Paris - Day 2 - Louvre

For the impatient, the whole album of days 0-2:

Paris 1

1. The Louvre:
   
   Taking some advice, I got up and got going early enough to make it to the Louvre at opening (9am). I was, as a result, one of the first 100-200 people in the museum, which was nice.
   
   Morning at the Louvre:
   

   From Paris 1

   From Paris 1

   
   Only other person in the sculpture hall was the security guard/person:
   

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   I saw something recently, some arts rant/ mini-movie that talked about the backsides of statues, so I was inspired to take this picture (which I think turned out quite well):
   
   

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   Also, this dude has a great eyebrow:
   

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   Psyche and Cupid:
   

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   Famous stuff I got to see:
   
   1. A quick glance at the Mona Lisa (sheesh. That room was *packed*!)
      
   2. The Nike of Samothrace
      
   3. Cupid & Psyche
      
   4. Probably other stuff that I had no idea was famous.
      
   I concentrated mainly on Greek/Roman/Etruscan statuary to maintain my sanity. I also gave up after about 2 hours, being parched, and a bit overwhelmed. The din didn't help. Everything is marble, so the noise of hordes of tourists became deafening.
2. Walking to Place de la Concorde
   My first view of the Eiffel tower:
   

   From Paris 1

   
   After leaving the Louvre and discovering that it had basically stopped attempting to drizzle, I decided to walk around, to the Eiffel tower, Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Trioumphe, which was about 3.5 mi total at that point, and then I kept walking.
   
   Views while walking:
   

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   Cleopatra's needle and the Eiffel tower:
   

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   The base of Cleopatra's needly bears a drawing/schematic filled in with gold that shows something of how they transported the thing to Paris.
   
   I enjoy that the Place de la Concorde also holds this gem:
   

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3. Arc de Triomph, "eh, it's not that far..."
   

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   When I arrived, I discovered that entrance to the underbelly wasn't free. Psh. So, I took a few pictures and kept walking.
   
   

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   At that point, I could see the Eiffel tower, and figured 'Hey, why not?'
   
   
4. Eiffel Tower
   Voila:
   

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   I decided that I did not feel like putting up with a 1-2hr wait in line to get up the tower and see possibly not much, and in poor lighting (see: it had been raining). So, I had an espresso and sat and looked at the tower for a while.
   
   
5. Etc
   Walking along, I stumbled into this in a random alleyway:
   

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Some notes:

1. I really should have brought a bag to carry water in. I was parched.
   
2. I was kind of nervous about stopping at a cafe. I knew there were three different price schemes (at the bar (cheapest), inside, outside (most expensive)) and I also had experienced that despite everyone's claims, plenty of people in Paris spoke no English. And, as proven before, my ability to speak even miniscule amounts of French was laughable. So, I just didn't stop. Turns out, this was a bad idea.
   
3. Sunscreen. Wear sunscreen. Even if it's supposed to rain, and you have the (sorely mistaken) notion that you'll be spending 5 hrs in the Louvre/inside, out of the 12 or so hours you have to be out and about. I didn't, and was lobster-ish by the end of the day. This also didn't help my mood.
   

There's this quote about Paris being a moveable feast.
I'll comment on this.
Imagine a corridor heading off to the horizon, full of table after table of delicious-looking food, ready to be shoveled or tong-ed or slid onto your plate. The near-infinitude of this room should inspire you to reconsider the common buffet technique of sampling a bit of everything. That way lies madness. Your plate is of limited size, in contrast to the room. This is my feel both on the Louvre and Paris as a whole. There are a lot of beautiful, interesting things. Resign yourself to not seeing them all. Prioritize. Enjoy thoroughly what you decide to go see. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses, drink the wine, have a coffee, enjoy the breeze.