Part 3…Oxford…Home of 38 colleges in this famous village…

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The front entrance to the Ashmolean Museum.

Commencing with our first stop on the 13 hour tour we stopped in Oxford, the world renowned university village for which we had the mistaken perception, as many do, that Oxford is a town of one expansive university. How wrong we were! 

Nude Egyptian statue we encountered upon entering the museum.

In fact, there are 38 colleges in the town of around 151,000 as of a 2011 census, although there is a high turnaround rate due to the comings and goings of a reported 20,000+ students from all over the world.

Ancient hand-beaded animal hide on display in the museum.

Our bus stopped across the road from yet another museum, the Ashmolean Museum, where we were scheduled to return two hours later to meet up with Paul, our guide, and board the bus to be on our way. 

Various coins from the ancient world.

We had the option to join Paul, our spunky guide, and the tour group or to wander about on our own. With Tom’s difficulty in hearing after 42 years on the railroad, it was pointless to join the group when he wouldn’t be able to hear what Paul saying.

This is the Martyr’s Memorial which we encountered on the walkthrough Oxford.

As a result, we walked the village of Oxfordshire keeping an eye out as to where the group was headed. That way, we could catch most of the highlights at our own pace which is always faster than in a large group.

There were a few streets where no cars were allowed, to make getting through the crowds easier.

We started at the Museum. After only a few minutes, we decided that perhaps we’ll have had our fill of museums by the time we get into the two closest to our hotel in Kensington. We wandered off to check out the colleges and historic buildings that contribute to Oxford’s enchanting appeal.

Tom purchased a slice of dark chocolate fudge in this fudge shop which he savored over a few days, taking tiny bites at a time.

The streets, restaurants, and shops were packed with tourists during the busy summer season drawing travelers from all over the world. The narrow roads, the locally mined limestone buildings, homes, and churches created an awe-inspiring scene that drew us in several directions.

The Museum of History and Science.

With a sense of certainty, we spotted college professors, female and male, scurrying about the village doing whatever they do as the new school year fast approaches.

This is the famous Radcliffe Camera building.  Camera is another word for “room.”

Our minds wandered to what it must have been like hundreds of years ago, so easy to envision in this step-back-in-time village.

Another museum or college building.

One could easily spend days exploring this village of vast worldwide influence dating back to the 9th century. Like many old buildings as we’ve seen in our travels, we experienced a renewed enthusiasm as we perused as much as we could in the allotted time. How quickly time flew!

The courtyard of the Bodleian Library.

In no time at all, we were on our way, a smile on our faces, happy to have seen something we’d never imagined would have been in reality, as has been so many of the places we’ve visited in our travels.

Exquisite entrance to the Bodleian Library.

Last night, as we returned to the hotel from yet another disappointing meal, we talked about how odd it is that we’ve been to Istanbul, Dubai, Marseilles, Cairo and so many cities around the world. As we examine the world map, we realize we’ve only just begun. There’s so much more to see.

Statue of William Hebert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Chancellor of Oxford University 1580-1630.

Note: We still have many excellent Oxford photos to share, which we’ll post tomorrow in Part 4, the final post in this series of our visit to Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) and the villages of Bampton and Oxford.

                                              Photo from one year ago today, August 23, 2013:
The Internet was still down in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy, not to be back up until August 25, 2013. We were frustrated, to say the least, unable to post for several days.

Part 2…The village of Bampton, where many scenes from Downton Abbey are filmed…Tomorrow…Part 3, Oxford…

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This is St. Mary’s church in Bampton, known as Church of St. Michael of All Angels, as shown on the series, Downton Abbey, where Mary married Matthew, Edith was jilted at the alter and eventually Matthew was buried.
The front entrance to the church in Bampton where many scenes for Downton Abbey have been filmed.

After posting yesterday, we were anxious to post the remaining photos of the tour to Bampton, the village of the series Downton Abbey where many church and outdoor scenes are filmed.

Cemetery at the “real” church in Bampton, St. Mary’s.

Having completed the Highclere Castle portion of the tour in Thursday’s post, today we review the visit to the charming village of Bampton with its own story to tell.

The sequence of our 13 hour day was as follows with considerable driving in between:
10:45 -12:45 Village of Oxford
2:30 – 4:30   Highclere Castle, home of Downton Abbey TV series
5:30 – 6:30  The village of Bampton, of the Downton Abbey TV series

Tom, at the side entrance to the church,

Due to several traffic delays, the events of the tour changed when Highclere Castle was to be our last stop. As a result, when we finally arrived in Bampton, many of the sites we were scheduled to see were closed for the day.

The alter inside the church where Mary and Matthew were married.

Leave it to tour guide Paul (pronounced “pool”) he called the vicar of the church and the shop owner to ensure we’d gain access to both. They both happily obliged. Of course, all 60 of us were thrilled (as much as one can be thrilled in a group of 60).

There was a carved bird of prey on the podium in the church.

Paul and Martin, our drivers, both stated several times that such delays were unusual. With diligent planning they made every effort, successfully, to get us to each venue for the time specified in the tour itinerary, although overall the day was longer than planned.

A stained glass window in the church.

We were baffled by the number of detours, roadblocks, and accidents, resulting in hours of sitting on the bus in traffic, especially surprising in the countryside.

This is the Crawley house on the series where Matthew and Isobel (Matthew’s mother) lived here after the announcement that as to the real heir to the Earl of Grantham’s estate after the death of Patrick Crowley on the Titanic.

With the amount of traffic we noticed in London, we both thought these delays may not have been unusual after all. There’s an ordinance in London called the Congestion Free for a vehicle entering certain boundaries of the city of London during weekdays of 11.60 pounds per day, (US $19.24).

The actual library in Bampton is used as a hospital in the series which now houses a gift shop. The owner was notified we were in town and she rushed to open the shop for us.

A sophisticated digital system is in place that ensures no vehicle avoids paying these daily, weekday only, fees, or serious penalties are imposed. The traffic coupled with the Congestion Free is enough motivation for Londoners to avoid purchasing a car and use the comprehensive public transportation.

A sign outside the shop, which appears as a hospital on the series.

Paul explained that he’s never driven a car in his life which apparently is not unusual in London. People walk a lot here in London. We’ve heard on the local news that rising prices for public transportation are creating upheaval and a public discord.

Several houses in Bampton have these thatched roofs some of which have been shown on
the series.

Originally, when we booked the upcoming cruise for Harwich, UK, leaving next Sunday, we’d hope to spend time in the UK, perhaps renting a house in the country for a few months. After weeks of frustration, we gave up the search when prices for even a modest country home were far beyond our budgetary guidelines. The 15 days stay in a hotel was the only alternative.

The photo on display at the gift shop of Edith’s wedding which never took place.

After all, was said and done, we had a great day having learned more about this country, its people, its history, and its modern day lifestyle, in many ways not unlike the lives of citizens from all over the world.

Mr. Charles Carson, head butler at Downton Abbey, and Dr. Richard Clarkson, the family physician in this photo at the gift shop.

Last night, we dined in another French bistro to disappointing meals for both of us. Spending over US $72, 43 pounds (without beverages!) for a mushy burger and a bowl of soup for Tom and, a small chicken breast, a few greasy green beans, and a side salad for me, we were sorely disappointed.

Photo of Mary at her wedding to Matthew, again on display in the gift shop.

