Paris Notre Dame & the Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame, Paris. She's a Gothic chic, a Roman Catholic church.
Notre Dame means, "Our Lady" and its not a football team.

I'm still trying to figure out what the buzz is all about besides the architecture.


This is the world's largest triumphal arch, the Arc de Triomphe.

It is a memorial for those who died in Napoleon's day who fought for France and it continues to be a memorial for those who died in more mordern times during WWI and WWII.

You can see people on top.
This is the view from the top.

Paris Louvre

Paintings:
3-D paintings on the ceiling. And you thought 3-D was a new thing? ok look carefully at the people in between the pillars you can see how the paintings were made to look like they're jumping out to you.

Jacques Louis David. Napoleon theatrically crowning himself. At first I thought it looked like he was crowning the lady, but he is making a big show and then putting the crown on himself. He even has religious leaders present cuz that was big then.

Jacques-Louis David portrait of Madame Juliette Récamier. The model apparently disliked the painting cuz she didn't like her feet exposed which offended the artist. So, the painting is unfinished was never sold until his death.

The portrait of Madame Juliette Récamier in the background.

The Marriage at Cana. HUGE (size)! Featuring the Venetian merchants and the happy married couple on the bottom left, Jesus in the middle, and the pouring water into wine, bottom right. The painting is by Paolo Caliari, it is known as Veronese.

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is said to be the most beautiful painting in the world because of its soft blended colors of her skin. At least thats what I remembered in that college course. I was surprised how many photographs were being taken of her. To me, she was by far the most busiest feature of the louvre. And boy, was she a tiny little thing behind a thick bullet proof glass.

No one was allowed near it and she had 3 guards guarding her.

Sitting so peacefully among chaos.

The seated statue of Gudea, prince of Lagash. NeoSumerian, Mesopotamia. There were about 20 Gudea sculptures that made it to museums.

The Law Codex of Hammurabi King of Babylon is one of the oldest laws found. There are 282 laws, each law is usually no more than a sentence or two which includes Hammurabi introducing himself.



Random sculptures: a Hermaphrodite


a sexy Warthog


Oscar the Grouch's ancestor j/k!


Michelangelo's Dying Slaves... their dying and I'm smiling.



Venus de Milo close up. She was almost as popular as the Mona Lisa.


check out her abs

Psyche and Cupid. A myth about a young god and a mortal female falling in love. And all the Romeo and Juliet problems inbetween.


Psyche and Cupid close up.



Winged Victory of Samathrace. Hellenistic.

The Winged Victory's attire is water-worn as if she was in a wet-tee shirt contest.


Winged Bulls of Assyrian King Sargon II use to guard the throne room.




hero Gilgamesh crushing a lion


Tuileries Le Baiser de Rodin. Pucker up, muah!

Paris Musée Salvador Dali

Montmartre! Home of artist Salvador Dalí, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. And the Moulin Rouge!

Walking through Montmartre was very strange. Its a nightlife district so during the day its kind of dirty and full of hung-over people. Its was hilly and gray. Everything seemed to be on an incline. At the top of its highest hill is the Sacré Cœur Basilica and its a breath-taking view.

We didn't realize how big Montmartre was when we got off the metro. We had plans to look for Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh's studios and the Moulin Rouge windmill but we only made it to one... the Salvador Dali museum.



Salvador Dali is a modern surrealist from the 70's. He is best known for his melting clocks. His art is strange and probably meant to be shocking so you know you will find yourself staring long and hard at some of his stuff trying to figure it out. He is kind of like an Alice-in-Wonderland gone all wrong.


Profile of Time.

There are 3 things about this pix... The table leg is a leg but the other end of it is an arm (the couch also); the table lamp has miniture open drawers which is another one of Dali's obsessions; and to the right, Dali has a see-through melting clock with a drip hanging from its hanger. weeeeird.

Here is a whimsical one, a flying-swimming fast snail. Isn't that an oxymoron?

Here is a photo of his video art work.

He also did sketches.



...And photography which he often modeled for.


la Trinité selon Dali

Go figure. Did you know Salvador Dali worked for Walt Disney AND Alfred Hitchock. Who would've thunk it?

Skull


The Dali museum was small but nice and quaint, and dark and mysterious. It was worth the walk through Montmartre.


The Michelin Slave

Check out da legs. She's got leeeegs, and she knows how to use them...

The best part of visiting this museum was watching my husband say, "weeeeeeeird."