Europe

Returning the car to Paris we had another night before catching the train to London - time for a visit to La Louvre

Although it's a one-time palace, replete with royal furniture painted ceilings and valuable nick-nacks, and also a repository of France's archaeological treasures (mostly nicked) to rival, or surpass, the British Museum and the Met in New York; that's not why it's crowded to bursting point in some areas yet almost vacant in others.

In popular culture it has just two objects of interest: La Gioconda, with the mystic smile, and that sculpture from Milos, the Aphrodite without arms, that's long been held to be the ideal female form - although I think her head's too small. Comparing the two, Leonardo seems to agree.

In this respect visiting them is very like visiting the Rijksmuseum and the 'Night Watch' - reported in Part 1 of this series - a tick on the 'bucket list': 'been there done that'.

Consequently, the crowd is almost unbearable in these galleries on a warm day. Elsewhere, there are many other, perhaps more convincing, examples of idealised womanhood. 

But out the back, in the Jardin des Tuileries, it's very pleasant

On our final evening we went to a famous tourist restaurant in the Pigalle area and then went for a stroll to observe the local colour.

Then it was back to Gare du Nord - by now a very familiar place - to catch the train to London