One of the nice things about Paris was walking along the river and passing all the lovely bridge and colorful autumn trees. These were just two that we passed when we walked to the Louvre.
This is just one side of one wing of the outside of the Louvre... you can imagine what I was thinking as we walked by it and it just kept going and going ...
...outside the Louvre in the courtyard with the glass pyramids behind us.
...another view of the courtyard.
the information lobby was underground beneath the glass pyramid skylights.
I just thought this spiral staircase was cool - the center cylinder is actually an open elevator they used for people in wheelchairs that just sit on top of it!
Now, the artwork! We spent nearly four hours in the Louvre, covering almost all of the paintings they offered. I took several pictures, and Dad took a few million, so I don't really remember which one is which, so just enjoy!
... oh, one interesting thing about all the paintings was just the size differences. This one above is barely bigger than a postcard...
...whereas this one is probably a few feet wide...
(I really loved the lighting effects on this painting)
(the Mona Lisa! I had to fight through the crowd to take a picture) 
(I liked this one because I felt like it portrayed Mary and Elizabeth and the children Jesus and John in accurate ages, whereas a lot of the religious paintings don't seem to bother much with accuracy.)
... and this one takes up an entire wall!
This is the Appolo Gallery, with lots of precious gem stone vases and containers and crystals, plus King Louis' crown (which, while I'm sure it's worth several fortunes, looked like a burger king crown with jewels glued all over it).
...some of the jade vases and crystal glasses. 
There was also a lot of sculpture there as well, but since I'd already since a lot of ancient Roman ruins already, but we still spent a couple hours so my parents could see some stuff as well. This is the Winged Victory.
... this is the famous Venus de Milo.
...outside the Louvre.
...some of the gardens outside of Louvre.
... a triumphal arch
... a sculpture and the fountain in the gardens of touillerie.
At the end of the touillerie gardens is the little museum L'Orangerie, mostly impressionist works. They have two oval rooms devoted to large panoramic Monet waterlily paintings. Those were so pretty and I had no idea they were so wide.
...another version of Girls Playing the Piano (I really like this piece, can you tell, lol?)
We spent all day at the Louvre and I'm glad I had a chance to go. This is the main entrance to the courtyard at sunset.
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