A Ride Through History…The Louvre

I always wanted to go the Louvre. Even before we ever thought we would live in Paris, I dreamed of going to the Louvre. Once in Paris, we went at least four times in our first two months. I’d like to say it was for our great appreciation of fine art and culture, but we actually never made it into the museum itself. We kept meaning to… but we were too busy Christmas shopping and couldn’t make it past the shops. It was one of the few places we knew of that was accessible and the parking was so good. We’d look at the line to get in, shrug, do a little more shopping, have a coffee and leave, saying we’d try again the next week. Now I know that if you’re handicapped you won’t have to wait in line. I’m still not comfortable strolling to the front, but as soon as you get in line someone from security will come and pull you straight through. Not only will you not have to wait in line, you won’t have to purchase a ticket either. If you park in their underground parking you’ll find a huge number of parking spaces that are large enough to easily pull your wheelchair out of the car. One of the details you’ll notice if you’re coming from the parking garage is that when you get to the double doors, one door opens facing ‘in’ and the other opens facing ‘out’, so this can be awkward for your pusher. If you aren’t driving a car look for the landmark glass pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre. A taxi can drop you off quite close and you’ll see security outside. There’s a large staff operated lift that can easily accommodate a handicapped scooter. The lift takes you to the main lobby where you’ll see an Information desk. Look for the brochure that has pictures of a wheelchair and stroller at the top. This will help you locate all of the elevators and lifts and it’s available in English. If you aren’t traveling with your own chair, they will loan one to you in lieu of your ID. I got a close look at their wheelchairs and they looked smaller and lower than the average chair in the States. If you’re a larger person or have really long legs their chairs may not be adequate for you. The Louvre is split into 3 wings, and each wing has multiple floors. In addition to taking the elevator between floors there’s also hydraulic lifts between the many split-levels on each floor. You might want to look over the plan and map out your route. We just followed the pull of the art and it became like playing a video game, trying to find the secret lift or elevator. The lifts require a second person to press the button and keep their finger on it until you enter and then they will need to get in and keep their finger on the button until you exit. We got tired of the pace of the lifts and my husband rolled me up and down the small flights of stairs between split levels. This is a skill he’s perfected since we’ve lived in Paris. At one elevator there was a staff person and we were behind a small line of people. When the elevator emptied the staff person signaled for my husband and me to go to the head of the line. This didn’t go over well with the non-locals in line and as I offered to wait, the staff person rolled me onto the elevator. This is what is done in France. Some French people will even get off of an elevator before their floor to make room for a disabled person. I picture French mothers rocking their babies whispering to them “You are French… you must always carry a baguette, have your dog with you at all times and you must always let the crippled people go first”. We usually plan to have lunch in the food court. They have a nice selection from around the world. The Lebanese counter is absolutely delicious! On a crowded day a wheelchair will only fit on the outside edges of the tables. We recently had a great lunch and headed back into the museum. First, while sitting in a wheelchair don’t forget to look up at the beautiful ceilings. I can’t look up easily so my husband tilts my chair back for me. The magnificent art is overwhelming and I am always able see everything up close, with one exception, and that’s the Mona Lisa. In this grand museum she seems to be THE painting that attracts THE mob. She is lovely, but you have to be quite patient to work your way up close enough to see more than the back of people’s heads. I would rather sit in front of Atala Portee Au Tombeau and cry for a few minutes and cry a little bit more at La Jeune Martyre or admire the beauty of Botticelli’s Venus et les Graces. There is also a painting that I was familiar with a year ago but it did not stir my emotions. Now after living in France for a year just thinking about, much less sitting before Delacroix’s La Liberte Guidant le Peuple gives me a lump in my throat. After a few hours of intermingling with history and beauty, we stopped for coffee at one of the small cafes interspersed throughout the museum and talked about the experience. I stopped in the restroom and as I sat outside of the handicapped stall a French woman took the latch on it and shook it, muttering something that was too fast for me to catch. She pointed to the stall and said “naughty” and wagged her finger at the door. A minute later a very sheepish, able bodied English woman walked out looking terribly embarrassed. When I came out of the stall an able bodied American girl walked in the handicapped stall and when I was leaving the restroom a French girl rolled me out, against my insistence that I was fine. I prefer to not be given special attention and I don’t mind waiting in lines, but regardless of what I say or insist this is a different culture when it comes to assisting the handicapped. As a fiercely independent American…