Tightening our belts after three weeks of dining out, we’ve lost interest in dining out and will hit the more affordable spots where we won’t spend over US $60, 36 pounds, for dinner without drinks. 

Dame Maggie Smith plays Lord Grantham’s mother, Dowager Countess of Grantham, Violet Crawley.

Tom purchased a liter bottle of cognac for US $30, 18 pounds, and will have a drink in our room if he wants one as opposed to spending US $17, 10 pounds for a single cocktail in a restaurant.

Today, we’re off to find a self-service laundry which we’ll visit again a week from today, boarding the ship with clean clothes.  The hotel’s cost of laundering one pair of jeans is more than we’ll spend on two full loads at the self serve.

Photo in the gift shop of camera crew actress from series.  We couldn’t tell who it was.

Monday is our next full day of sightseeing when we’ll see the highlights of London including the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and a boat ride of the Thames River. (At this point, we have little interest in the interior of yet another palace).

For now, we’re experiencing a little of life in London, barring many of the comforts of our usual homes of the past. We’ve decided living in a hotel in no way meets our criteria of living life in the world with simplicity and ease. However, we’ll never regret visiting Paris and London.

                                                Photo from one year ago today, August 22, 2013: 

No photos or story was posted on this date when the Internet was totally down in Boveglio, Italy. At this point, we’d begun assessing and sorting our belonging to lighten the upcoming long flight to Kenya in only nine days.

Part 1…Downton Abbey Tour, Secret Garden, exquisite grounds…More tomorrow…

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We held our breath as we approached Highclare Castle, home of the famed BBC Downton Abbey TV series. No interior photos were allowed. Please click here for interior photos of the house

When we planned the 10-hour tour which included a trip to the castle where the popular BBC TV series, Downton Abbey is filmed, we discovered the “real” name of the castle is actually Highclere Castle, which long before the show was a popular tourist attraction.

 
Please click here to enjoy the beautiful music from Downton Abbey while perusing today’s photos.

With the production and popularity of the show, Downton Abbey, the increased tourism to the castle has been instrumental in its owners and occupants of the house, Earl and Lady Carnarvon to commence extensive much-needed renovation.

The exquisite grounds were as equally appealing as the castle.

Earl and Lady Carnarvon stay out of sight during tours, often away at their summer home, although at times they have made an appearance during the 60 to 70 days a year the castle is open to the public. 

For the details and history of Highclere Castle, please click here. 

Tom was looking at the exterior condition of Highclere Castle as we wandered about the grounds.

Rather than retell the history and general facts regarding the castle with considerable information already online, we’ll share our photos and experiences of the 13-hour outing, over a period of two days in Parts 1 and 2.

There’s hardly a totally clear day in the UK including during our time at the castle.

Tomorrow, we’ll share photos of the village of Bampton, Oxfordshire, where most of the village filming transpires. 

Standing at the back of the castle, this is the view of the carriage house.

For devotees of the popular British TV series produced by the profoundly talented Julian Fellows and his creative staff, today’s post may offer some appeal. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, we can only suggest giving it a try for a delightful escape to another time and place, historically accurate, and robustly produced.

The back view of Highclere Castle.

We’ve watched the series since its first episode began on September 21, 2010, now rolling into its fifth season.  Our lively and knowledgeable tour guide Paul explained that a week ago, he’d seen the show in production at the village of Bamptonshire. (“Shire” is included at the end of the names of villages and towns to indicate a division of land).

There is a huge field of wildflowers on the grounds of Highclere Castle. We can only imagine how beautiful this would be in the spring in full bloom.

We had few expectations of yesterday’s lengthy outing beginning at 7:30 am when we walked across the street to the Kensington Hotel to be picked up in a luxury coach for the two-hour drive to Oxford which was the first leg of the tour. We didn’t actually arrive at Highclere Castle until 2:30 pm with a full two hours to explore on our own.

View of the castle as we walked along the path to the gardens.

We’re sharing the separate areas we visited out of sequence, wrapping up the balance tomorrow. We felt many of our readers were anxious to read about Downton Abbey first when we’d mentioned it several times over the last week.

I recall seeing this bench under a tree in a scene in the series.

With 60 passengers in tow on the luxury coach where we spent several hours on the road, we all held our breath as we approached the Highclere Castle.

The vast array of color in the gardens was exquisite.
We were delighted to find many flowers blooming in the Secret Garden at Highclere Castle.

As is the case in many of these tours, one must prepare themselves for a letdown, when the anticipation has lingered for days or weeks. But, disappointed? We were not! It was all we expected and more. 

Appears to be an above-ground radish?

The only disappointment was the fact that no photos are allowed anywhere inside the castle with respect for the privacy of Earl and Lady Carnaron since this is their personal home.

A simple white flowers amongst many.

In an odd way, once we entered the interior of the house, I was fine not focusing on taking photos, instead being able to pay attention to minute details, as we moved along the house’s many rooms.  Please click here for interior photos of the house.

Beautiful blooms!

Standing in the familiar rooms was exciting while our minds perused various episodes of the series. My favorite was the familiar dining room and Tom’s was the library. An on-site guide explained that there are approximately 200 rooms in the enormous castle with an estimated 120,000 square feet, 11,148 square meters.

A manicured path we followed in the Secret Garden.

Fortunately, we were allowed to take exterior photos which kept us busy during the second hour as we toured the extensive gardens. It wasn’t crowded as shown in our photos many of which we were able to take with tourists in view. The fact that we’d arrived in the afternoon appeared to have been a factor in the lessened crowds.

With the rose blooming season behind us, we enjoyed seeing this pink rose.

At 4:30, we again boarded the bus for the quaint village of Brampton where many of the village scenes are filmed. Apparently, the townspeople are opposed to their new found notoriety due to the series with increased business in their few shops and one pub in town. 

Bess and butterflies were everywhere partaking of the sweet nectar of many varieties of clowers.

When filming commences, autos, TV antennae, power lines, and trash bins must be removed.  In addition, the production crew fills the streets with dirt and gravel over the tarred roads to create an appearance of a time long ago.

Another butterfly alights a pretty white flower.

At the end of each season’s production, the company holds a party for the entire village as well as providing donations to the city, making all the hoopla worthwhile to its citizens. 

We sat on a bench contemplating these unusual trimmings.

At the beginning of the tour, I’d considered that Tom had tagged along for my benefit. However, as the day worn on, he was engaged and interested, particularly in the historical aspects of the castle and village.

Tom under a uniquely trimmed arch.

Having seen Highclere Castle, we’ll have an entirely new perspective when the new fifth season of Downton Abbey begins in January.

Although the greenhouse doors were locked, we took this shot through a tiny opening.

As the long day ended, the bus dropped us at the Kensington Station, a mere 15-minute walk back to our hotel.  Anxious to stop for dinner, we found a casual Italian restaurant on the way with good food which included a few items suitable for me.

The red in this flower close to the greenhouse stood out among many.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with our visit to Bampton where the village shots for Downton Abbey are filmed and, also the historic village of Oxford, reeking of history dating back to 912 AD. What an experience that was as well! One could easily book a hotel in the fascinating town, staying for weeks to experience its many treasures.

Me, at the main entrance to the castle.

No, we don’t love touring on a bus with 60 other tourists. However, this was the most affordable tours we could find at US $370, 223 pounds for both of us. It’s wise to book in advance if possible. 

One last peek before we departed Hghclere Castle, home of the Downton Abbey TV series.

