La Joconde

Ah, Mona...

What? You didn't think I'd forgotten, did you? Everyone, of course, knows that the real reason anyone pays 9 Euro to go to the Louvre is to see The Mona Lisa. That most famous of famous paintings, by the ninja turtle who uses swords and wears blue.

So first off, let me tell you about getting there. It's in the Italian wing, because, well DaVinci was Italian. But you won't have any trouble finding it, cause they put signs up everywhere pointing you in the right direction. And while the Italian wing is this huge hall filled with an uncountable number of paintings (from I assume, other Italians...), Mona is in a completely separate room. This room is not like any other in the Louvre. There are no windows. It's a completely internal room, with doors that look like they could stop an anti-tank weapon if they were closed. I mean, I thought the doors protecting the crown jewels in Scotland were impressive.

Not that she was in a room all to herself. There were a few other paintings in the room, but few people were looking at those. Obviously, this was the densest crowd in the building. Everyone was trying to see Mona. Which is a shame, because if you turned around and faced the other way, you'd see this massive canvas, which I tried my best to get a picture of. I've never been a student of visual art, so I know little about what I was looking at, but this thing was impressive. It was easily 20 feet tall, and 30 feet wide.

Check out that guy standing on the left next to it...

Mona's on a wall all to herself, behind a massive sheet of glass (or some other clear material), behind a separator to keep the spectators a nice safe 10 feet or so away. I managed to the get a few pictures of her. Why not? This is, after all, the most famous painting in the world.


So the Mona Lisa... ehn. I mean, it was neat to be in the presence of the Mona Lisa, but it was the same kind of excitement you get when you see anything historic. Otherwise, it was just another painting. I mean, don't misunderstand, it was cool to see The Mona Lisa. And what they say is true, her eyes follow you everywhere. Wherever you stand and look at her, she will be looking at you. It's bizarre.

To that point, I thought it rather serendipitous that Eyes of a Stranger from Queensryche would decide to play on my random playlist when I walked into the Mona Lisa room. I laughed on this, and committed to remembering to mention it.