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Jerry and MacLeod just
had to unveil a copy of the
Chronicle in the courtyard
of the Musée du Louvre TraveliN’
raveli WITH THE CHRONICLE
B18 Lexington County Chronicle & The Dispatch-News Thursday, August 27, 2009
Criminals invade our hotel
MacLeod and Jerry Bellune traveled to France in of the Seine.
September 2002 for MacLeod’s high school reunion The museum is housed in the Louvre Pal-
in Verdun. ace which was first built as a fortress in the
12th century. The building was extended
PARIS, France many times to form the present palace.
Last week we told you about our encoun- In 1672, Louis XIV moved to the Palace of
ters with pickpockets in the Metro. Versailles south of Paris, leaving the Louvre
Here is an additional warning to you if you primarily as a place to display the royal col-
are going to France. Pickpockets and thieves lection of sculpture and paintings.
even invade the hotels to relieve unsuspect- During the French Revolution, the National
ing tourists of their valuables. Assembly decided the Louvre would be a mu-
When we came down for breakfast at our seum for masterpieces.
hotel the next morning, Virginia Primer, one The museum opened in 1793 with an exhi-
of MacLeod’s teachers who had joined us on bition of 537 paintings. The majority were
this reunion trip, discovered that her wallet confiscated church and royal property.
was missing from her handbag. The size of the collection increased under
She went back to her room to see if she Napoleon who confiscated them.
might have left it there but no luck. After his defeat at Waterloo, many works
We helped her search the breakfast room, a were returned to their original owners.
large, open room where everyone in the ho- A view of the Louvre. Inside the Louvre.
tel had breakfast. No wallet. golf aNyoNe?
It had $450 in it, Virginia said. have been enjoying Paris. ums and would not do it again if we had a
Worse, it contained her passport. Crime victims lose more than money. choice. We found we should have hired a guide
One lucky break. She still had her airline While Ro and Virginia were dealing with We made the same mistake at the Uffizi in and a golf cart to get around the museum’s
tickets back to the states. the bureaucrats, we decided to make this a Florence, another great art museum. 652,300 square feet.
museum day. That meant the Louvre. We probably missed out on a great experi- We could have spent a week in the place
Beware of crowds We transferred our passports, plane tickets ence because half the time we knew little and still not seen everything it had to offer.
and cash to our money belts, tied them about what we were looking at. If you’re going to France, do your research
Virginia remembered that the elevator had around our waists and under our clothing Guides who are knowledgeable about the and decide what you want to see.
been crowded with hotel guest when she and headed for the Metro. works and the artists greatly enrich the expe- You will particularly want to see the origi-
came down to breakfast. rience with memorable stories. nals of three of the world’s most famous la-
Could the pickpocket have used that as The self-guided Tour dies in art.
cover to swipe her wallet? NapoleoN The collecTor Two are sculptures — the armless Venus de
Probably. We had already heard about an- We think guided tours gain in depth of un- Milo and the headless Winged Victory (or Ni-
other guest who had been robbed. derstanding of the art work you see what you The Musée du Louvre is the most visited ke) of Samothrace.
Virginia and Ro Vasalaar went to the police lose in being able to wander where you want museum in the world. The third is probably the most famous of
station and reported the theft. and spend as much time with any particular Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to all, Leonardo da Vinci’s impenetrable paint-
They then went to the U.S. Embassy to ob- piece of art. the 19th century are exhibited in its 652,300 ing of the smiling the Mona Lisa.
tain a duplicate passport for her. But we elected to take our own self-guided square feet. It is an awesome spectacle cover-
This cost them both a half day they could tour of one of the world’s foremost art muse- ing four or five city blocks on the right bank Next: The three great ladies.
Scott Wilhide trusts the Chronicle
with his local advertising
Pictured from left to right: Scott Wilhide, Judy Levi, Harriett
Patrick, McNeal Blewer, Ashley Faris, Jackie Linemann
Ameris Bank is committed to the Lexington
community and they subscribe to the Lexington County
Chronicle for the Chronicle’s local flavor. They are very
pleased with the response they have had to their
Chronicle ads. The Chronicle is a great vehicle to
reach potential customers in the local community.
— Scott Wilhide,
Lexington County President of Ameris Bank
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