We’ll be tomorrow with Part 2 and many more photos!

                                            Photo from one year ago today, August 21, 2013:

Little did we know how many geckos we’d find in houses while in Africa, at this point a year ago with only 10 days until we’d depart Italy for Kenya. For details from that date. please click here

London doesn’t disappoint…Victoria and Albert…

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Tom is really getting used to visiting museums. In this case, we were at the Victoria and Albert Museum on London, walking distance from our hotel. 
Gee, Tom took a photo of me without it being too blurry.

Many times, we’ve mentioned our lack of interest in visiting big cities, mainly due to the following; the noise, the crowds, the long lines, the traffic, and the lack of vegetation and wildlife. Then, there are the outrageous prices on literally everything that maybe half the cost in more rural areas.

The entrance to Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Several special exhibits were highlighted during this period, including “Disobedient Objects.”
More “Disobedient Objects.”

London, unlike Paris, provides us with the ability to freely communicate, the sense of safety in this beautiful area of Kensington (which feels more like a suburb than the city), and the overall friendliness of its people. Even the tourists seem more dignified, not pushing as they walk on the busy streets.

The theme seemed a little vague when most of the items were trendy from the 20th century.
This decorated car was from the 70’s.

We knew we’d like the UK. We’ve spent the last year watching the news on BBC (one of the few English speaking news channels that have been available). We’ve found several BBC TV series exceedingly entertaining such as Downton Abbey, Luther, What Remains, and Broadchurch, having downloaded and watched each episode during those quiet evenings after dinner.

These dresses brought back memories of the ’50s and ’60s.
Every era has had its “frumpy” period.
These were small, appearing to be clothes for children.
I’d wear that if I’d fit into it!

London, a city of art and culture, leaves nothing behind on the world stage of entertainment, as we peruse posters and billboards of upcoming events. With no charge to enter museums the appreciation of the UK’s and the world’s history and artifacts was evident when on Monday, we visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, a 20 minute walk from our hotel.

This appears to be a dress that may have been worn in a dance hall.
Late 1800’s.
The intricate detail on this handwoven fan drew quite an audience.

With three museums located next to one another in the same city block, our intention has been to visit each museum on a separate day. Today, we’d hoped to enter the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. 

Women today can’t wait to get out of their bras after a long day. Can we imagine how women felt wearing these types of corsets all day?
A typical hoop from the 1800s.
The elegant wear of the wealthy was also displayed.

However, when we arrived at each of the museums there were no less than 2000 people in line at each location which would take from one to two hours of standing in potentially rainy weather.

Another exquisite fan.
Wigs and gloves were worn by men in the 1700’s.
These undergarments were necessary to wear such a dress.

We’ve decided to return other days, to try to get inside the two other museums, perhaps early before they open or later in the day hopefully finding shorter lines. Few venues are worthy of two hours in line, particularly if there’s a possibility of rain.

The more tailored 20th century.
After leaving the fashion area we wandered to sculptures from around the world during many eras.  This work was Caesar attacking the British.
Neptune and Triton by Gianlorenzo Bernini, 1622-1623.

Instead, we walked further down the road to the Victoria and Albert Museum which we had not waited to enter was not disappointing by any means with a diverse array of interesting artifacts we found fascinating. 

The large garden area of the museum was packed with visitors.
Children were playing in the wading pool.
Late in the summer for many flowers, we spotted a few in the museum’s garden.

Thus, we share a series of diverse photos today. Many areas of the museum were entirely unrelated to one another, a scenario that some may find unsettling.

Back inside the museum, we encountered another permanent exhibit.
Beautiful wall sculpture in pleasing colors.
A sculpted alter.

With both of us possessing short attention spans, this was ideal, as we flitted from one arena to another happily snapping away while conversing over the various items. 

Priest’s garments.
Colorful sculpture.
For a moment I touched the top of this slab of marble and a guard warned me to take my hand off of it. Embarrassed, I quickly removed my hand. In reading the description I read this was made in the 16th century. Yes, I suppose one shouldn’t touch!

It would be disappointing if we are unable to eventually see the other two nearby museums. But, we understand with no entrance fees, they provide a huge attraction to tourists and locals alike.

We sat for a few minutes taking in our surroundings in an area where a church had been replicated using centuries-old artifacts.
This intricate pagoda was on display in the Asian art area. 
This handmade boat was also in the Asian art area.

Today, as we mentioned above, we off on a 10-hour tour to Downton Abbey and Oxford University. We’ll be back tomorrow with hopefully lots of interesting new photos. 

Have a happy day!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, August 20, 2013:
The internet was down all day on this date one year ago and we weren’t ever able to post. Please check back tomorrow.

Living in the moment when thinking of the future is unavoidable…Photos from walks in South Kensington…

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We walked past Christie’s location, the world-famous auction house, that occupies almost the entire block.

Living in the moment is a vital aspect of the depth of our appreciation in traveling the world. Anticipating the future with diligent planning leaves our minds free to revel in the moment.

One can’t live in a perpetual state of anticipation with an occasional thought of the time and place of the moment. We’ve found that the opposite is true. Live in the moment with an occasional thought and warm fuzzy about the future.

Once in the heart of the area, the streets were jammed with cars and people.

At the moment, as much as we’re finding London to be enriching and interesting we must admit, we’re anticipating our upcoming two cruises, one on August 31st and the second on September 23rd with a flutter of excitement. 

An old church stands out among the crisp white buildings.

We haven’t been on a cruise ship since we toured the Mediterranean Sea cruise, ending in Venice, Italy on June 16, 2013. It seems so long ago. Now, as we mentally make every effort to free ourselves from those thoughts in order to embrace London while we’re here, it’s still hard to believe we’ll be on a cruise ship in 12 days.

There are several routes we’ve taken when walking the area, some less busy than others.

With only four months until we see our family in Hawaii, it’s tough not to let our minds wander to the joy of seeing all of them once again.

Look at this gorgeous display in this bakery. Yes, my food voyeur tendencies are in the full-on mode, in London. Tom scoffs at these yummy looking desserts, preferring a boring plain cake donut or a Bismarck topped with chocolate frosting with custard inside. Dull! (Not the guy. Just his taste buds).
We got a kick out of the name of this store, Odd Bins.

Yesterday, we took off on foot toward the three museums in the area, able to enter only one of three with the lines of thousands of waiting visitors. We’ll share our museum experience in tomorrow’s post which we’ll upload early in the morning.

The walkways and roads are beautifully maintained, making walking especially enjoyable.

Tomorrow, we have a 10-hour tour of Downton Abbey and Oxford University, leaving at 7:45 am from the hotel across the street. We’ll upload the post before we leave so we won’t miss a beat in our absence ad be back on Thursday with photos of the all-day tour.

There was an auto showroom along the busy street, open by appointment only, displaying this yellow Lamborghini.

As avid fans of the entertaining British TV show since its onset, it will be fascinating to see the grounds and the castle that has become firmly entrenched in our minds after never missing an episode over several seasons

There was one bakery after another in the busy area.

Today, as yesterday, we’ll walk around the beautiful South Kensington area trying another route. We couldn’t be more thrilled that we ended up in this superb location in this 4-star hotel, The Regency Hotel Queen’s Gate.

The entrance to Piccadilly line South Kensington was located in a small indoor mall.

We’ve worked out the kinks we encountered upon checking in including our blown plugins left us no alternative but to borrow the singular device they had available, suitable for US plugs which will only charge one computer at a time. 

