Louvre - Feeling Lost Amid the Great Works of Art

Louvre must be on the bucket list for most of us; after all it is amongst the largest museums in the world. Its iconic glass pyramids, are probably the second most recognizable architecture in Paris. It is where the famed Mona Lisa resides. And to be surrounded by over 35,000 pieces of artworks and sculptures, is quite an exhilarating feeling.

So, when in Paris, I had budgeted an entire day to spend there, much like everyone else I presume. After a couple of hours of being inside Louvre, however, that initial euphoria began to give way to a feeling of confusion and being lost.

You see, with 35,000 objects on display, you get a little over two seconds per object, assuming you have 24 hours to view the museum. However, the museum is open for just 12 hours and 45 minutes, even on its longest days (i.e. Wednesday and Friday). That left me with less than a second and a half to admire each masterpiece. So I wanted to pick my galleries very carefully, and make sure I see all the “must-sees”.

Since all the walking and map reading was taking its toll, I decided to take a coffee break. As I stood there a dim smile grew on my face. I was not the only one facing this dilemma. Every where I looked, I could see faces just as hurried and confused as I was; navigating through their maps, to get to the next masterpiece on their must-see list.

Eugene Delacroix's masterpiece "Massacre of Chios" (top right corner) lost out to a map, in grabbing the man's attention

Special thanks to my wife Arti, whose map reading skills and sense of direction were invaluable.

A Walk To Remember

"Let's just stay in this one city for a couple of weeks and not go anywhere else in Europe", I said without an iota of doubt in my mind. I knew Paris would never disappoint us.

The fleeting passage of a tourist has never held much appeal to me. I wanted to visit Paris to soak in the parisian sounds, the sights, enjoy my daily cup of coffee with fresh baguette, laze around in the cafes, and walk idly through the winding streets... 

If all the world's a stage, as Shakespeare once alluded, then it must be called Paris. Here, you are never too far from a new act unfurling somewhere. You may stumble upon it in a busy metro station, find it just around the turn, inside a cafe, at a street corner, on the promenade next to Seine, on the steps of a church. Where it patiently waits...

Waits for you to arrive and set it in motion. And before you realize it, you are a character in this play yourself.

Paris is not just in its churches, museums, Seine or Eiffel, it is equally, if not more, in its bookshops, cafes, gardens, its people and their 'Joie de vivre'.

So when you come here, be not like the hurried grains of sand of an hourglass; instead pause, stand still, raise a toast and let this city come alive around you...

Pierre's Librairie des Alpes on Rue de Seine is a bookshop dedicated to the mountains

Catching up with an old friend

Soap Bubble artist near Fontaine Saint-Michel

Game of chess in progress, at Jardin du Luxembourg

Spontaneous karaoke session inside a metro station

Sketch artists near Place de la Concorde - you can get your sketch done for €20

Waiter, Montparnasse district

Young fans at the grave of the famous French singer Serge Gainsbourg

Seine promenade

Hugo Barahona's beautiful harp performance on the steps of Sacre-Coeur

Paris city view from the Montmartre hilltop

Camera - Nikon D610 

Special thanks to my parents for gifting me the new Nikon D610.