I woke up several times in the night, people coming home at 1am are in a chatty mood apparently, but went back to sleep quickly. I got up at 7:30, dressed in my conquer Paris best, and ventured forth. The first person I saw, a young man leaving the building, glanced behind himself as he exited, saw me at the end of the long corridor and waited, holding the door for me. That turned out to be an omen.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t walk two blocks before I turned around and went back to ditch my light raincoat, gloves, and hat. Though the weather.com temperature was 56, it felt much warmer. At the wonderful boulangerie\/patisserie on the corner, and I grabbed a noisette, (espresso with a tablespoon of steamed milk and a dot of foam), walked to the Metro, bought a ticket from the machine. It was happy to take my 5 euro note and give me a ticket and change. There was an Australian woman and a Japanese man at the machines beside me, and I felt right at home. Using my baby pigeon French, I asked the janitor which train to take and he directed me. Again, everyone on the train was on their iphone, except for one old woman reading a book. I turned on my iPod Paris mix and counted stations to the Louvre. Maybe six minutes. Everyone was clean and nicely dressed; scarves tied and draped with panache and jackets that fitted precisely. Lots of high-heeled boots and Converse sneakers in various colors. A few beautifully embellished ballet flats.<\/p>\n
I jumped off at the Louvre to Pharell\u2019s \u2018Get Lucky,<\/em>\u2019 and metaphorically danced my way down the tunnel made from the walls of the moat. As I entered the Louvre, the playlist switched to \u2018Happy<\/em>\u2019. Seriously. I had a big, stupid grin on my face. Walked past the long snaking line to a guard to ask where I should go, showing my Des Ami de Louvre card, and he pulled aside the barrier and waved me through. I was in a line of none. Joy! Walked to the security and they gestured me to the head of that line, then waved me through. Yes!<\/p>\n I headed like a homing pigeon to the Flemish and Dutch paintings on the second floor of the Richelieu wing. Didn\u2019t make it past the escalator. Turned right into the vast, airy, light-filled\u00a0 atrium\u00a0 with sculpture on multiple levels. Started drawing this wonderful cast bronze nude man, and that was it for an hour or so. I noticed his hands, which appear bound, aren\u2019t.\u00a0 He\u2019s holding the rope behind his back, it isn\u2019t knotted or tied anywhere.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG_7147\"](\"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_7147.jpg\")
<\/a>Afterward I headed on to the Northern painters. Ducked through a hall that turned out to be a darkened room lined with small portraits. Very Holbein-esque. Glorious frames and gorgeous detail. Time stopped again, and so did I. Finally got to the Netherlands and Germany rooms and I knew they would be good but it\u2019s a banquet! A feast! It took me two hours to get through 21 rooms.\u00a0 That may sound like a lot, but on the second floor of this Richelieu wing there are 116 rooms.<\/p>\n