Wonderful Vacation in Paris

Last week, my husband and I spent a wonderful week in Paris. This was my fourth visit to the city of lights. We participated in a number of events for locals in addition we did the tourist thing and visited the Louvre and Versailles. 

The Louvre was a new adventure for me. It is considered the world's greatest art museum, with an unparalleled collection of items covering the full spectrum of art through the ages. As expected, the museum is so huge we really couldn't spend enough time watching all the beautiful things. Aside from the art, we found the building itself, and the decorated rooms of the past so enchanting! And as others have asked, we did go see the Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda). There was a line-up for those who wanted to get closer and take a selfie. We were satisfied to see it from the side.  My favourites included Napoleon Bonaparte's rooms and the Statue Rooms.

We also took the metro to see Versailles. This royal residence of Louis XIV is a visual treat. The palace tour goes through 17 opulently decorated rooms, which includes the amazing Hall of Mirrors. At this time of the year, the amazing fountains were not operating.


One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the antique markets. We did not have time to see the over 2,500 stalls.  I took numerous photos that I'll use as inspiration for paintings in the coming year(s).

I did not paint at all during the past week, except for a few hours on the flight back home.  However, here is a painting I worked on before leaving for our vacation.  The foliage was completed with my sword brush.

Have a great week,
Danielle