My first trip to Europe on Freedom of the Seas 9/3/17 with many pictures and video!

[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

So off we went to grab a bite and to the Louvre! I am an art history minor, so I was very excited to see some of the artworks I've studied!

My husband is into records, so he had to make a quick stop here, since it was right by our airbnb :')

 

I had a delicious cappuccino here...but all cappuccinos were delish no matter where I went after this point! Time to get out those Euros. A little tip, while I am thinking of it, take out a bit more Euro than you think you will use. A lot of people and travel bloggers tell you that you can charge almost everything, but a lot of the places we went were cash only operations and we used a lot more Euros at restaurants than I thought we would.

We got a baguette sandwich here to eat while walking to the Louvre.

While it was good, WOW the French do love their crusty baguettes! I thought the outer crust of the bread was going to damage my teeth! It was really a great lunch to get on a time crunch though.

Later tonight, will post the review on both the Louvre, D'Orsay, and more (And yes, I met "The LADY")

[Dennis#1]

Great pictures and Paris write-up. I feel I have been to Paris.

[liddia]

Do you have to use vistacity only on a desktop? I tried to search for it on my phone, but came up empty handed

 

 

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[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

Onto the Louvre! Here are some photos my husband took while we headed there. It was a pretty overcast day, so it was comfortable walking around, temperature was mid 70s I believe.

One tip about getting to see a lot of sights in a short amount of time, regardless of what city, is to weave. There are lots of tourists mixed with some locals that move so slow on the street. This is fine for them, as they are stopping to smell the roses, but alas, we didn't have time for that on this trip...so if you are in the same boat, politely but confidently weave around them, otherwise walking behind them will slow you down A LOT. Burn some calories and do the tourist weave!

As you can see from these pictures, Paris was really not crowded when we went. Maybe it was the looming rain clouds and the plummeting temperatures, but this definitely worked in our favor! I didn't seem any winding lines for the Louvre, like the internet said there would be, but I think the weather and temperature had a huge factor in this. With the Paris Pass, they say to enter via the Pyramid and this info is correct. Do not try to enter via a difference entrance if you have the Paris Pass, like internet blogs tell you to do to avoid lines by entering by the Louvre Metro stop.

[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

Some more pictures of before we entered the Louvre

When planning my day in Paris, I knew I wasn't going to even scratch the surface of the artwork I SHOULD see when going to the Louvre. However, I find that seeing just a little is better than seeing none at all, so I made a list of some of the top artworks I wanted to see at each museum for our trip in hopes of seeing some of them. So when you only see a few pictures from some museums from me, know that it is because I was focusing on seeing specific artworks and didn't go through the entire museum.

Some photos of us entering the Louvre through the Pyramid

[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

More pictures...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

First artwork on my list that we went to see was the Winged Victory of Samothrace

 

so magnificent, even more so seeing it in person. It just has a lot of feeling to it, especially with the placement of it, with the staircase leading up to it, it being by the windows giving it dramatic lighting. :eek:

 

 

 

 

 

And now, following the signs to THE LADY, who of COURSE is on my list!

 

 

 

And down the this hallway (I didn't pause to look at hallway names or I don't remember what they were, we were on a mission!)

 

[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

And here she is, folks...:eek:

Here is an idea of the crowd around her...I think this was a "Slow" day at the Louvre, so I wonder how it would be when it's super busy...

And of course, I had to get a selfie with her. This isn't the best one I took, but I do like this one because of the little kid I got in the corner giving me the stink eye :')

 

 

 

 

To see arguably the world's most famous painting in person was beyond awesome for me. While the Mona Lisa is definitely not a FAVORITE artwork of mine, it still was amazing to see and marvel at the history, fame and speculation around the painting. Seeing this was definitely one of the highlights of my trip!

[JamesEM]

Following along.

[rfkeith10]

Looking forward to "sharing" the rest of your trip.

