The Tragic Ending of Le Petit Prince's Writer

A tragic ending for the creator of my favorite hero, Le Petit Prince. What kind of guilt you carry around all these years, knowing that you are the villain who killed Antoine de Saint-Exupery? War is never a good thing.

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Lost in Louvre

I, of course, have been warned. My marvellous Paris Encounter guide book has warned me about the immensity of Louvre and how long I am going to queue if I enter via the famous Pyramid. And so I left my petit hotel and took Metro ala French, early in the day. After few confusing interchanges for this map-blind traveler, I made it to Palais Royal- Musee de Louvre, Metro direct stop to enter Louvre (via a huge hall where they still keep the old wall intact). So, no I didn’t join the long dragon-y line above and you should not too. Better to spend the precious time inside. Also for museum buff, I advise you to buy Paris Museum Pass which allow you to visit 60 museums and monuments all over Paris (for 2, 4 or 6 consecutive days). It also comes with the privilege of strutting via “VIP” entrance and avoid hoi polloi queue. For another tips to spend less in Louvre and you happened to be under 26 years old (except if you are caught in museum shop’s buying frenzy), is to visit on every Friday evening since it is free from 6 to 10 p.m.

Louvre is not a museum. It is what people use to describe it, to explain the vastness of it. But I don’t think it is the right words to describe the experiences when you are in it. It is the Mecca for art, architecture and civilization aficionado. A pilgrimage for me. The Holy Land of Civilization. However there are some obstacles in my way. One, I am direction blind. I would never be able to tell apart which is is west or which is east. You can put a life-size map in front of me and still I will be lost. And I’m in Louvre (I am still amazed that I successfully went through it alive),one of the largest museum in the world.

Two, is the mob. Horribly buzzing, crazily blitzing and suffocatingly gathered in one huge annoying group that takes up the whole place kind of mob. I literally had to poke and push to be able to see the masterpieces. Most of them are herded sleep walkingly by their guide (usually attired in bright blinding color and armed with flags and whistle) from one masterpiece to another, nodding their head harmoniously when the cheerful guide explained to them about certain sculpture. The same guide (smile tatooed permanently) also works as instant photographer for the group since a lot of people apparently want to have their picture taken beside Venus de Milo with the same pose (Winston Churchill’s “V” fingers and huge grin). Quite a spectacle for this sapimalas who loves to watch people in secret.

Considering I have only few hours in Louvre (too many museums, too little time), I had to make a careful selection of which exhibitions I would visit. Sculptures, Egyptian art and paintings is a must. So I started to make my way through the sculptures section. Etruscan, Greek and Roman sculptures are scattered everywhere. I saw beauty in every nook and cranny. Even the ceiling was a feast for the eyes.

The sculptural celebrity was also the most crowded (and it haven’t even reached noon!) such as Venus de Milo whose unarmed yet still beautiful, Winged Victory whose headless and actually could just become obscure but somehow managed to becomes popular (a dramatic position on top of the staircase and perfectly angled skylight also helps).

I don’t have a personal favorite but I was very drawn to this sculpture of Psyche and Cupid. Erotic, beautiful and hit me with a strong impression of love, lust. Suddenly my head was singing “All you need is love” by The Beatles and this sculpture really does give a symbolism of love. Pure, profound and as if you will die if you are not rescued by love, of love. I saw few artists standing close to those sculptures and draw sketches of the details. A pulsating vein in one arm and the naked six packed torso of unknown male statue with curiously small you-know-what. I wonder about this. A room full of naked male statues, supposedly symbolizing the male masculinity and yet, none of those muscularly marble statues have a more fitting ‘size does matter’ fixture. Perhaps size and masculinity doesn’t necessarily goes hand in hand centuries ago. Hmm.

As for the paintings, all I could say is it was a blur of colors. I would love to tell you a smart sentences with a sharp views and knowledging remarks but to tell you the truth, I was lost. Too many of good things is bad for you. I remember some paintings far more than the others in that visual war between masterpieces. Madonna of the Rocks (damn you, Dan Brown), Rubens, Rembrandts and those famous Renaissance masters. It was too much for this poor brain and two eyes. I wouldn’t mind to have extra pair of eyes at that moment. So I was walking in daze with mouth hanging open all the way through many galleries.