A pub we entered to read the menu had meat for sale and also to serve to dining patrons. 

As for charging our phones and cameras, we have no option but to charge them via USB into the computer, one at a time, when one of our computers is plugged in. Timing this is cumbersome.

The historic building stands out in a lovely area.

As a result, we spend time in the morning in the lobby running off batteries, writing rather than sitting on the bed in the room. Once we’ve uploaded the daily post, we head back to the room and charge one computer while we go out and about. 

Another church steeple in South Kensington.

Later, when we return to shower and dress for dinner we’ll leave the other computer charging while away.  We repeat this process over and over. It’s annoying, to say the least. Also, paying US $13.31, 8 pounds per day for Wifi is ridiculous when there have been no such charges at any other hotels in which we’ve stayed. This wasn’t clear when we booked online months ago.

Architecturally interesting white buildings line many of the streets in South Kensington.

Otherwise, this hotel is lovely with excellent service, reasonable amenities, gorgeous décor, and a perfect location. Tonight, in an effort for an early evening, we’ll dine in the hotel’s beautiful restaurant. The inviting ambiance and comparable pricing to other dining establishments in the area make it a logical choice when we have an early start tomorrow morning.

We often take photos of nearby restaurants, later looking up reviews on TripAdvisor, such as in this case it rates #1572 of 17,134, making it in the top 9%, perhaps worthy of a visit. To see the review click here.

As indicated above, we’ll be posting tomorrow morning with photos of our visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum and then Thursday with the results of our 10-hour day tour on a bus with a bunch of “oldies” like us, all attempting to “live in the moment.”

                                              Photo from one year ago today, August 19, 2013:

While living in Boveglio, we order the upcoming year of prescriptions. When they arrived almost 60 days after ordering, we were worried when one box was missing. We had to reorder and have it sent to our mailing service who was sending us a package while we’d be living in Kenya. For details, please click here.

Hello, London!…The Eurostar from Paris under the English Channel…The hotel peculiarities…Tom’s reprimand!…

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Our train came into the station. Tom, my railroad guy, explained that the train is operated from either end never having to turn around for the return trips.

Every country has it’ss own peculiarities in comparison to the American way of traveling and of simply living life.  As we experience more and more cultures, we quickly attempt to adapt to avoid being regarded as the “ugly American.”

Our new hotel, the London Regency, has a few characteristics that are different from what we’ve encountered in the past when staying in hotels in many countries. In this 4.5 stars rated hotel, in a matter of minutes, we find ourselves realizing how quickly we’ll need to adapt.

While we waited for the train.

For example; there are no ice machines available to guests in the entire hotel. We either have to order ice from room service (pay a tip each time) or go to the bar to have the bartender get it for us. The expectation of tipping several times a day for ice is frustrating, to say the least.

Another unusual feature is the fact that there are fees for using the health club. My principals make me flinch at the idea of paying for this normal inclusion when the “gym” is located directly in the hotel. It’s not a lot of money at US $16.69, £10  per night for the entire 15-night stay. But, it irks me. After all, we’re paying over US $200, £120 per night. That would cost the extra US $269 on top of the already pricey fees.

The station while we were still in Paris.

There are no bars of soap. I was thrilled when Tom called me into the bathroom to see the roomy bathtub. But, the only soap is a built-in dispenser high up near the showerhead. Am I to stand up every few seconds while taking a bath, to pump another tiny dollop of soap from the dispenser?

Overall and to our pleasure, this hotel is upscale in the lovely Kensington neighborhood close to many points of interest, including the Royal Palace, a short walk, several museums, and many fine restaurants.  Complaining? Observing, I’d say. I’ll ask for a bar of soap. If none is available, we’ll find a grocery store and purchase one. 

Tom was finally smiling again when I told him we wouldn’t have to “walk” the bags downs the steep steps.

There is a daily fee of another US $16.69, £10.   encouraged them to reduce the fee to US $13.35, £8. At this reduced rate, it adds an additional US $214 to our hotel bill. Anyway, enough “observing” for now and onto the Eurostar, the train under the English Channel from Paris to London. We had a great time! It was easy compared to flying, excess baggage fees, and long lines a thing of the recent past. 

Taken from our seats, which were wider than airplane seats. I had pictured four-seat configurations with a table in front of us which was not the case with our seats.

As usual, we arrived at the train station too early after a quick drive through Paris with light traffic on Saturday.  We’d looked online for answers to some of our questions about taking the Eurostar with conflicting answers on various websites. 

One question was regarding baggage handling and storage. The second was purely out of curiosity; how long does the train actually travel under the ocean across the English Channel? 

The scenery along the tracks was mostly limited to industrial areas, although we passed a few areas of the French countryside.

Based on Eurostar reviews we’d read online, we made a plan how, without the use of a large cart or porter, we’d handle all of our luggage ourselves, something we’d never done for any distance. Tom hauled the two large rolling bags and I hauled the rolling cart with the two smaller bags and the duffel bag containing my purse and the pill bag. Tom kept the computer bag over his shoulder.

Eurostar allows two bags each and one carry on. We each had two bags and one carry on. For once, we complied. Weight wasn’t an issue. 

A church steeple at a distance through the glare of the glass window.

With two new bungees wrapped tightly around the contents of the wheeling cart, I was able to pull it behind me using both hands without any problem. My bad shoulder prevented me from using only my right hand and the left is simply too incompetent to manage the wobbly wheels.

Off we went, surprisingly at a decent pace with little difficulty, if at all. To finally be able to handle all of our worldly possessions on our own was uplifting. Once we checked in with UK immigration, getting our passports stamped, we unloaded everything for the security check without incident.

Cows. Not really wildlife but, we enjoy seeing animals wherever we may be.

In all, it took 10 minutes from showing our tickets to entering the waiting area where we searched for a place to sit for the 90-minute wait for our train’s departure. 

As we sat there checking out our surroundings, it appeared that the only way to get down to the platform was a steep stairway. Oh, no. The idea of maneuvering those steps set my mind spinning. 

Within seconds of entering the tunnel, I took this shot of blackness resulting in only a reflection of the seats in the glass.

Suddenly, Tom became grumpy spewing out a dozen possible scenarios: injuring ourselves, dropping and breaking something, and on and on. He does this at times. I usually ignore him but this time, I said in a calm voice, “Quit being overly grumpy!”

Without a moment of time to think, he blurted out, “Quit being overly bubbly!”

Hahaha! I couldn’t stop laughing! In seconds, he was laughing with me, tears in our eyes over the irony. Quit being “overly bubbly.” Oh, would that all of those whom we love biggest problem is being “overly bubbly.” An eternal optimist that I am, I could easily accept his accurate assessment of me. 

Within seconds of departing the tunnel.  We were now in the UK.

After our good laugh and to put his minds at ease I jumped up and found a guard who explained that we could use an elevator down a long hallway.

Luckily, when the time arrived to board as we made our way down the hallway we were able to see that there was a moving ramp, an escalator without steps that we easily managed. We didn’t need to use the elevator after all. 

We arrived in London at the St. Pancras station.

Tom managed to lift the heavy bags from the platform onto the train into the small storage area.  We only had to manage the duffel, the computer bag, and the cart to our seats. 

The seats are comparable to an airplane seat, only slightly roomier with a helpful retractable footrest.  Immediately, we grabbed for our seatbelts, out of habit. We looked at each other and laughed. Habits. They never fail to unconsciously overtake us.

