Day 3 starts with one of my favorites (again) – tarte aux pommes. I get a nice piece on our (rather) early way to the most famous glass pyramide in the world. Juli is, as usual, extremely well prepared and we start our queuing from the on-merged shopping mall. Still a few minutes (30+) pass, but in a rather relaxed way until we can start into the former fortress – now huge museum complex – Le Louvre.
We start with ancient greece in the Richelieu wing (vases, sculptures of fighting scenes and a lot of nudity) on to some highlights like Venus de Milo, the statue of Athena and a small version of the Egyptian Sphinx until we arrive in the medival foundations of the very building we were in. The start of the Louvre itself – in medival times as fortress. When we climbed two flights of stairs to the Etruscan section – in Julis perception a rather underwhelming era with a lot of pottery and figurines, but nothing that sticks in the mind. Markus was rather fond of the different overall developments of figurines and at least the comedian depectations stuck out in this section – but agreeable it was one of the lesser spectacles today. We felt quite fascinated by the different decoration of the rooms, some were quite colourful and rich with gold and frescos, others rather plain and pale. A result of the changes and expansions of the Louvre over the decades. At the end Juli wanted to see a whole different section, Napoleon III. lavish appartments. Not easily impressed by imperial luxurity, but this was a whole different level of pomp and extravagance. From chinese drawing-rooms and theater-rooms that can hold 11 seat rows to a spectacular dining-room with chandeliers and a 20 meter long table granting space for 42 guests. Julis special appreciation for the finishing lines of our visit to this amazing museum, which would take us at least several more days in total to see all the exhibits. All the more reason to come back one day 🙂
After the enjoyable japanese dinner yesterday, we decided to pick more European food today and the nice pizza place was pretty much around the corner for us after the exhausting stay in the museum. Pendino’s looked quite cozy (crowded) from the outside, but again after yesterday’s ramen place every square inch easily translates into plentyful space. The service was very friendly and the quality of the food good.
From here we made our way through the Tuilleries Gardens and to Place de la Concorde where we stopped shortly for a rest of our feet and watched the tennis live broadcast close to the roland garros setup they made there. We picked the metro to cover the rest of the distance and walked up to the Arc de Triomph. Countless steps (approx. 240) on our way up, until we met almost on top the small overview with history on the arc itself. From there it was only a few meters to the rooftop with a marvellous sight across and about Paris. Most hallmarks are easily spottable from up here and some, like the other “grand arc” in the banking district La Defense really discovered for the magnficient landmarks they are.
From here we decided to travel back to Montmartre and enjoy the dawn at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. A decision a few other (hundred) people joined us. At the stairs leading up a piano player covered french and international pop songs and we took the chance to get a glimpse of the church.
To make the most of our day, we decided to check out the local neighbourhood and decided for “La Astoria” – a very nice bar in our immediate walking distance to experience a bit more of the very present night-life culture in the quarter. The service and the menu were giving us great choices, Juli went for a classic Aperol Spritz and Markus tried first the Audrey’s dance (rum, salted butter, cardamom, tonka, Amaretto and pistachio) which had a nice twist, and closed the evening with a classic Amaretto sour before we decided to go back to our apartment.