We left off at the entrance to the Louvre. The line to get inside was a bit long, but we were committed to go in. It was so very hot that day, but the kids hung in there. Here is where planning is essential. Always come prepared for a wait. Have water and snacks handy. We drank lots of water to keep ourselves hydrated. At one point, a car backfired and the whole crowd stopped what they were doing. Paris is on edge after the terror attacks.
Shortly after that, a man and woman almost came to blows over bottled water. I have no idea what was going on, but I guarantee the French swear words were flying.
My tip for Paris is to get to attractions early. And maybe learn some French swear words. But we finally made it through security and inside the blessed air-conditioned, beautiful Louvre.
We had a scavenger hunt book for Paris and we worked on finding their list of 10 ten works of art. We were in awe.
At one point, Alex told me to look up. It's go big or go home even in the ceilings!
We were able to see the top 10 works of art, but made a point to stop and admire as many things as possible.
This is one of the halls leading to the most famous work of art, Mona Lisa.
You hear so much about the crowd around the Mona Lisa, you really have to see the mob to believe it. First of all, the Mona Lisa is tiny compared to the art surrounding it.
We finally got to the room that contained the Mona Lisa. OMG the sea of people was insane!
This was another tear-inducing moment for me. Knowing how I grew up, with very little money, the struggles to graduate college, having our sons and the struggles we have had with them. I shed a few happy tears. I mean look at my face. I haven't been that happy since I walked in to See's Candy.
I wanted to get the kids as close as possible to the front of the mob. I felt like it would be another achievement for them to be proud of. Here is your autism tip, especially if you have more than one in your group. You need to pair up to make things easier, and communicate at all times. Alex and I always say which kid we will have, and where to meet up after it's over. Alex took Nik and I took Noah. Noah was all in on this one. We held hands and slowly made our way up to the front. We had to jockey for position, nudging forward at the slightest chance. There is some slight pushing, but it's not too crazy. I experienced more craziness at a Smashing Pumpkins concert back in the 90s. But it does involve some determination to get up to the front.
Success! We finally made our way to the front. Again, a few tears were shed. Noah and I stood there, arms wrapped around each other for a moment. I took some pictures. We talked about how proud he should be in himself. We talked about how thankful we were for this moment, because not everyone is lucky enough to experience this. And yeah we took a selfie or two.
A proud moment.
Alex tried hard to get Nik in the crowd. They got about halfway through before Nik said he had enough.
Autism tip! Know when to push, and when not to. And no matter what, celebrate the progress! He couldn't get up to the front, but he did try to go as far as possible. Bottom line, he was happy to see the Mona Lisa. What purpose would it have served to drag him to the front, feeling miserable and overwhelmed? Instead, he stood at a safe difference, able to enjoy the moment.
If you look closely, you can see Noah and I all the way up at the front. If you knew Noah when he was younger, you know what an achievement this was for him.
Getting a family selfie was pretty hard. There just wasn't enough room with the sea of humanity around us.
You see! Madness!
We continued to make our way through as much of the museum as possible.
Really the pictures do not do it justice. Plus I was more focused on being in the moment, and less focused on my photo composition.
We had reached the point of exhaustion. You have no idea how big this museum is unless you have been here before. We took a break and had some snacks. Chocolate croissants may have been consumed. And maybe some macaroons.
We decided to leave the museum and resume our hop on bus tour.
This area around the Louvre is not paved. Prepare for dirt. Lots of dirt.
This is when the wheels fell off a bit. We ended our bus tour and made our way to the subway. The instructions are in French, of course. But the problem was that our stop was not listed on the map. I tried to find help, but the subway worker did not speak English. We were exhausted and lost in a foreign country. Uber to the rescue! Alex has the Uber app on his phone and we were able to get a car to take us back to Disneyland!
Up next, part three of day three in Paris. The day that never ends.
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