Europe: Paris - Day 2 | Owens Party of Five

On our first full day in Paris we planned to visit the Louvre. I again had researched horror stories of people waiting in 2 plus hour long lines, but we lucked out and only waited about 30 minutes.

Jeff and I knew going into this that we could easily spend a whole day here and still not scratch the surface of all that is inside the louvre to see. The louvre is the largest museum in the world. I was in awe of the building itself and the details on the walls and ceilings. It was truly beautiful. From the paintings to the drawings, sculptures to the antiquities, there was just so much to take in. I appreciate art, yes, but neither Jeff or I wanted to dedicate a whole day to looking at it. So we both agreed that a few hours inside would satisfy us both.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace:

Venus de Milo:

The biggest crowd was of course surrounding the Mona Lisa, the most popular attraction. People were shoving each other and pushing one another to get up close:

Once Jeff and I saw all the art we both could stand for the day, we walked over to the Latin Quarter to grab some lunch.

After lunch, we walked over to the Pont Des Arts bridge (or most recently known as the Love Lock Bridge). Over the past decade, tourists have been attaching padlocks (love locks) to the railings on the side of the bridge and then throwing the key into the Seine river below. This gesture is said to represent a couple's committed love. However, in 2014, the city had to remove the locks and sections of the bridge because the weight of the locks were doing damage to the structure of the bridge.

This is what the bridge looked like a few years ago:

Here is what it looked like when we were there:

Even though the city has now discouraged placing Love Locks on the bridge with the new glass panels that were put in place, people still have found places to put their locks. I had brought a lock with me from home to place on the bridge anyway because I still think the idea of it is so fun!

After throwing our keys in the Seine River we walked over to Notre Dame.

Here is Jeff hanging out with the pigeons outside of Notre Dame:

The Pantheon was our next stop:

Originally it was built as a church, but after many changes, it now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens:

We passed by the sight of the remains of Rousseau, Voltaire, Marie Curie, Louis Braille and many more.

After a busy afternoon we headed back to our hotel. On the way, we walked by Luxembourg Palace and Gardens. And of course, any sighting of the Eiffel Tower deserved a quick photo:

We finished our evening with dinner reservations inside the Eiffel Tower. Our reservations were for 9pm so we were able to watch the sunset while we were eating.