mona lisa smile

While it was extremely cold our entire visit to Paris, we had a few days of amazing sunshine.

We arrived to everything covered in snow, so it was actually kind of fun experiencing the city in snow, sunshine, and rain throughout our time there.

As I said in a previous trip post, I had to be creative in my layering. My husband would laugh at me, because I would do my best to look "cute" and colorful, despite being in 100 layers.

This outfit is actually composed of a black v-neck t-shirt, the patterned top, a black cardigan, my cashmere sweater, my big black coat, a scarf, tights, coral pants, socks and boots. Whew!

Napoleon's Tomb

We were marathon sightseers. Looking back through all of our pictures, I'm amazed at all that we saw each day. Napoleon's Tomb was a shocking experience; it's something that we added last minute to our agenda and I'm so very glad we did.
It's full of beauty and history and exquisite art. I would highly recommend visiting Les Invalides if you get the chance!

Top: Ruche, Pants: Ruche, Scarf: Primark in London
Boots: Urbanog, Purse: Target, Sunglasses: Ruche

I love art and architecture, and walking up to the Louvre for the first time was inexplicable.
I had heard a million times how massive and extensive it is, but I hadn't really prepared myself for the weight of taking it all in. It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe this structure was dedicated all to art!


"Mona Lisa Smile" is one of my favorite movies.
If you haven't seen it, you should -- there are so many things to uncover in that movie. The music is wonderful, the cast is great, and there's something magical about it that I'm not even sure I could explain.
In any case, it was on my mind when we went to the Louvre!

Obligatory tourist snapshot!

Once inside the Louvre, it felt amazing to shed our outer layers and take our time walking around.
We had a list of all the pieces of art we had to see, so we made our way through the museum with those in mind.

I know many people say that seeing the Mona Lisa in person is disappointing, but I definitely didn't think so. I think the hardest thing is trying to appreciate her while huge crowds are bustling around, taking pictures, making noise, and rushing through.
The true tragedy is that The Mona Lisa is surrounded by crowds of people, none of which truly appreciate what they're seeing...the average viewer spends 15 seconds or less in front of her.
We took time off to the side, staring and wondering about her, taking in every detail. Why do so many people gather to her? What made her so famous?
I doubt anyone in that room could even tell me.

As for me, I wish I could do outfit photos with miss Mona every day of the week.
Maybe then I could discover her many secrets.