Winged Victory: the Nike of Samothrace, the Louvre

10.15 -- Arrival in Paris!
The whole of Paris is being cleaned, renovated, repaired, etc., all in preparation for the Olympic Games next year.  Fortunately, this did not impede city traffic too much.
Met a woman on the bus, a ballet teacher working at the Dance Academy in nearby Tilburg.  I'll call her Tascha.  She was also alone so she was sat next to me.  While the bus was still largely empty, she sat by herself on some empty seats and she had brought along literally a lot of stuff.  Anyway, we got acquainted and she suggested perhaps taking a day trip together should I be so inclined next time.  I asked for her number and said I'd let her know 'next time', whenever that was.  She said she wanted to see the Palais Garnier, I said I knew the way there from a previous visit and could walk with her in that direction.  I did notice, though, that I was tired from the bus ride because I hadn't been able to sleep properly.  Nevertheless, off we went.

11.00 -- After much dilly-dallying in the Place Vendôme, we reached Café de la Paix, where I had enjoyed a good lunch on a previous visit, and we had breakfast (croissant and jus d'orange for me), during which we finally agreed that going our separate ways would be best as I had already seen the Opera Garnier and had set my sights on other spots, while she was keen to visit the Pompidou district.

12.00-ish -- Walked to the Eglise de Madeleine, Napoleon's cathedral.  It is being cleaned on the outside, part of the general city clean-up, but the interior was open to visitors.  Took a few shots there, didn't tarry because a service was going on.  Wandered afterwards towards the Place de la Concorde and then strolled through the Jardín du Tuileries, on my way to the real objective of this trip, which was the Louvre.
By this time, it was a whopping 25 deg. Celsius and I was terribly overdressed, but the airconditioning in the bus was a killer and it had still been cool earlier in the morning.  Never mind, I rested often anyway because my legs were suddenly tired.  Plus point -- my slow progress ensured that I did not take any wrong steps which could have led to foot cramp.

13.00 -- the Louvre!  Finally!  Had to queue because I hadn't bought any online tickets, because as late as yesterday, I wasn't really sure I would be in the mood to go there at all.  Mercifully, waiting time was a mere 20 minutes and before I knew it, I was in.

13.30 to 17.00 -- Explored the Louvre.  Again at a snail's pace, especially when I had to climb steps.  So many artefacts from antiquity, so many paintings and sculptures.  Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, France... I especially enjoyed pieces rescued from the rubble of the ancient palace of King Darius I, which reminded me of my memorable visit to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.  

Main shot shows my absolute favourite -- the Winged Victory statue, the Nike of Samothrace.  Here's a link -- 
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1412/winged-victory-the-nike-of-samothrace/

Extra 1 -- The Ellaphant dwarf monkeying around in the Place Vendôme
Extra 2 -- The beauteous La Gioconda, a.k.a. the Mona Lisa!  Some elbowing was necessary, and some aggressive voice exercises needed against some rather corpulent foreigners who wanted to hog their positions in the front while they posed a lá Beyonce and took up so much time, and precious space, bringing out the stinging side of the Ellaphant who refused to allow herself to be pushed aside by some of the layers of cellulite.  My my... shame om La Gioconda for bringing out some negative aspects of character in her admirers.
Extra 3 -- the famous Venus de Milo ... wow!  She looks like she's lounging, and perhaps she was!  The crowds weren't so thick here.
Extra 4 -- a candid shot of the circular fountain in Les Tuileries just before I entered the inner courtyard with the pyramid entrance
Extra 5 -- another shot of the Winged Victory statue.  I do not know why, but seeing it moved me almost to tears.  It is such a gorgeous piece of work.

18.00-ish -- Back at Café de la Paix, this time for a simple dinner of French onion soup, quiche Lorraine, and salad.  Really took my time.  It was still way too early to walk back to the bus, but as my walk had changed to a slow shuffle by the time I was done at the Louvre (all those long passageways and halls and climbings of stairs!) I knew I would need half of the remaining time to reach the pick-up point.

19.00-ish -- Left the café and started on my walk back.  Made better time as I was able to rest my legs during dinner, but why rush?  Indeed, took a couple of shots of the bridge leading to the Dôme des Invalides (no time to go there anyway) and of course of the Eiffel.

20.00-ish -- Back at the pick-up point.  Sat down to rest and wait, a bit of walking.
21.30 -- Our bus returned.
21.45 -- Departure, as the chauffeur had already informed us earlier.
This time, I fell asleep in a somewhat more comfortable position, with no energy left to chat with Tascha.  She did ask me where I'd been.   The trip back was uneventful and I was asleep more than half the time.  Managed to app AW whenever I had Wifi during the day, and told him I should be back at the bus stop at about 06.00.
06.00 -- On the dot, arrival at the bus stop, just as I had predicted.

And that was my Thursday adventure during the May break.  I can review my bucket list and tick off the Louvre -- unbelievable!  What a grand palace it must have been and still is!  To be honest, though, and speaking only for myself, the Pergamon in Berlin will beat it any day, hands down.  As for the palace aspect, I would rather visit Versailles, which I've already seen thrice and which is worth a fourth and fifth revisitation.

Thankful for opportunities, thankful I took this one.