After exiting the train station we had to walk a distance to the next street and around the corner in order to flag a taxi. No taxis were allowed to stop at the main entrance.

Food and beverages were served in two other train cars. We noticed several passengers walking past us loaded up with paper bags filled with fried foods. We had no interest.

After the first hour and twenty minutes of the total two hours and seventeen minutes, we’d yet to enter the tunnel. Although, in several instances, we thought we had as we passed through several other tunnels.

On the way to our hotel, we passed Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.  Not quite our cup of tea.

Moments later, an announcement was made that we were indeed entering the English Channel. My heart skipped a beat with excitement. What was I expecting? Water to flow around the train?

I was expecting “black” and, black it was. It was dark as night when looking out the windows. Moments after we entered the tunnel a kindly steward stopped to ask if we needed anything, giving us an opportunity to ask a few questions. Here’s his response:

  1. The trip under the English Channel takes approximately 20 minutes.
  2. The maximum speed of the train is 300 kilometers per hour, 186 miles per hour, less through the tunnel
  3. The deepest part of the tunnel is 195 meters, 640 feet below sea level.
  4. There are three tunnels, two for trains and one as a service tunnel.
  5. There are multiple trains per day to Paris, London, and Brussels. 
  6. No passenger trains other than the Eurostar brand may use the tunnel.
There are lots of double-decker buses in London.

We thanked the steward for the information and for stopping by, sitting back enjoying the odd experience. For a moment I felt like a kid at Disneyland on a ride through a dark tunnel fearlessly enjoying the ride.It was amazing to be on a train traveling under the ocean.

In no time at all, we were at the station ready to disembark (Tom said “de-train”). Once again, he managed to haul the heavy bags. As always, we’d planned to be the last off to avoid blocking the line. In no rush, all we needed to do was flag a taxi to our hotel.

Although London was bombed in World War II many beautiful historical buildings remain.

With most taxis requiring “British Pound Sterling” to pay the fare, the driver stopped at an ATM where Tom loaded up enough of yet another new currency to learn, to last to few days. A short time later, we were checking into our hotel, paying the huge amount for 15 nights, the WiFi fees, and a refundable deposit for extras.

There’s our travel day story, folks. Last night, we had a fabulous experience we’ll share in tomorrow’s post!

Taking photos from a taxi is always tricky and we were unable to determine the name of this building.

By the way, this morning we blew yet another power strip and both of our pricey international adapters (UK certified), tossing them all in the trash. Tom grumbled about how we wouldn’t be able to use our equipment while in London; no computers, no camera, no books.

I replied, “Take your shower, honey. Your “overly bubbly” wife will go see the front desk for a solution.”  Problem solved. A new day begins in London.

Our hotel in the Kensington area of London is close to many points of interest.

Photo from one year ago today, August 17, 2013:

Due to Internet connectivity issues in Boveglio, Italy we weren’t able to post on this date one year ago. We’re fast approaching the time, a year ago, when we began to post every day with photos. Stay tuned.

Packing day…Eurostar to London tomorrow morning…Goodbye, Paris!…Tomorow post with more photos and final total costs for the past 16 nights…

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When we finally had a relatively clear night we got this shot from the balcony in our hotel room.
The progression of the sunset in Paris.

Our time in Paris is coming to an end. Tomorrow morning we take a taxi to the Eurostar station. Causing Tom a little bit of angst is the fact that one must be able to carry their luggage onto the train in order to board. 

Many historical buildings line the boulevards.

With our two heavy large bags, two heavy small bags, one duffel bag, my handbag, and the one computer bag, we have quite a load. All of them have wheels so we’ll see how it goes. 

As we walked down a side street.

We’re putting a plan in place, testing it today. Shortly, once I complete today’s post, we’ll walk the several blocks to the laundromat where we’ll spend an hour and a half getting two tightly packed loads washed and dried. 

Tom didn’t order a single pastry from a boulangerie (bakery).
 
As the proverbial food voyeur, I’ve always reveled in looking at pastries, especially in Paris.
Good thing I can’t eat any of this. We’d have spent a fortune and I’d have gained so much weight I wouldn’t fit into my clothing. As it was, we each lost a few pounds while here.

We’ll pack everything once we return to the hotel wearing the same clothes for the rest of the day today that we’ll wear tomorrow, hand washing underwear tonight before bed.

In our travels, we often try to stay close to water, such as the River Seine, which is walking distance from our hotel. In London, we’ll be within walking distance of the Thames River.

These 16 nights in Paris have been one of the shortest periods we’ve stayed in one location, except for past cruises most of which have been in the two-week range and a few single nights in hotels in between flight. 

Renovations on an archway over the River Seine.

It’s hard to be packing again. At least at this point with the lesser amount of stuff, it doesn’t take too long, less than two hours at most. Recently, we’ve been asked if we’ve lightened our load so much, why do we still have such weight?

A street view of the restaurant we visited on Tuesday night, we’d yet to post.

My only response to that is this: If you had to pack everything you needed for the next year into one large and one small bag, could you do it? 

Earlier, I posted a similar photo.  We’ve loved this scene as the sky became blue.

With 12 pairs of shoes between us, two jackets each, everyday clothing, very few casual dressy clothes, two swimsuits each, two beach towels, emergency medical supplies, dental supplies, prescriptions, toiletries and cosmetics, and vital digital equipment. We have nothing we don’t need.

A bee was inside these flowers working on the nectar in the pistil.

As for Paris…have we enjoyed it?  I must say, I’ve loved every moment. For Tom, not as much. He’s only interested in certain sightseeing but, he graciously tagged along with me to see many of the sights I’d longed to see most of my life.

This was the window in a tailor shop we spotted on one of our long days of walking.

When I sensed he’d had enough, we slowed down over the past few days dining out by taxi a few times, otherwise staying close to our hotel taking walks, and enjoying the area. I am no way disappointed in not seeing more. 

These “hop-on, hop-off”  tourists buses are a good way for those who prefer not to walk, to see many of the sights of the city. We’d intended to do a three-day pass. But with the rain on and off almost every day, we never booked it fearful we’d pay and then be stuck inside the bus.

We exceeded our budgeted amount for tours and sightseeing and for me as the budget police, I have little room to complain. Nor did Tom complain about the day-long walks and lines at venues. 

Dogs are allowed in restaurants in Paris. This well-behaved guy was next to us one evening during dinner.

Paris is a complex city. One could spend years and never know it all. For the time we’ve spent here, we feel comfortable that we’ve seen all we’ve wanted to see, getting a feel for its charm and appeal, it’s dark dangers lurking under train stations at night, and its wide array of place to dine.

So typical Paris, motorbikes, and motorcycles parked along a narrow one-way road.

My favorite aspect of Paris, as it is for many, has been the Eiffel Tower both during the day and at night. The light show on the hour after dark made my heart pound with excitement. I’ll never forget that and we’re happy to have two videos of this breathtaking event. 

Cafes and bistros can be found on many corners inviting passersby to stop for a glass of wine or cup of coffee or tea.

It’s unlikely we’ll return to Paris. Yesterday, upon entering where we’ve been into my Trip Advisor profile, using the map to mark cities and countries we’ve visited, it appears we’ve seen so little. We have a lot of world left to see. 

In Paris, there have been restrictions as to the height of buildings in Paris which may soon be lifted. The height limit is 590 feet, 180 meters for office buildings and 150 feet, 46 meters for apartment buildings.

