Day #141 in lockdown Mumbai, India hotel…More photos from Paris in 2014…Le Louvre, a memorable visit…

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On our way to Le Louvre, we drove through the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed on August 31, 1997.

We have yet to hear anything from FedEx about receiving the envelope they are holding in New Delhi containing our credit card when recently the card was used fraudulently and had to be replaced.

The entrance to the Louvre with the Grand Roue de Paris Ferris wheel in the background.

After sending FEDEX India an email, we wait to see what will transpire. There’s nothing more we can do. The cost to be on hold for an extended period on our phone or the hotel room phone is prohibitive. Also, when we did so, we were cut off after 20 minutes and told to try again later or use the website for assistance. 

We were grateful for our “avoid the lines” tickets where we were able to enter in a matter of minutes as opposed to waiting in line for what could have been hours.

We did exactly that and now await a response which may or may not arrive for days to come, if not weeks. Businesses in India have slowed to a snail’s pace due to the extensive COVID-19 lockdown and lack of support staff actually working.

There were many ways one can make their way through the enormous museum.

As far as international flights are concerned, the only outgoing flights at this time are for repatriation purposes or to a few countries such as the UK, where we aren’t interested in visiting at this point.

The vast size of Le Louvre is difficult to fathom.

From this article posted yesterday:
“International travel from India
The international flight operations have not resumed yet. The Bureau of Immigration has announced that all existing visas shall remain suspended till the prohibition on international travel of passengers from/to India is lifted by the Government of India. As of now, international flight operations shall remain suspended till 31 August 2020.”

It took a few moments for Tom to figure out where we were to enter to avoid the line. In minutes we were on our way and indeed had no wait at all.

We continue to wait, as patiently as possible for more news, which we check daily from several sources, including local TV news. In the interim, we can’t go anywhere until we receive the two packages from FedEx. We’re expecting the packages to arrive long before we’re able to leave here. 

We entered the Louis XIV and Louis XVI areas.  The crowds were just beginning to accumulate.

On another note, today’s photos are from our visit on this date in 2014 to Le Louvre in Paris, the world’s most famous museum. It was extraordinary to see the artworks of many historical and modern artists throughout the centuries that have drawn visitors from all over the world. 

We chose to stop and enjoy the paintings that appealed to us.

The painting of high acclaim, the Mona Lisa, was the most surprising when it was very small compared to our previous perception. Of course, it was the most difficult of all the works of art to photograph with literally hundreds of visitors crowding in front of the famous piece.

The Mona Lisa was encased in thick glass with lots of heads and cameras in the way of taking photos. It was challenging if not impossible to manage a good photo through the glass nor through the crowd. We chose not to wait for a better opening.

Thank goodness, I’m tall or I’d never have been able to take the photos we share here today. They are blurry due to the distance from which I took the photos plus I had to “wing it,” unable to focus, when I simply held the camera high over the heads of the people in front of me and clicked the shutter.

Taken from an angle, this was the best I could do. Tom was steering me from behind to move me forward into the crowd but I quickly tired of that tactic and cleared the crowd in order to move along.

Many others were easier to shoot but the entire experience was hampered by the excessive numbers of tourists clamoring about, all of us striving for a few good photos of the most recognizable pieces.

The ceilings continued to be breathtaking throughout the museum.

We didn’t stay as long as I would have liked, but the crowded space made staying for an extended period stressful and inconvenient. It was difficult to navigate from one room to another. 

We wondered if there will be art from our era that will hold such interest to the public in centuries to come.

In any case, amid all the congestion, it was a memorable experience, one shouldn’t miss when visiting Paris. Please bear with my less than clear photos when focusing the lens was often impossible with tourists bumping into me while I attempted to steady myself.

The femininity of the era by Leonard de Vinci.

Finally, we grabbed a taxi to return us to our hotel where we dressed for the evening to head out to yet another dinner in Paris. We’ll be back tomorrow with more photos from Le Louvre.

Not only are the artifacts amazing but, the rooms into which they are housed are equally amazing.

There are a few dozen more photos at our old post here. More photos will follow tomorrow. Enjoy your day! Stay safe!

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Photo from one year ago today, August 11, 2019:

In Amsterdam, during our to-night stay…A menu of marijuana and other such products are available for sale to any adults who so desire to partake. We happened to walk down an alley to run into people smoking pot outside at the cafe.  From this site: “Cannabis has been available for recreational use in coffee shops since 1976. Cannabis products are only sold openly in certain local “coffeeshops” and possession of up to 5 grams for personal use is decriminalized, however, the police may still confiscate it, which often happens in car checks near the border.[citation needed] Other types of sales and transportation are not permitted, although the general approach toward cannabis was lenient even before official decriminalization.” For more, please click here.