Suddenly in front of me was The Painting. The Monalisa. And it was a seriously dissapointing appearance. I knew it would be small and but I didn’ think it would be that small or that protected. It seems silly to protect such a petit painting with such a great security (and to understand why someone wanted to throw acid into Monalisa’s face is beyond me). From all Da Vinci’s masterpieces, why it has to be this smirking woman that becomes really popular? Personally, I think Monalisa is overrated. There, I say it. Feel free to comment. This is the closest distance I got to Monalisa (No wonder you keep smirking, Signora!):

I continued to the next level, Flemish paintings and impressionist, my favorite. They had a good collection but I was trying to keep my apetite for Musee d’Orsay and so only spent half an hour in there. Oh and I almost forget to tell you about this group. Apart from tourists who had to come to Louvre for the same reason they must go to Eiffel Tower, there is also a new group of visitor. I present to you *with drum roll* The Da Vinci Code Group. Beside the obvious people frenzy with anything Dan Brown, Monalisa, Opus Dei and Mary Magdalene; Louvre also gain benefits from Monsieur Brown portrayal. So now, using the moment, Louvre created a special tour for those ‘code crackers’. I was walking pass one group when I heard a guide in French accent said loudly, “So this is the spot where Jacques Saunière was murdered…”. At that point I really had to giggle. Just couldn’t help it.

After asking two nice museum staff (they can speak English! Ces’t magnifique!) about the way out (at this point I just couldn't bring myself to take a look at the crumpled map in my hand), I managed to find my way out to the garden I once saw in a book (Louvre: Masterpieces of I.M.Pei). I didn’t even remember to take a peek in the museum shop. I was that tired. So I went out to the famous Pyramid and found a seat on the fountain. I found faces similar to mine. Dazed and exhausted.

Total hours spent in Louvre: 4 hours 25 minutes. Unforgettable. Now is the time for food. Cheap food.

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How to Survive The European Museums

1.NEVER ever bring your backpack or unfoldable umbrella or walking pogo stick or chihuahua in Gucci bag or gigantic handbag nor any other carry-around thingy into museum unless you are ready to put it in the cloakroom (which I hate to do since it takes quite a while and also sometimes you have to pay for that)

2. Invest in museum card. Available in most European countries with popular museums. It save a lot of money and time since you don’t have to queue. Oh and it also made you some kind of VIP celebrity visitor with queuing herd of people staring envily at you while you strut into ‘special entrance’. It felt good when I did that in Musee d’Orsay ;-)

3. Remember in mind to come earlier if you have a plan for visiting museum in Europe. It ‘s a big business, people! Unlike our museum in Motherland where there are times when you are the only one visiting and you felt all those stony Hindu deity statues staring at you and…oh, nevermind. Just arrive early if you hate to queue or find an alternative entrance (for instance do not ever enter via the Pyramid in Louvre where the queue is always dragonishly and agonizingly long. Unless, of course, you want to pull a Robert Langdon-running-from-policemen stunt in front of blitzing Japanese tourists)

4. Check out the internet if they have a special program available like guided tour or free entrance (For Louvre, it’s every Friday night, special for student). And make sure to write down the opening hours. The last thing you want is to go somewhere, queuing for hours until you know the whole life story of people in front of you and rejected by a stone-faced guard right in front of your sorry nose. It happened. A lot.

5. Wave your student card everywhere you pull-out your wallet. Never hurt to ask. As an Asian (specifically a poor Asian student with minimum euros and maximum yearning) I suggest you to smile a lot and look as young as possible (no red lipstic and sophisticated LV bag, fake or not) since most Europeans are lost in telling how old you are. I passed for under-age museum card in Paris after I unshamedly admit I was a 16 years old. All’s fair in love, war and shoe-string traveling, baby.

6. Give yourself a break of museum. Don’t insist to see art museums in a row (like I did) because in the end it would seem like a blurred view and not a single precious memory of a painting that takes your breath away. Plus it’s tiring and all you want to do in the end of the day is staring at people with hollow gaze and feel your brain is outside your head (like I felt).

7. NEVER take a picture of yourself in narcisstic pose in front of hundred years old painting. You should see, enjoy and study it; not bragging about it. I see a mass of people did that in Louvre. Taking a picture in front of Madonna of The Rocks or flexi-glassed Monalisa seems to be all the rage in Louvre. Merci Monsieur Brown for ruining the authentic Louvre experience.

8. Always read the brochure. It’s printed not just for souvenir to show folks back home or to tell your grandchildren many years to come, but to give you direction and give hightlight to certain section of exhibtion you interested the most. If you have little time to spend or the museum just not meant for one day visit or you are with tag-along companion who keep asking how long you need to stare at Picasso’s masterpiece which his or her 5 year old brother can make, that’s the only thing to do.

And as Master Yoda always tell Anakin Skywalker, May the Force be with you!

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