Thursday, September 8. The Louvre. Easy entry. Got listening devices but didn’t turn them on until after our dash to the Mona Lisa. The museum provided signage pointing the way. The room was not too crowded. Had sufficient time for photos and quiet contemplation without a bustling mob. (These were the only photos I took inside the museum. I left my big camera at the hotel.)

We turned on our devices and choose the “Tour of the Masters”, a 90 minute walkthrough, addressing a selection of key items. But to start, we had to return to the entrance. The devices still need some work. They “lost” our location several times and we had to wait to be “found”. But overall, the devices were excellent assistants. Sadly, once we completed the Tour we realized that the devices held only a few other descriptions. I found the wall labels both too small and too low on the wall. The devices we had yesterday would have been much better. Point it at a painting and get a description.

Unfortunately, the one section I was most interested in visiting (Egypt) was closed on Thursday. (They had a set schedule for closures.) After four hours, we’d become overwhelmed and called it a day. The museum is crazy huge and was becoming very crowded plus noisy.

After lunch and a return to the hotel to regroup, we went out to walk the park fronting the Louvre, up to the obelisk. So many people just sitting or lying around. It’s true; Parisians know how to relax.

Dinner was intended to be at a genuine French food restaurant recommended by the hotel, but it appeared that everyone else wanted to eat there. We found another location that seemed less touristy than most. (Learned during the meal that the Queen had died.) Onion soup and escargot, then steak (with the special sauce) and duck, plus the seemingly obligatory fries. Good food.