Travel Photo Essays: Paris 2013 - Crying in the Louvre

I am always moved when I visit museums or sacred spaces of any kind. No matter how I try to steel myself I tear up and cry when I stand before art or altars. The Louvre is overwhelming. The collections are vast. It would take months, perhaps years, to truly take in the art collections.

I hid out in a window well in one of the sculpture galleries as I composed myself, and took these photos of the glass pyramid and St. Germain.

We stayed until closing the first day, and then spent a few more hours the following day. If you have time for a quick lunch, the Louvre's Cafe serves the most delectable chevrè (goat cheese) quiche, AND an assortment of desserts. Here are a few photos from the multitude I took:

In front of Vigee Le Brun's Self-Portrait with her daughter Julie.

In front of the madhouse crowds amassed in front the Mona Lisa. 

I love religious icons, especially images of Mary. I so would have been a Marian devotee in the middle ages. 

The Islamic Art  Gallery is housed in a courtyard under an undulating gold geodome you can see from the main galleries.