For us, it’s not a sprint nor is it a marathon. It’s a long walk. We work our way from location to location, choosing those which we find most appealing and interesting, from which we’ll hopefully continue to grow and learn. 

Many bridges in Paris have decorative ornamentation.
This artwork on the bridges in Paris is definitely worthy of note.

We stumble along the way, making mistakes, encountering obstacles, and having good days and bad. Life is a life wherever one may live. It just so happens that we’re experience life in locations all over the world.

This appears to be a variety of hibiscus.
A rose growing near the entrance to a bridge.

We’ll be back tomorrow with the final costs for 16 nights in Paris, posting before we leave for the train. And on Sunday, our first glimpses of London.

An orange tree for sale outdoors at a flower shop.

Be well.

                                              Photo from one year ago today, August 15, 2013:

Two weeks before we were leaving Italy for Kenya, we started assessing how much stuff we had to pack. At that point, we had considerably less than when we left the US but still had to unload much more. which we eventually accomplished. For details of that post, please click here.

Part 3, the Louvre…What can we say?…It was all we imagined and more…Venus de Milo…Final photos of the Louvre…

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Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch, also known as Aphrodite of Milos. It was amazing we got this shot free of onlookers when 100’s were crowded around also trying to take photos.
Waiting for the perfect opportunity to get a photo without more people in the photo. I have an app that removes people, however, it impacted the quality, inspiring me to leave them.

With only today and tomorrow remaining to see more of Paris when Friday is laundry and packing day, we must admit we have done our fair share of sightseeing. We’re ready to call it a day, keeping in mind, we have two weeks in London coming up in a few days and more sights to see.

Many of the statues were of a spiritual nature.
Exquisite fireplace and mantel.

Actually, we’ve seen most of which we wanted to see in Paris, leaving nothing nagging at us as a “must do.” Considering our combined general lack of interest in sightseeing, we’re satisfied that we’ve done exactly what we’d hoped and we’re ready to move on.

Artemis, the Moon Mistress.
Scary looking skeleton statue.

The high cost of great food in Paris and the taxis required to get to the higher quality restaurants can take a huge dent out of one’s wallet. London, although not known for great food has reportedly improved over the years and we expect prices to be the same.

This statue was make incorporating color.

Tom’s picky taste buds make dining out in mid-range restaurants challenging. Either he likes fine dining or fast food, neither of which we do often. Fast food? Never.

One can only imagine the skill required for the detail in this sculpture.

Tonight, we’re booked for Bistrotters which was in the #2 spot of best restaurants in Paris upon our arrival. It’s moved down to the #5 position dropping since we originally booked it. Last night we dined at a very popular restaurant that gained added notoriety when Obama’s dined there awhile ago. We’ll report on both restaurants with photos and pricing tomorrow.

These three statues were placed together perhaps created by the same sculptor.

It was hard to get either reservation. Somehow we got lucky when there were no waiting lists for weeks. Tonight’s reservation sent us several email messages asking for confirmation for our reservation. Guess, they don’t want to miss a beat. Good planning on their part.

It was necessary to raise the camera over the heads of the visitors in order to take this photo.

Overall, dining in Paris has been a bit disappointing. Unless one is prepared to spend US $200, EU $150 for two, most of the food is mediocre at best. Yes, we’ve had a few good dinners, although not filling, especially when my meals contain a small portion of protein and a few cooked vegetables

The Louvre contained many nudes difficult to identify online.

There’s an extra charge as much as US $8, EU $6 to order a side salad of only greens. They don’t have salad dressings other than olive oil which I don’t care for alone on greens. 

I wish we could identify each statue. There hasn’t been enough time to research the subject of every one of our photos.

It’s hard to spend that much for a small bowl of mixed greens that aren’t satisfying or filling. Each night, after we’ve gone back to our hotel, I’ve eaten a good size portion of organic raw nuts to top off the inadequate meal.

From the Roman period.

Tom is able to fill himself with potatoes, bread, and rich French sauces made with flour. For me, eating a deck of cards sized portion of salmon and a cup of green beans is hardly satisfying. I know, some may say, if we dined during the day, a smaller dinner would suffice. 

Entitled, The Boy Struggling with a Goose by Botheus, possibly from 160 AD.

My way of eating literally kills the appetite for 20 to 24 hours and I can’t conceive of eating when not hungry.  Tom is always full from the previous night and never cares for breakfast or lunch, although I’d gladly go out to dine with him.

This painting is entitled, The Fish Market After 1621 by Frans Snyder.

I suppose on the upcoming cruise ships we’ll have breakfast each day. It’s tough not to eat twice a day on a cruise ship. I’ll skip the nuts, eat a light dinner, and maybe be ready for bacon, eggs, and veggies the next morning. After all, we’ve paid for the food at the recently higher cruise prices over the prices we paid when we last cruised over a year ago from Barcelona to Venice.

Baby angels with Jesus.

Paris is a beautiful, artsy, historical city. Overall, we’ve enjoyed our time here. However, we aren’t city people.  We like wildlife, nature, down-home warm friendly people, and locations filled with natural beauty. Our hotel concierge staff has been wonderful although some, not all, other service staff throughout the city have not been friendly. 

Headless statue in a room filled with statues.

Why did we choose Paris and London? Simple answer. We’re traveling the world. We felt we couldn’t leave them out of our itinerary when neither of us had visited either city.

Tom in front of a statue of a hunter in the center courtyard.

Then again, we chose to visit London when our upcoming cruise sails out of Harwich, England on August 31st and, visiting Paris and then London was a logical way to fill a month’s gap in our itinerary. 

Another exquisite statue in the courtyard under the glass pyramid.

Also traveling on the Eurostar (the so-called, “chunnel”) under the English Channel on a train was on the list of things we wanted to experience. In three days, we’ll be on that train. That’s exciting!

In the center courtyard on the ground floor of the Louvre.

With few tours planned for London, we’ll probably plan less in advance on the remaining days waiting to see what we feel like doing day by day.

In the courtyard within the Louvre, surrounded by the glass pyramid, the views were excellent.
Of course, there were many expensive shops on the way to the exit.

I have a planned lunch date with Liz, whom I met through “comments” who lives a train ride away from London, who’s coming to the city for the day. How exciting! I’ll have a “girl’s lunch” and Tom gets a few hours on his own. He’ll like that!

Once we exited the Louvre, it didn’t take long to find a taxi.
We spotted this view from the window of the cab while we were driving back to our hotel.

For those still working, it’s “hump day.” Start to relax and wind down for the weekend!

It wasn’t long before we spotted the famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower, a short walk from our hotel which has been a great location for our time in Paris.
Ah, there it is.  The Eiffel Tower has been my favorite sight to see in Paris.

                                           Photo from one year ago today, August 12, 2013:

No photos were posted one year ago. As time marched on as we continued in our travels, eventually we started posting photos every day which will start soon in these “year ago reflections.” For details of our story that day with tips we’d discovered required for “turning off the brain at night”, please click here.

Part 2…The Louvre…What can we say?…It was all we’d imagined and more…Tomorrow, Part 3, with Venus de Milo!

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In taking this photo from a window, I later thought it was a painting. But, it was a photo I took.

Yesterday morning, we canceled the trip to Notre Dame. After a horrible night’s sleep of only three hours on Sunday, I just don’t have the energy to climb 22 flights of stairs up the Cathedral and then walk for an entire day. 

