At the end of May, a companion and I headed over to the Louvre for lunch at Cafe Marly (https://cafe-marly.com/en/). I know the food is not perfect and mostly overpriced, but I forgive this, just to have the view from under the arcades of the Richelieu wing for as long as I want to claim my place. I liken it to walking on a beach boardwalk watching the swimmers in the water but instead you are sitting overlooking a sea of diverse people wandering the Louvre its exterior courtyards including fountains, and, of course, the I.M. Pei designed Pyramide (du Louvre). Then, off to the right, yet in the near distance, a view of the Tuileries with a further reach to the Eiffel Tower, all the while protected from the weather, be it rain or hot sun, for instance.

The entrance is dramatic, once you find it! (Stand with the Tuileries to your back and the Pyramide du Louvre in front of you and it is on the left, under the arcades.) Stunning!

And this is just some of what you can see:

Indoors is the Costes brothers familiar looking sophisticated design, including a glassed-in wall that allows you to look into a small portion of the Louvre. Also, if you decide to go, head up to the bathroom so you can see the view from a little higher.

This visit was not without a walk through the Tuileries and a ride on the Ferris Wheel (60 meters high), a suggestion from my companion. It had been years since I had a ride. The lines were not long. And, UP, UP, and AWAY we did go!

And….around and around we went! In fact, I was getting ready to take some photos and didn’t even realize we were already a quarter of the way up because the ride was so smooth!

A full view of the ancient Luxor Obelisk, (23 meters high) which originally stood at the entrance to the Luxor Temple in Egypt, is now at Place de la Concorde in the first photo below. If you look closely, in the second photo, you can see the Arc de Triomphe de l’ Etoile (50 meters high) at the end of the Champs Elysees and a peek at the Grand Arche (111 meters high) in the business district of La Defense behind it.:

With a few other visuals of Paris one doesn’t often have the opportunity to see:

Much to my surprise, about a week later, I was on a bus passing by the Place de la Concorde and realized the Ferris Wheel was no longer there! I know I had varying opinions regarding its location, especially when it first arrived, but I had gotten used to it being there. Now all I can say is I am thrilled to have taken one of the last rides of a long run of ‘Up, Up, and Aways’!