough time to research the
subject of every one of our photos.

It's hard to spend that much for a small bowl of mixed greens that aren't satisfying or filling. Each night, after we've gone back to our hotel, I've eaten a good size portion of organic raw nuts to top off the inadequate meal.

From the Roman period.

Tom is able to fill himself with potatoes, bread and rich French sauces made with flour. For me, eating a deck of cards sized portion of salmon and a cup of green beans is hardly satisfying. I know, some may say, if we dined during the day, a smaller dinner would suffice.

Entitled, The Boy Struggling with a Goose by Botheus, possibly from 160 AD.

My way of eating literally kills the appetite for 20 to 24 hours and I can't conceive of eating when not hungry. Tom is always full from the previous night and never cares for breakfast or lunch, although I'd gladly go out to dine with him.

This painting is entitled, The Fish Market After 1621 by Frans Snyder.

I suppose on the upcoming cruise ships we'll have breakfast each day. Its tough not to eat twice a day on a cruise ship. I'll skip the nuts, eat a light dinner and maybe be ready for bacon, eggs and veggies the next morning. After all, we've paid for the food in the recently higher cruise prices over the prices we paid when we last cruised over a year ago from Barcelona to Venice.

Baby angels with Jesus.

Paris is a beautiful, artsy, historical city. Overall, we've enjoyed our time here. However, we aren't city people. We like wildlife, nature, down home warm friendly people and locations filled with natural beauty. Our hotel concierge staff has been wonderful although some, not all, other service staff throughout the city have not been friendly.

Headless statue in a room filled with statues.

Why did we choose Paris and London? Simple answer. We're traveling the world. We felt we couldn't leave them out of our itinerary when neither of us had visited either city.

Tom in front of a statue of a hunter in the center courtyard.

Then again, we chose to visit London when our upcoming cruise sails out of Harwich, England on August 31st and, visiting Paris and then London was a logical way to fill a month's gap in our itinerary.

Another exquisite statue in the courtyard under the glass pyramid.

Also traveling on the Eurostar (the so called, "chunnel") under the Englsh Channel on a train was on the list of things we wanted to experience. In three days, we'll be on that train. That's exciting!

In the center courtyard on the ground floor of the Louvre.

With few tours planned for London, we'll probably plan less in advance on the remaining days waiting to see what we feel like doing day by day.

In the courtyard within the Louvre, surrounded by the glass pyramid, the views were excellent.

Of course, there were many expensive shops on the way to the exit.

I have a planned lunch date with Liz, whom I met through "comments" who lives a train ride away from London, who's coming to the city for the day. How exciting! I'll have a "girl's lunch" and Tom gets a few hours on his own. He'll like that!

Once we exited the Louvre, it didn't take long to find a taxi.

We spotted this view from the window of the cab while we were driving back to our hotel.

For those still working, it's "hump day." Start to relax and wind down for the weekend!

It wasn't long before we spotted the famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower, a short walk
from our hotel which has been a great location for our time in Paris.

Ah, there it is. The Eiffel Tower has been my favorite sight to see in Paris.

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Photo from one year ago today, August 12, 2013:

No photos were posted one year ago. As time marched on as we continued in our travels, eventually we started posting photos every day which will start soon in these "year ago reflections." For details of our story that day with tips we'd discovered required for "turning off the brain at night", please click here.