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Here is the entrance to the Louvre, right below that great, big glass pyramid. There is a statue placed at the centre, looking down at you as you arrive. It is rather foreboding, but in an artsy sort of way. It kind of describes the anticipation you feel as you are about to see some amazing artefacts – you sense the shapes of the things, but it’s like there is a cover that will soon be pulled off, revealing … something. The angle of the photo here is important to fit in both the crowd and the statue, and to give the feeling the statue is looking over everyone.

Here are just a few of the thousands and thousands of Egyptian artefacts in the Louvre. They are small sarcophagus statues. The blue colour is accomplished by applying a special glaze which, once it wears away, reacts chemically with the stone, and turns it blue. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose, or if it happened hundreds of years later when the glaze was finally gone.

Here is a lovely ceiling carving of the Egyptian zodiac. It pointed North, East, South and West and was also lit just beautifully, giving a sense of a morning sunrise on one side, and the light of the moon on the other. I brought this out a bit in photoshop after.

Can you guess what everyone here is lining up to see? For whatever reason, the Mona Lisa, or, in french, La Jaconde, seems to have become the foremost attraction at the Louvre. You can tell you are getting close just by the sheer amount of people in the hallways growing. Just to be a tease, I won’t show you a picture of the Mona Lisa herself. Sorry:)

When you are in a place that has been photographed extensively (and I can’t think of what has been photographed more than the Louvre), it is important to come up with shots that are different, even if they seem a little silly, or don’t have a high possibility of really coming out well. This was just such an attempt. Can you guess what it is? It is a photo of the inverted pyramid which mirrors the glass one up top, though it’s not directly below it. Many people get their picture with the point of the pyramid just above their hand. I decided to try a shot looking up through the pyramid to the sky. What do you think?

Finally, we left the Louvre, in search of a cafe and a concert. But first, we had to cross the Pont des Arts again. Though we could not locate our lock, I did see this bit of fence which had started to fall down from the weight of the locks. I thought it was a good metaphor, and a bit unique, so here it is, the Pont des Arts, pulled down from the weight of love.

On l’Ile de la Cite, there are little cobblestone roads everywhere, with buildings twisting along them beautifully. Here is one I found on the way to the Sainte Chapelle, to listen to a classical string quartet.

Et voila, la Sainte Chapelle, or it’s interior anyway. It was just amazing. The entire main room is done in this kind of glass, letting the setting sun in as we listened to some fantastic music. It was a lovely end to a fantastic day.