Emily Day
Our 8:15am start saw the 26 students off to a full day tour of the beautiful city, Paris. From the hostel we made our way on foot to the Jardins Des Tulieries, one of the most visited gardens in Paris. After enjoying a relaxing walk past the many statues, contemporary artworks and water fountains we met our guide Marie-Laure Barat. From here, the students excitedly hurried to the entrance of the Louvre Museum and we were greeted by the famous inverted glass pyramid.
First on the agenda was a variety of marble statues and sculptures by Michelangelo, but as the students began to notice signs leading to the Mona Lisa, the anticipation to visit the famous painting grew. From Michelangelo’s array of works we were led through a giant collection of 18th and 19th century French paintings. From Marie Antoinette to Napoleon these were more than paintings, they were masterpieces. Students gazed in awe at the giant artworks on the wall, some almost as big as the wall itself. Whilst making our way to the Mona Lisa the crowd thickened and we were all very excited. On entering the room we were greeted by a large crowd and camera flashes.
Security guards kept a close eye on the famous ‘Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo Da Vinci which was sealed in a large glass case. Whilst quickly weaving through the crowd, the students made their way to the front of the barrier which was keeping everyone at bay. Caitlin and I were the first to meet the beautiful gaze of the Mona Lisa or ‘La Jacconde’ in French. Most do not know but the Mona Lisa is barely half a metre tall and half a metre wide. Our guide pointed out many small unnoticed features of this painting, the Mona Lisa does not have an outline around her face and the painting was bigger on the right than on the left, many conspiracies have been raised from these findings, including its mention in The Da Vinci Code.
From the Mona Lisa we split up into groups. My group ventured around to the ‘Venus de Milo’, a classical Greek sculpture. Standing on a large block was the armless ‘Venus’. Through the ages her arms had fallen off and were lost as well as her earrings and bracelet, but this added extra authenticity to the famous sculpture.
After 2 hours of venturing through the giant gallery containing the most famous paintings in the world the students sat down to enjoy lunch, but all the rave was about the toilets. For one euro the door was opened for you, seat cleaned and perfume sprayed. The toilet rolls were patterned with artworks as was the walls, and your hands were cleaned and dried, everyone who didn’t go was envious of the ones who did. After souvenirs were purchased it was time to leave. Visiting The Louvre was the highlight of my week, and seeing The Mona Lisa was amazing I loved every bit of it.
PS: Hey Mum!
