凱旋門
凱旋門還是一如既往的威嚴、典雅、高大，淡金色的晨光下愈發顯得輝煌壯觀。
我們來得太早，樓梯還沒有開放，只能在下面瞻仰那些美麗的浮雕。
去年我朋友就在巴黎地鐵被偷包。她說是一夥女生，吉普賽人，其中一個擋在門口故意給人阻擾，然後其他幾個裡應外合，趁旅人在被迫放慢腳步時痛下偷手。我朋友很快就發現包包被偷了，她直覺就是被其中一個女生偷的，眼疾手快當眾把那女人的大帆布包一把打開，真的從中一下子找回了自己的包包！
聽我朋友繪聲繪色地描述這番驚心動魄的經驗後，我趕緊上網買了個防盜包。但到了巴黎後，一連幾天平安無事，我們慢慢也放鬆了警惕，甚至覺得之前有點大驚小怪了，巴黎的小偷看起來根本沒有想像的那麼可怕。
話說我們在凱旋門逛完了，搭地鐵去下一站，剛上車就有四五個吉普賽女生（都是teens）上來，擠在門口。果然其中一個挎著大帆布包的就試著打開我的包包！還好我的防盜包拉鍊有上掛鉤，她打不開。而同時另一個女生的手已經伸到我家弟弟的褲子口袋裡，但弟弟也很警覺，劈手一把打開了她的魔爪。這群女生沒得逞，也無心戀戰，就在車門關閉前立刻跳下車去。全部過程大概只有一分鐘！留下我們一家人面面相覷，驚嘆她們嫻熟迅速的老千手法。
龐畢度中心
地鐵驚魂記後，我們到Marais這區逛街。這一帶有許多五花八門的波希米亞風格小店，色彩斑斕，還有以前的猶太區，各種風味美食。。。很多好看好玩好買的店。我們慢慢淘寶逛過來，轉過一個街角，誤打誤撞遠遠看到這龐然大物，我趕緊拉他們一起去。
Chagall的畫充滿愛和溫情
頂樓的風景開闊
兩個小孩對現代藝術沒多少熱情，但很喜歡這幢奇特的建築。
Virtus
巴黎有很多米其林餐廳，這次我們選了Virtus來摘星星。
所有的菜色都不錯，服務也特別好，但老實說沒有太令我們驚艷。
羅浮宮
每次來羅浮宮都是一場硬仗，而我們永遠是被打得趴下的那個。就像週四晚上去奧塞美術館，這次我特別挑了週五夜間開放的時間來，希望撿個人少的漏。
選了最佳時機，仍然不敢輕敵，一早就備下作戰策略，簡單來說，就是逆流而上—先參觀冷門區域，把最熱門的Denon Wing第一樓留到最後三、四十分鐘，而羅浮宮鎮館之寶Mona Llisa就留到關門前的最後一刻。
I downloaded the louvre map from the official website, marked all the pieces I wanted to see and planned my route beforehand. Here’s our (highly individualized) plan of attack:
F=floor, R=room
Enter through the carousel entrance.
Richelieu Wing, F-1:
Cour Puget, R105
Cour Marly, R102
Take the elevator to floor 2 to admire the Dutch painting collection by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and De Hooch.
Richelieu Wing, F2:
The lace maker, R837
Bathsheba at Her Bath by Rembrandt, R844
The Galerie Médicis, R801 canvases by Rubens on the life of Marie de' Medici
Gabrielle d'entrees and sister, R824
Sully Wing, F2:
The cheat with the ace of diamonds, R912
Then climb the stairs down to floor 0 for the Near Eastern Antiquities department.
