The Matt Faus Blog

Upon walking into the courtyard of this place, I could do nothing be stand in gaping awe of what I was seeing. I learned firsthand how truly indescribable the magnitude and grandeur of this building is. The walls and parapets were draped in ornately detailed designs and patterns, all carved into the stone which held the building together. The sheer square footage represented by what was surrounding us was overwhelming, and we had only begun to learn about what was held inside. In the middle of the courtyard was the entrance – a gigantic glass pyramid with two smaller pyramids on either side. Passing through the gateway and descending into the belly of the crystal pyramid gave the rightful feeling of entering into an internationally renowned museum, nay, guardian, of artworks of all kinds.

After picking up tickets and an English (they had 13 other languages) version of the map, we headed towards the only painting that either of us had ever really heard much about, The Mona Lisa. It took us an hour to get there. Leaving the lobby and entering into the first hallway is the beginning of an incredible barrage of beauty and wonder. With every step and every glance there are new things to gaze and marvel at, each one more interesting than the last. Paintings of all kinds, sculptures from every era and region of human existence, jewelry from the tribes in Africa to the English Monarchy, Egyptian scepters, French weapons of war, sculptures of Grecian gods, and we’ve only been walking around for an hour!

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was interesting, but you really have to stand there and look at it for a while to notice anything peculiar. There were quite a few people congregated there, obviously to see one of the more famous works in the museum. A few even tried to take pictures, despite the signs outside the doors prohibiting such behavior in 14 languages. Regardless, it was funny to hear the Frenchmen yell at them.

Continuing on, we could only make it through a little over 1/3 of the museum before our feet, and even more so, our minds were simply exhausted from the objects and images we had put through their processing regions. By the time we were leaving, I recognized the sensation I was experiencing. The only other time I had experienced such an overwhelming of the mind was after my Calculus II final, freshman year at UTD. I simply could not comprehend things around on a deeper level that simply “chair”, “street”, or “bridge”, much like after leaving the Calculus exam, I looked at my watch and had difficulty determining what time it was – the beauty section, or the numbers region in the case of the Calculus exam, had simply been stretched beyond its ability. I couldn’t even recognize Ashley in a crowd of strangers.

After a very long day and a good meal next to the river, we headed back.

Oh yeah, I was kidding about not being able to recognize Ashley. Also, I know my pictures page is broken and I’ve been trying to fix it, but I’m pretty busy with work right now and I don’t really have time to mess with it. Hopefully I can get it figured out the next time I play with it, but if not I might start putting pictures on another site.