In this photo you can see a reflection of a statue behind me and also, me taking the photo.

Sunday night, at a nearby restaurant where we had an awful meal, in a desperate attempt at something different to drink, I ordered a Coke Zero which I rarely do. I’d given up drinking soda a long ago.

Whatever happened to figurines such as these, that our grandmothers had on a Fhyfe table in the living room next to the sofa.

The caffeine from the Coke Zero coupled with several cups of tea later in the day kept me awake, not falling asleep until 3:00 am, awakening at 6:00 am. After a good night’s sleep last night, I’m raring to go and we’ll be back out again today.

These cups and saucers reminded Tom of a set he’d had that belonged to his mother that was over 100 years old.  He saved it in a tote with other memorabilia that he left with family to later give to the grandchildren. It may not have been valued as much as these shown, but, it was fun to compare.

I believe Sunday’s post may have included more photos than we’ve posted in any of over 700 posts. There may have been more when we were on safari in Kenya or on a busy “visitors” day in Marloth Park.

More familiar looking dinnerware.

Loading more than 10 photos per post presents problems with editing, increasing posting time by almost double. How could we not share the number of photos we’ve been posting in Paris? Please bear with us if the formatting is less than perfect, particularly in paragraph spacing.

This pattern was similar to a set of dishes I’d purchased years ago, that were well over 100 years. We sold the set to friend Peggy, knowing they’d be in good hands.

With over 80 remaining photos to share, we’ll be adding Part 3, the Louvre for Wednesday. As I go through the remaining photos deciding what I could leave out it’s impossible to decide. 

Small jewelry boxes created with the finest of detail.

As a result, posting the Louvre on Wednesday, especially convenient when we didn’t do the Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday, will wrap up that segment leaving days for sightseeing which we’ll commence again today.

Another room with royal treasures.

The Louvre is a complex place. One could visit every day for a year finding something new each day. For a scholar intent on studying the complexity of the Louvre, it would be a daunting task.

Clocks are a common theme in several modern art areas of the museum.
Perhaps an official or a self-portrait.

For us, neophyte photographers that we are, and seldom art aficionados, the undertaking is pure pleasure combined with curiosity. However, this website is not intended as a scholarly journal. 

Stained glass windows.

Instead, it’s the telling of an ongoing tale of two semi-retired 60 something’s with few aspirations beyond the exciting lifestyle associated with that “telling.” 

More exquisite stained glass windows.

Many blog writers have dreams of writing books, making public appearances while itching for a certain degree of notoriety. Not us.

Could these be compasses with only one hand?

Many world travelers, some similar to us, have embarked on book writing campaigns with TV appearances, book signings, tours of their native country, and beyond. That’s not for us. At times, we’ve discussed writing a book. (How easy it could be when we already have the outline here online!). 

Pocket watches.

But, as we’ve observed a few other world travelers similar to us in ways, on news programs, dressed in business wear, hair, and makeup was done by the network, we cringe at the thought. 

Art is more symbolic than literal to be interpreted by the beholder, as in the case in these beautiful pieces.
Mother and daughter.

We have no interest in traveling across the US to go from bookstore to bookstore, signing and smiling until our hands and faces hurt to promote a book. We want to live the contents of what such a book would tell, not tell about such a book.
Religious connotation.

For many years, I promised myself I’d write a book. Now, as the book industry rapidly changes from paper to digital, the profits have been diminished and it just wouldn’t be worth it. If someone offered me one million dollars today to give this up, I wouldn’t accept it.

As we peered outside there didn’t appear to be many visitors in the courtyard.  Most of them were already inside trying to take photos of the more popular works of art.

Happiness is happiness. Why would one sell out happiness for money? Sure, peace of mind about money is nice. We have that as long as we continue to follow our budget. Does more peace of mind guarantee more happiness?  I doubt it.

Heaven and earth?

After a few days, the knowledge of having more money settles into the familiarity zone and in no time, the quality of the life one had before the money seeps back in. If one was happy then and is happy with the new life the money dictates, then all is well.

Ladies playing cards.

For us, an advance on a book would mean pressures of time and effort I don’t feel we want to give, especially the contractual piece about promoting the book in bookstores and on TV. No thanks.

Could this be a card reader?

I don’t know what this has to do with the Louvre. Perhaps it revolves around the fact that we make every effort to create an appealing story with photos each day with “literally” no ulterior motives, no priming for a book deal, or notoriety. Its basis is a pure and simple pleasure.

Are these smaller boats “tenders” of that era, taking passengers out to the ships?

This legacy in words and photos for our grandchildren and for generations to come in leaving this adventure behind also provides us with great joy. Knowing that we have almost 200,000 readers worldwide (by the time we leave here on Saturday) gives us all the satisfaction that we’ll ever need.

We loved the depth in this painting.
We spotted this man drawing from a painting on the wall.

We hope that through our stories and photos that readers may find a morsel that appeals to them, piquing their interest and inspiring them. Some of our readers write saying that they “travel along with us in spirit.

This farm scene with goats was located in the Nordic area of the museum.
From the romantic period.

Such words from our readers mean more to us than any mandatory book tour or a chunk of money we’d add to our safety net, forgetting about it in a few days or weeks.

This is Queen Marie de Medici by Frans Pourbus.
A man and his dog.

As we continue to write about the Louvre, we smile at the reality that we aren’t into sightseeing and Tom’s not into walking. Although, that’s all we’ve been doing since we arrived 12 days ago with over 35 miles, 56 kilometers, logged in the first eight days.  Surely, we’ll walk many more miles.

Enjoy these additional photos of the Louvre today, finalizing tomorrow in Part 3 with excellent crowd-free photos of the Venus de Milo.

Happy Tuesday!

                                            Photo from one year ago today, August 12, 2013:

A year ago, I wrote describing this book I’d read while in Tuscany about how we as humans can spend too much time sitting and how destructive long periods of sitting are to our health. For details from that day, please click here.

Part 1, the Louvre…What can we say?…It was all we’d imagined and more…

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Purse free, with empty pockets, it felt great not to be bulked up when Tom carried our cloth bag with the few items we needed. I was standing behind the entrance gate to the Louvre.

Having appreciated fine art, I’d never taken the time to become knowledgeable about learning different works of art, their history, and their artists. For some of us learning about art becomes a passion, for some of it becomes a passing fancy from time to time and for some, they never give fine art a thought.

On our way to the Louvre we drove through the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed in August 31, 1997.
The entrance to the Louvre with the Grande Roue de Paris Ferris wheel in the background.

I guess I fall into the middle category loving art from time to time, with Tom never giving fine art a thought. We all have our own interests which adds to the uniqueness of the individual. 

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.

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

Not having any interest in fine art doesn’t make a person less intelligent or worldly. Our brains are wired differently. Tom’s total lack of interest didn’t concern me a bit when he’d kindly agreed to visit Le Louvre and other museums with me in Paris. He never complained continually making certain that I didn’t miss a thing.

The vast size of the Louvre is difficult to fathom.
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.

He was not only “the pack mule” as he often refers to himself, carrying the cloth bag with incidentals; bottled water, maps and an extra camera, leaving my hands totally free to take photos, he also was, as always, my personal navigator. 

This was the first area we encountered upon entering the building.
The glass pyramid is a cover over the entrance area.

