After a good night's sleep we ventured out again in search of breakfast and more art. After some "strange cake" (Anna) and cafes, we ventured to the Louvre -- Europe's largest art museum and home to Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. A former 16th century palace, this place is huge! We decided to spend only a couple hours, hitting the highlights plus a few extras the kids wanted to see including the Law Codex of Hammurabi (c. 1760 B.C.). Anna had learned about these in class and wanted to see it up close and personal. There are 282 laws inscribed on this eight-foot black basalt stela -- one of the first formal legal documents. Some of the laws included the precursor to alimony and child support requirements. Another says if "a surgeon who bungles an operation shall have his hands cut off." And so on...
Next we grabbed some sandwiches and apricots and headed out to the Pere Lachaise Cemetary, which is the resting place for many famous artists and writers, including one of Hal's fave authors, Oscar Wilde. There were hundreds of kisses all over his tomb from admirers (Hal chose instead to leave a red rose...quite charming and sweet). We also saw the headstones for Gertrude Stein and Chopin. Jim Morrison is resting here too (though some believe he still walks the earth) but Court saw that last time and the kids really have no idea who the Doors were.We ended the day with a stroll through the lovely Luxembourg Gardens. Garin got tired of popping in and out of expensive French shops so he wandered ahead. The kids and Court got fancy chocolates and expensive gelato and took their own sweet time getting home to our lovely, air-conditioned apartment. We are going to soak it up tonight with maybe a bite to eat later as this is our last night before the big Brittany bike and camping tour. We may be out of touch for awhile so for now, our loyal followers and friends, au revoir!
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