EuroTrip - Day 22

La Gioconda and Some Rains

I don't want to create any suspense here. The first half of the title is the name of a painting which is better known as Monalisa. The second ofcourse gives a mention to the rains that Paris is witnessing. It is interesting to know that even in some parts in India, it is raining heavily at this very time. Coincidence it is?

Monday morning was like any Sunday morning that we had while working as an IT enginner. Get up late, make breakfast at your own pace and have it as brunch. Go out for grocery shopping for the coming week. Make lunch, eat it and then sleep off for the rest of the afternoon. We did everything except the sleeping part. The pressure to sort out photos (there are more than 4000 of them so far from this trip) did not give us any chance to enjoy that customary sleep.

The evening was spent in Louvre. For a museum of this size, I think they should issue weekly passes. A day is not at all sufficient to see even a single galary there. Luckily, we get free entry (being a resident student in European Union), and thus we can go there as many times as we want. The issue is that all the descriptions are in French, so without renting the audio guide, it does not make any sense in the museum. I hope to do some background reading and visit that place next time.

Talking about Monalisa - my frank opinion is that I did not find anything special in that. There were lots of other paintings with superb colour and shadow work. Monalisa stands like a lone warrior capturing one full wall for itself. Somehow all the paths seem to lead to it. Still, I could not feel any magic. I shall give her a second chance. The entire world can not be mad behind something for no reason.

It's been more than 20 days since I am away from home. I talk with my family and friends as frequently as I used to. Still, somehow, I can feel the distance. I think this is the price I need to pay for having so much fun.