We hardly missed a room in the massive 652,300 square feet, 60,600 square meters, other than a few rooms we entered immediately exiting, that held little appeal for either of us.

We entered the Louis XIV and Louis XVI areas. The crowds were just beginning to accumulate.
These rooms are a part of the Louis XIV area. As is the case in Versailles, the ceilings are often as interesting as the walls and paintings.

With 35,000 objects in the museum, it’s not possible to stop to look at each item. That would take days if not months to accomplish. However, we’d walk one side of a room perusing everything to our right and then double back to the opposite side when the configuration of the room allowed this plan. 

We chose to stop and enjoy the paintings that appealed to us.
In several of the paintings, we weren’t able to get close enough to get a straight shot with no alternative but to take photos from the side.

We’d stop and look at the items that caught our eye, both of us often attracted to the same items. When possible, we took photos. Although when viewing certain items, the huge crowds made it impossible to find a spot for a good photo, especially at the Mona Lisa where there were literally hundreds of people with cameras raised into the air attempting to get a shot. 

The Mona Lisa, 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.
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.

Honestly, I wasn’t frustrated by my lack of ability to get a good photo. Encased in thick bullet proof glass the glare was unavoidable with my camera and getting a straight-on shot was impossible unless one was willing to wait to squeeze into a good spot.

The ceiling paintings continued to be breathtaking throughout the museum.
We wondered if there will be art from our era that will hold such interest to the public in centuries to come.

Let’s face it.  Most people know what the Mona Lisa looks like. As art appreciation neophytes, we simply wandered around in Tom’s methodical manner, choosing to look at and take photos of items that both appealed to us and were less crowded. Most people have already seen the most popular items. The more obscure appealed to us the most.

Romantic art.
Religion and angels are a common theme through art in most countries.

An important point to mention is that it wasn’t possible for us to maintain a record of every item in our photos as to the dates, the artist, etc. Most often, it wasn’t possible to include the description of the item along with the item itself when the little signs were often anywhere from a foot to three feet away (one meter). 

Whimsical art.
Looking out a window to a balcony with statues.

Taking photos of those descriptions would have resulted in days of editing to ensure we matched up the correct descriptions with the correct items.  As it was, the hundreds of photos we took required most of the day yesterday for me to sort, crop and review.

Many of the works of art depicted rulers of varying importance.
Art of spiritual significance. is predominant in many paintings.

As a result, we are not including captions with names of the photos, the dates and the artists in the majority of the photos we’re posting today and tomorrow in Parts 1 and 2 of the Louvre.  There are a few websites that contain partial catalogs of the Louvre. 

Many works of art bespeak musical themes.
A portrait of a woman of notoriety or a beloved woman or both.

But, honestly, we don’t have that kind of time to match the items to the descriptions when we’re busy each day sightseeing, posting and handling the over 1000 photos we’ll have taken in Paris.

A portrait of a leader or person of significance.
Femininity of the era by Leonard de Vinci.
This sign is next to the above portrait.

If you see a particular piece in our photos on which you’d like more information, please click this link for thousands of photos of items located in the Louvre.  Of course, if you have any questions or input, please feel free to comment at the end of any post for a fast response, usually within 12 hours.

We moved from painting to other artwork of many eras and countries.
The long view through multiple rooms is lovely.

Yesterday morning, we took a taxi both ways to the Louvre when there was no easy means of arriving there by bus or metro.  The cost for the taxi was US $16.23, EU $12.10 on the way to the Louvre and oddly, US $ 13.41, EU $10 on the return drive.  Admission to the Louvre is US $16.09, EU $12 for a full day pass.

We were also attracted to the smaller pieces.
Figurines. Notice the dates.

How long did we stay?  We entered at 9:30 and left at 2:30 when the camera’s battery was almost dead. Soon we’ll purchase a new camera purchasing extra batteries.  Constantly checking on the remaining battery is annoying.

Not only are the artifacts amazing but, the rooms into which they are housed are equally amazing.
There are exquisite statues throughout the museum.

Certainly, no amount of time in a single day would be sufficient but, after the five hours, we felt we’d done all we could do having seen every floor and almost every room as mentioned above.

The Egyptian art was of particular interest to us.
There is an endless array of Egyptian artifacts.

Did we enjoy it?  Very much.  Luckily, with our decision to see many of the less popular items instead searching for those that appealed to our taste, at times, we were alone in a room or with only a half dozen people. 

Stunning artwork.
The cat is a revered creature in some area in the Middle East in both Egypt and which we observed in Morocco.

Visiting the Louvre under our own terms pleased us when we were able to appreciate those treasures that perhaps others may have found less enticing. 

Perhaps a mummy was in this sarcophagus at one time.
More colorful art on the ceiling.

After all, aren’t we the couple who doesn’t necessary live the lifestyle commensurate with most of the modern world’s population: homeless, no stuff, wandering about the world indefinitely?

Gold Egyptian figurines.
Sign posted under gold figurines as shown above.

Most of all, I’m grateful for Tom’s willingness to let me live yet another dream of seeing Paris; the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, the Arc de Triomphe, the River Seine, Notre Dame (today) and many more points of interest we’ve mentioned or are yet to mention as we roll into our second week. 

Colorful Egyptian art.
Small Egyptian artifacts.

Add the fine dining which we hope to continue to experience, the nice French boutique hotel, walking distance to the Eiffel Tower and much more and I couldn’t be happier with our visit to Paris so far.

Egyptian pottery. Several rooms are filled with pottery which didn’t appeal to us.
This piece is approximately one foot tall, .3 meters.

As I write this, its Sunday afternoon, August 10th, hoping to be done by dinnertime. I’m writing Monday’s post in advance since we’ll be gone all day Monday, posting it in the morning before we head out.  I’m sitting at a tiny bistro table in the lobby of our hotel where I’ve been working on my computer for the past six hours writing both Sunday and Monday’s posts. 

This Egyptian piece is well preserved.
One can only wonder as to significance of these artifacts when they were created.

Tom’s comfortably ensconced in the corner of a relatively comfortable sofa, listening to his favorite radio show from Minnesota, Garage Logic, content as he could be.  It’s raining again which inspired us to spend Sunday indoors getting these two posts completed. 

Modern art in an ancient era?
The last of the Egyptian art rooms.

Don’t get me wrong, we love posting here.  Tom is usually busy helping me with research, facts and figures while I busily type to my heart’s content.  And indeed, it is truly is to my heart’s content.  In essence, that’s why we do this.  Because, we want to.

Napoleon III room.
More Napoleon III room.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with Part 2 of the Louvre.  Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll present our visit to Notre Dame with many photos.  On Friday, we’ll post photos we’ve yet to share, review our hotel with pricing, (plus our total expenditures for the 16 nights in Paris), the quality of services and amenities and Saturday, dear readers, we’re off to London.

Note the dates on these figurines.

Have a wonderful Monday for those of our readers who continue to get up and go to work every Monday.  And for those who are basically retired, as we are, who cares what day of the week it is?  We hope to see you tomorrow for Part 2, the Louvre!
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Photo from one year ago today, August 11, 2013:

This was the exit from the yard of the 300 year old stone house in Boveglio, Italy.  A year ago on this date, we realized that in only 20 days we’d be leaving Tuscany, Italy for Diani Beach, Kenya.  Its hard to believe that was a year ago, when at that point, we hadn’t yet decided to come to Paris to fill a gap in our itinerary. For details of that date, please click here.