6th Day [3rd Dec 2008] : Antwerp -> PARIS!

Visited: The Louvre

Most of my pictures were taken in Paris because Paris was one of my "dream holiday" destination. Sorry for the picture overload. hehe. =)


Took a few SS pictures before leaving our beloved apartment in Antwerp.

Every morning when I wake up..and look out the window, I'd see loads of Jewish people walking about. Jewish kids going to school..mothers pushing their prams..dads going to work. It's quite an experience because I've never seen a real jew before. And let me tell you this, it's really fun to watch them walk about because..I don't know. Maybe it's just 'cause we don't see them here. They'd be wearing all black with the same hats, same hairstyles, same shoes..etc. It's like duplicates of 'em walking everywhere. Oh yea, you'd know that they are jews because only jews are allowed to wear the hats they were wearing. Some of the hats are extremely high. And no, this is not an insult. I'm merely explaining how they look like.

A man by the name Luke came to pick us up to the Antwerp Station at 9am for our train ride to Paris. The journey was approximately 2 hours from Antwerp to Paris.

Took a picture with this polar bear at the Antwerp Central because I thought it's cute. haha

We had ALOT of luggage despite the fact that we arrived with merely 4 luggage bags. Will announce the number of luggage bags we brought back home on the last day. X)

So anyway, we arrived around 12pm and it was drizzling in Paris..which was usual at this time of the year. Checked into Hotel Marena and went for some Thai food nearby. The lady boss was just soo nice to us because we were fellow chinese. hahaha. She was happily talking in mandarin to my parents. She smiles alot too. I really liked her friendliness. =)

After lunch, we took a bus no.85 to The Louvre.
When we got down, we were like, "hey? I don't see that TRIANGLE? where is it???? Did we get off on the wrong stop?"
My parents were there before so I asked them, "hey, I thought you said you knew the place... -.-"
My dad went all, "yeah we KNOW, but we're supposed to see that triangle thing and a canal right in front"
So my mom proceeded to ask a Parisian on a bicycle.
Mom, "excuse me, do you know where is The Louvre?"
The lady (looks puzzled) and pointed to the left, "that's the louvre" =)

Me : .................... (wah, it's as embarassing as the time Annie asked for the Body Shop when it's just right in front of her)

*walks further away from mother*
haha. Nah, I'm just kidding. I'm not that evil. X)
I merely said, "WHAT? THAT's the louvre's BACK and we didn't even know?"
gosh....
My parents..especially my mom..would be considered as a "one way" person. The moment they don't see the front, it couldn't be the building. *zha dou*

I took the liberty to take a picture of the BACK of the Louvre just in case any of you are going there someday. Just so you know, it looks like this and you ARE standing behind The Louvre. Don't ask stupid questions like we did. =/

And there it is! THE TRIANGLE!!
I don't know what the big deal is..but....yeah! It's THE LOUVRE TRIANGLE! X)
I've been craving to visit the museum for such a long long time and I am so happy I got to realise my dream so much earlier. Thanks to my beloved mommy and daddy~! =)
Since it's THE place I wanted to go..obviously I had to take pictures of the same place in various angles. Center.
Left.
And right!
I have like...TONS more, but I can't post it all or it'll take ages to load. haha.

Oh, and another picture of me and the fountain nearby.
Aaahh..I can still imagine the Paris breeze~
It was freezing cold.

Ignore my weird hair! It was blown by the wind. Me and my second sis, Charissa~

A sculpture of a man sucking on a womans nipple?
It's an art...............
-_____-
Sometimes I wonder..are all these forms of nude art just...
ANCIENT PORN which the "creator" decided to add some "artistic" story to it just to be able to sell it?
And just because it's been around for God knows how long, these days people claim that it's art as well.
So, what gives?
Humans in the future might excavate some porno cd's from this era and call it art too??

Maybe those sculptors were just pervs?
we'd never know right, since they're dead and all.

But wait a minute, there are nude pictures of angels in the churches too.

Art...........
is complicated.
No wonder most of the artists in those days went insane.

Blah.

Some old parts of The Louvre. Before The Louvre was made into a museum as is made as beautiful as it is today, it was once a castle. And those are real bricks from the castle.

When we entered the museum, the place I wanted to go was to the Egytian Antiquities.

I wanted to see...a mummy.
I love everything that has to do with the Egyptian history!

Randomly posing with 2 lion sculptures.

The sculpture behind me is known as "Victoire de Samothrace". Among all the original Greek works known, it is one of the most important masterpieces of Hellenistic sculpture.

But..the sculpture which moved me the most was this..
A sculpture of an angel and a mortal. It's so...romantic..

I never got to know the story behind this sculpture because everything was written in freaking FRENCH. Don't they know there are TOURISTS who can't speak French at all? *^&#$*@&#$
Should've gotten an audio guide instead of relying on the information plates situated nearby. =(

Sculpture of men looking at their privates and wonders if it is long enough.
heh.
No, I made that up. X)
It was supposed to hold a really large basin in the past. And no, its NOT those wash basins we have at home. When they say a basin, it's basically reffering to something like a half-sphere thing containing water which was considered a decorative art for the filthy rich people in those days.

Another art which is so darn weird I took a picture of it.
What does it symbolises?
Does anyone know?
Wait, let me try.
The snake represents a man. Because men are snakes and men love breasts.
And the woman, although she knows the snake is bloody poisonous and could cause her death, allows the snake to suck her anyway = women knows men are bastards who can ruin their lives but allows them to come into their lives anyway.

Fuuhh.

I'm crapping too much!!

The mona lisa is SMALL.
There's barrier far away from the painting and it's locked in a glass within a glass.
haha.
Shall I describe the story about Mona Lisa from The Louvre?
There are so many version of Mona Lisa : Leonardo's female side, his gf, his wife, etc etc. But I do find this story quite believable. Here goes:


Mona Lisa

She has provoked fascination and fantasy for centuries; yet can anyone exactly explain why she is so famous? Leonardo Da Vinci was not only a painter but also a sculptor, an architect, a musician, a philosopher and an engineer; for centuries before our time, he invented a flying machine. Francis I invited him to come to France and work for him in Fontainebleau.

The identity of the model remained unknown for many years. She is now thought to have been Lisa Gherardini, daughter of a rich family of merchants, who married Francesco del Giocondon in 1495. She is seated on a balcony overlooking an extensive and eerie landscape; strangely shaped rocks can be seen through a bluish mist.

When Leonardo began his potrait, the young woman was in mourning for her baby daughter; this is why she wears a black veil over her head. To lift her spirits, Leonardo brought musicians and clowns into his studio. Their antics brought a smile to her lips, a smile of undefinable sadness and great gentleness, which made the potrait famous.

If viewed for a long period of time, her expression seems to change. Her features seem alive and moving. To make her so astonishingly lifelike, Leonardo used a technique called sfumato which consists of obscuring the countours of the painting, to create the impression of a gentle progression from darkness to light. The artist spent many years working on this potrait, reworking it endlessly to achieve the degree of perfection he desired. He was never parted from it and took it with him on all his travels. It is thought that Francis I purchased it from Leonardo's heirs, many years after the death of the artist.


The story's pretty touching huh?
Here's some pictures of The Louvre at night. =)

It's a really different feeling walking around Paris at night..

Everything feels so calm..

And serene..

=)

While walking to the bus station to ride a bus back to Hotel Marena, we stopped by a restaraunt and ordered a Regina pizza.
Regina was uber delicious. haha. ;p