Richelieu Wing, F0:
Hammurabi code, R227
Assyrian King Sargon II's palace (8th century BC)
The Cour Khorsabad, R229
The Lamassu, R229
Sully Wing, F0:
Room 307, Persian king Darius I’s palace (510BC)
Kneeling bulls capital R307
Frieze of archers, R307
Winged ibex, R307
The caryatids, R348
Venus de Milo, R345
Denon Wing, F0:
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, R403
The Dying Slave by Michelangelo, R403
Denon, F1:
Winged Victory, 703
Coronation of Napoleon, R702
The Great Odalisque, R702
Liberty Leading the People, R700
The Raft of the Medusa, R700
Virgin of the Rocks, R710
Raphael’s La Belle Jardinière, R710
Mona Lisa, R711
This plan is highly individualized. I'm a sucker for Dutch paintings and Persian & Assyrian antiquities, so we spent a good chunk of time in those galleries. We left entire collections of Egyptian and Greek art out because we have recently visited both countries and have seen mountains of ancient Egyptian sculptures and miles of greek vases. We also skipped Napoleon's apartments, French Crown Jewels, Islamic arts, decorative arts, etc. You can browse through the entire collection on the Louvre website.
6:30pm The carousel entrance.
Enter through the Richelieu Wing. We went straight through to the Cour Puget and Cour Marly. I've always loved these two courtyards. The sculptures, the plants, the steps, the pattens of light and shadow through the glass-roofs… the space is simply divine.
然後坐電梯上F2去看荷蘭油畫。
Bathsheba at her Bath by Rembrandt.
The Galerie Médicis, R801 canvases by Rubens on the life of Marie de' Medici.
看看這邊多麼空蕩。
The cheat with the ace of diamonds. 她臉上的表情也太搞笑了吧！
從F2再下樓到F0。就是我最愛的近東文物部門, Near Eastern Antiquities department.
The Code of Hammurabi! It's the Babylonian system of law in ancient Mesopotamia.
"Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"
Babylonian legal text composed during 1755-1750 BC.
Cour Khorsabad
The Lamassu 8th century BC
Assyrian king Saragon II's palace (8th century BC)
Enormous kneeling bulls capital
36 of these columns once supported the roof of the 128,000-square-foot audience hall in the Darius palace at Susa. (510BC)
The bulls would have been actually sitting much higher up.
Frieze of archers, also from the Darius palace. I love all the edges and trim designs that they used and the colors that they had chosen.
They're dazzling. 比起赫赫有名的Persepolis, Susa簡直是默默無聞。這邊還有一座3D的Susa宮殿模擬展示，做得超棒的。
The details are breathtaking
The entire Richelieu and the near eastern department were gloriously crowds-free.
接下來往前直走就到了caryatids
Venus de Milo
從這裡開始明顯的人多起來，畢竟是羅浮宮三寶之一。
還有其他絕美的雕塑比如：Psyche revived by Cupid's kiss
米開朗基羅的dying slave
Taking a selfie 
再上一層樓梯，我們就到了羅浮宮最紅的Denon F1。即使是夜間參觀，這裡也鬧哄哄如菜市場。寶貝當然很多啦，比如這幅"Grande Odalisque" by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Antea，今年羅浮宮那不勒斯特展的招牌，她右肩垂到手中的紫貂令我又愛又怕。
Raphael's La Belle Jardiniere
比起前面近東展區的寧靜，Denon F1人頭攢動，人聲嘈雜，根本沒法能靜靜地專注於美妙的藝術。我們乾脆捨棄了看畫，來玩reenactment。先上8年前拍的這張。仔細看貝貝的小臉表情，多麼“生無可戀”，笑得我！
八年後的今天，the louvre still kicked our butt.
老公自嘲是completionist，就是到哪裡都恨不得能一網打盡。八年前的這一刻，他說到：“Come on, we still have the whole Egyptian gallery to see!” 但是這次玩reenactment，我們自己笑得東倒西歪，以往那些痛苦的回憶都變得特別好玩兒了。
Save the blockbuster for last!
We literally got to the Mona Lisa minutes before closing time.
Last time it was quite the mosh pit here. 這次我們終於能好好地跟她對話。
3hrs of Louvre left us exhausted.
下次我就不去Denon wing湊熱鬧了，還是乖乖待在我最愛的近東區好好欣賞我的最愛。
