In which we go to the Louvre and climb the Arc de Triomphe

Sunday was the first Sunday in February, which meant that many of the big Paris museums were free. Thus far, we have mostly gone to smaller museums on first Sundays, because the crowds at the big museums can be out of control, despite the fact that they don't really advertise the fact that they are free. However, it seemed a bit silly to spend a year (actually, 13 months) in Paris, and not actually go to the Louvre or the Orsay or Versailles.

We arrived at the Louvre around 10, and were surprised to see that there was virtually no line for clearing security. They x-rayed my backpack, we all walked through a metal detector (which was not very sensitive, since the set of keys in my pocket didn't set it off) and into the Louvre. First, we headed for the children's bookstore at the Louvre, because we were hoping to find a book which would allow the kids (at any rate, the older kids) to get more out of the museum. Blaise had done some looking online, but we wanted to actually have a chance to flip through the books before we went ahead and bought any. We ended up picking Discover the Louvre Together, after having some discussion about whether we should buy it in the original French or in the English translation.

Then we headed into the museum proper, accompanied by Cherry, whose feelings were hurt because we hadn't gotten a book for her so that she would be able to get more out of the Louvre. Unfortunately, there aren't really any such books. Evidently 3 year olds aren't expected to benefit from their trip to the Louvre. I checked our backpack at the baggage check after shoving my coat and Cherry's coat inside. (Baggage and coat check are separate, and I didn't feel like waiting in two lines.) Then we headed upstairs to the Italian art. Problem: the artwork is hung at eye level for an adult, which is, of course, over the head level for a preschooler. In order for Cherry to be able to see what was going on, and for us to be able to talk about the art, she would need to be carried. Blaise took care of the big kids (who can now identify paintings of St. Sebastian without difficulty--just look for the arrows) and I took Cherry. Mostly we looked at and talked about Mary and Baby Jesus paintings (since that was about 60% of the content of the gallery and Cherry likes babies). We found all the animals hidden in the picture, and all the angels (and cupids, though not in the same pictures). We identified all of the paintings in which Baby Jesus was getting mama milk. (We also saw the Mona Lisa and the Wedding at Cana. Cherry was not impressed. No babies.)

Once we had finished with the Italian gallery, we headed for the Egyptian gallery, which, unfortunately, was completely devoid of babies, with or without wings. Cherry identified some animals for me, and then proceeded to whine and squirm. Neither the mummy cases nor the massive urns held any interest for her. Once we reached the end of the Egyptian gallery, Blaise and the kids staked out a table on the mezzanine while I headed down to a (very busy) bag check to pick up our backpack and lunch.

After lunch (and a trip back to the bag check, and yet another trip to the toilet with Cherry (if you need directions to the bathrooms in the Louvre, just ask me)) we headed up the other side of the Louvre to Napoleon's apartments. Of course, the first words out of Cherry's mouth were, "I need to pee." I managed to prevail on Blaise to take her to the men's room by observing that the line to the women's room was out the door and halfway down the corridor, while the men's room had virtually no line. (Five minutes later I sent Ezio in to join them.) Cherry came out jabbering about how she had gotten to use a girl's potty even though she was in the boy's bathroom. Evidently that was quite the surprise for her. She was less enamored by the chandeliers and fancy furniture of Napoleon's suite, though she did think that the dining room table which sat 44 people was worth commenting on.

By the time we'd made our way through to the end, all of us (even Blaise) had reached saturation, so I took Sapphire and Cherry to the bathroom and Blaise picked up our bag, and we headed for the train station. A few minutes later, we got off at Charles de Gaulle-Étoile and headed for the Arc de Triomphe, which is free on only winter first Sundays. (Because who in their right mind would want to climb it then.) Once we had picked up our free tickets, we got in line to climb the 284 steps to the top. (Actually, I'm not sure whether it's 284 steps to the top, or 284 steps to the first floor. There appears to be some discrepancy depending on where you look.) We spent 20 minutes or so looking at the city of Paris from on high. Cherry tried to make the telescopes work (they needed money) because they were silver and gold and shiny. Then we headed back down the stairs (on the other side of the Arc) and back home.