Louvre

As Friday is a late night closing for the Louvre, we decided to spend the whole day there today. It was a beautiful day and the line was almost non- existent so in no time at all we were inside the main building under the galss pyramid and purchasing our tickets. As usual, we decided to have a coffee and snack before beginning our time in the galleries. We always plan our own program so that we can each take our time looking at the particular exhibits that interest us. So, after coffee we went our own way and planned to meet again in 2 hours. I particularly wanted to spend time revisitng the large format French paintings of Delacroix and Gericault. On the way I saw the splendid sculpture - The Winged Victory of Samothrace. I spent a great deal of time in the Denon Wing on the first floor where I spent time studying magnificent pieces such as ' The Wedding Feast at Cana' by Veronese and works by Titian, Ribera, Velasquez and Goya.
We met and ate lunch before separating again. This time I visited Sully wing on the ground floor to view the Arts of Islam and temporary exhibition of Islamic pieces including books, ceramics, metalwork and textiles. I also spent time in the area that features the amazing sculptures of winged bulls from Mesopotamia as well as the parading lions in glazed bricks.
Later, Chardin, Latour, Watteau, Fragonard, Ingres and Corot were all part of my afternoon in the Louvre. To complete my visit to the Louvre, I enjoyed the sculpture of French artists of 18-19 centuries as well as the collections of sculpture to be found in the open courtyards of Marly and Puget.
We took the Metro back to our hotel and after dumping our bags and freshening up we went to a nearby street to find a place to eat. We found a restaurant specialising in Moroccan dishes. We ordered two different Tagines and then we shared some delicious fruity sorbet. Our favourite was black currant sorbet. Yumm!!