 

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[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

Across from the Mona Lisa is this painting, The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Caliari. It's overlooked because it's competing with the Mona Lisa, but it is the largest painting at the Louvre and it's simply incredible. If you have ever painted anything before, even your own walls of your house, you know that painting something of this size with this much detail is incredible :eek:

 

And of course, when you go through museums, don't forget to look up at the ceilings to get some more awe inspiring artwork

 

My husband was my audio guide in Paris, and he told me this one is called "Searching for Signal" :')

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

Still searching for signal, haha...

 

 

And we found another artwork on my list to see, Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People"

 

 

 

And another artwork on my list, "The Raft of the Medusa" by Théodore Géricault.

[aubreyc1988]

And some more sculptures...

 

 

While not on my list of "MUST SEE", I really like this "flying mercury" by Giambologna.

 

 

 

On my list were both of Michelangelo's "Slaves" - so awesome :eek:

[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

And here are some more ceiling pictures! Sorry, I couldn't resist sharing, they are incredible! :o

[aubreyc1988]

Do you have to use vistacity only on a desktop? I tried to search for it on my phone, but came up empty handed

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I just searched the appstore for visit a city. If you can't get to it that way, maybe go to the vistacity.com on your phone browser and see if clicking the mobile link on there will send you to the app!

[Miryam1234]

Thanks for sharing your trip. Looking forward to Freedom part.

 

 

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[October17]

Thank you for taking the time to do this. I'm going on the same cruise on October 15th, so it is great to read!

[Milwaukee Eight]

Plane Ride

 

They also give you a airline pillow and blanket and headsets for the screen in front of you, which were all actually not bad quality. Kept two of the airline blankets for future use - I'm a thrifty girl and I love "Free" or included things, haha

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn't aware Pillows and Blankets were a gift? I thought they cleaned them after usage. We flew across on Delta.

 

 

 

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[aubreyc1988]

Thank you for taking the time to do this. I'm going on the same cruise on October 15th, so it is great to read!

 

you are going to have an AMAZING first cruise!

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

aubreyc1988 ~ following along on your trip report which is lovely so far.(y) Thanks, thanks also for mentionning Visit A City. I'd never heard of it & see that it can be very helpful in planning a trip.

 

BTW I liked Freedom of the Seas so much I cruised on it twice, but only in the Caribbean. Loved my promenade cabins.

Looking forward to the rest of your story.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[MCazer]

Looking forward to more posts as we sail on the Freedom on Oct 5th on a similar route

[butterfly529]

Now this wants me to make a stop in Paris!! :) :) ;p

[aubreyc1988]

Paris (Cont...)

 

After leaving the Louvre, we walked the Musee d'Orsay. While I loved the Louvre, both my husband and I were very excited to go to the Orsay, because we both have favorite artworks and artists on display there. Some of my favorite artists are Monet, Rodin, Degas, and of course Van Gogh...just a huge Impressionist fan.

Here are some pictures I snapped while walking to d'Orsay, which isn't a far walk from the Louvre

Always neat to see the Eiffel Tower, even in the distance

The Seine

One of the Seine river cruise boats...

Outside the d'Orsay, which wasn't busy at all

[aubreyc1988]

d'Orsay in Paris

 

 

 

 

Blue Water Lilies, Monet

More Monet

Here is a Degas...also one of my favorites...not sure why, but I love his Ballerina paintings and I am not even a huge fan of ballet haha

[aubreyc1988]

d'Orsay in Paris Continued...

The Orsay is a lot smaller than the Louvre so its easy to get it done in 2-3 hrs, but I think we were here maybe an hour or so.

Renoir, Bal du Moulin de la Galette

 

Looking back at my pictures and thinking back on my visit here, I do not know how I could have missed seeing Degas "Small Dancer" sculpture, as it is one of my favorites...but somehow I missed it. Part of the CON of flying through museums in a single day in Paris, but all the more reason to come back!