As Cliche As It Sounds, J'aime Paris!

As cliche as it sounds, j'aime Paris. This affection started as soon as I got on the boat touring Seine. In a short hour, all the landmark Paris sites flowed by, Tour Eiffel, lle de ville, Louvre, Notre Dame, la Seine... It was a perfect introduction to the city, a beautiful Introduction on a legendary river on a gorgeous day.

During my next two hours' free time in Paris, I decided to swing by the Louvre. Although I was told that it takes three days to just walk past all the art works in the Louvre, It was the quintessential Paris landmark I wouldn't want to miss. Before we got to Paris, I downloaded a "Masterpieces trail" off the Louvre website, which leads a self-guided tour of nine of the most renowned art

works in this enormous museum, including the "three famous ladies": Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. When I first saw the suggested time: 1.5 hours, I smirked and thought that my younger, swifter legs would allow me to complete the trail within an hour, if not less. Therefore I had an elaborate plan for my two hours of free time: walk from the boat pier, which was close to the foot of Tour Eiffel, to Champs Élysées, along Champs Élysées through the oblisque and Toulirie Jardin, then towards the pyramid at the Louvre before going inside the museum.

Boy I was wrong. Not only did I overestimate my walking pace, which probably slowed down as I have been in leisurely France for nine days, but I also underestimated the number of sights that would lure my eyes to linger before moving on. One of many things about France Katy told me on this trip was that Paris, the entire city, is a gigantic museum, and that one can always revisit the beloved site of one's grandmother in Paris and see it just as she saw it decades ago. Perhaps Paris' charm is exactly her marvelous continuity. I got a sense of this Parisian museum during my stroll from Tour Eiffel to the Louvre. My eyes caught art, history, architecture, flowers, haute culture display, people from all over the world, food, sand, cloud, sunshine... The list went on. I couldn't force myself to be "on time" because being "not" on time was more meaningful and fitting for the Parisian ambiance. I sat down in a cafe, sipped a jus d'orange and nibbled a cheesecake. I looked at people. The fashionable elder ladies to my left, the Chinese and Japanese tourist groups passing by, cafe waiter who took a smoking break outside, and the middle-aged man who looked like the cafe owner as well as, strikingly, DAAR, my headmaster. I knew I was running behind schedule, but I was not procrastinating.  Every moment was to be savored. I was actively productive.

When I finally made it to the Louvre, I realized there was no way I could see all the masterpieces on the "Masterpiece trail". Throngs of visitors kept blocking my way, and I was constantly in awe of the splendid rooms I walked through, let alone the beautiful art pieces. I got lost a few times, and sidetracked on purpose a few times. I did make it to the audience of two of the three Louvre ladies: the most famous and mysterious Mona Lisa, and the humbly elegant Venus de Milo. Even after I deflected from my guided tour, there were signs everywhere pointing me towards the famed ladies. Boy they were popular. Mona Lisa, guarded in a glass case, smiled her signature smile nonchalantly at us strangers whose only instinct was to fanatically take photos, photos, and more photos, until we exhausted all the possible angles and poses we could think of. Even though the belle Mona Lisa wouldn't remember me, it was a dream come true moment. I have "known" her since kindergarten, I have "seen" her on TV, in books and magazines, in movie theaters, on blogs, I have always believed that a trip a Paris would be incomplete without a trip to Louvre and a trip to Louvre without seeing Mona Lisa is not worth having... Yet with all these premonitions, I was still not prepared to meet her in person. She looked different from memory. She looked more mysterious even though the distance between us had greatly decreased. When she was there, she occupied all space and thought. I looked at her; I couldn't believe I was looking at her. I wanted to approach her more, but she couldn't be approached any further. It was all too short. She was there in front of my eyes for one moment, and gone the next. When will I next see her? Some day, I believe I'll be back in Paris and in Louvre. And at that time, I will follow all the signs again to Mona Lisa.

The only Paris photo with me in it was taken in front of Venus de Milo. A Japanese tourist helped me. Before I dragged myself out of the museum, I paused one more time in a quieter room. The room didn't possess a focal display like Mona Lisa or Venus de Milo, but "surprisingly" it was full of magnificent art. I had the luxury of admiring a statue of the Three Graces serenely by myself. My eyes also lingered on a nude female body reflecting gold off the setting sun. Looking up, the exit of the room was decorated by four female gods with wreaths in their hairs, fabric draped loosely down their bare chests, and peaceful yet penetrating gazes into the other end of the room. Under their godly gaze, I waved goodbye to the Louvre, well I mean, just for now!