19/10/2025 Knowing what is ahead of me today I had set the alarm for 6.30am, so I have enough time to spruce up .. yeah .. sure … & to have a good protein brekky downstairs before heading out. With my walking Protein is critical with sufficient water intake. Going to the Mercure Hotel buffet (leaving my reading glasses on the table) I picked my usual items. Seeing the labelled egg basket, like yesterday I took 2 eggs. My first clue should have been the boiled eggs were quite cool, but I’ve had that experience in other hotels. Slicing off the top I found the egg to be raw & not boiled. Bit of a controlled mess followed, but discreetly. Argh!! Putting my glasses on I went back & the boiled eggs were in a tiny machine, so I took my 2 quite warm eggs back to my table. All is now good & made a smoothie out of the raw egg. Never waste what is good for you.

Racing up the 2 levels of stairs (their miniature lift is beyond slow) I quickly got my room sorted & headed out hoping the predicted 20% rain was a furphy. Bloody hell it was cold!!! It is now 8am & the only sign of life were the market people stocking their markets out front (once a week on Sundays). The market of fruit, vegetables, fish & bread, etc ran for about 200m in 2 rows, so it was a decent size. I headed north to The Pantheon (Paris version) but knowing I would be there before it would open at 10am. My ticket for the strict attendance at The Louvre is set for 11.15am to obtain my 11.30am entry. They will not accept you being late for the timing & one must not to fail this requirement. I correctly anticipated this Pantheon would not exceed Rome’s Pantheon’s internal wonders going by the literature I saw, so going inside was not critical, as the Louvre has priority.

From my hotel to The Pantheon is 1hr of walking (4.8klms away) so I had best be off, but not in a hurry. I walked the deserted suburban streets for ages .. seems like I’m one of the few in Paris today. Did I say it was chilly? Even walking was cold & I was glad I put my scarf on & now to keep my hands in my pockets. Brrr!! It certainly wasn’t pleasant to see people sleeping on the footpaths & in front of doorways overnight. Too many for my liking. Paris has a lot of beggars & pick pockets, so you must always be aware. I was walking accurately today so everything was going well (GPS working when needed). As time went on, the buildings became more historically elaborate & exclusive assuming this area is another prime neighbourhood. I found The Pantheon quite easily & what an impressive structure. It was also surrounded by other impressive buildings of a university & also a Government Services building along with other churches (Eglise Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, bottom right photo) & basilicas. Two couples had arrived & noticed the sign saying 10am opening, so they headed off for coffee. About 5-7 people are present, so it’s still a deserted Paris.

After seeing the externals of The Pantheon & other buildings I set off for the Notre Dame near the River Seine where it entailed around 2.6klms of walking. It is now around 9.30am & I can finally see Paris kicking citizens & tourists out into the chilly world with gritted teeth & the line up for the coffee & bakery stores are quite long. It will be another hour before I see the volume of runners hitting the pavements trying to get a clear run through the volume of people. Some with shorts & singlets .. you’re kidding!!!!

As I get closer to The Notre Dame you can see the increase in people traffic, so you know you’re making progress getting closer. Turning the corner & WOW!! What a glorious sight! You cross a narrow street to the bridge of the River Seine & you can get your first photo from the church’s side. The first stone of the cathedral was laid in 1163 by Bishop Maurice de Sully who was the main promoter of the construction & was a builder of many religious buildings, even outside of France. His famous master building was the Notre Dame. This site in history was the start of the town of Paris before it became the city. This Medieval Catholic Church was completed in 1345AD, dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Our Lady) & built on an island in the River Seine but had many periods of vandalism & destruction over the centuries.

Driven by a revival of popularity thanks to Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris, the State decided to carry out restoration work in the nineteenth century. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, the cathedral is a major place of Christian worship and the most visited monument in France in 2018. Following the fire of April 15, 2019, which destroyed the medieval framework and the spire of the cathedral, a major restoration project was being carried out to reopen it to worship and visitors on December 8, 2024. The entrance line of people for the internal viewing was insane. I couldn’t imagine the time to get to the front doors of the church. The bells are now tolling & what an incredible sound they make. I watched the line of people enter the church in a larger than normal door which is cut into the much larger front doors. The church is impressive in every form from whichever angle you see it. You must get close to really see the detail in the statues & plaques above the front doors. Truly amazing workmanship. There is an ongoing redevelopment for the church by upgrading the forecourt to start this year (currently, sand grit covering). The next stage will be utilising the large back court for an underground parking extension. The underground parking is currently under the current forecourt. The super impressive statute below is Charlemagne from France’s medieval past who was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire & sits in the forecourt of Notre Dame.

Moving on from Notre Dame, I make my way up to the Louvre for my 11.00am appointment & 11.30am entry. It is approximately 2.2klms away along the other side of the River Seine. Leading up towards the Louvre you come across another obscene shopping area & the over-the-top Louis Vuitton shop. Insane building of wealth amongst other expensive shops. Upon reaching the outer building of The Louvre you take to the bridge over the River Siene first, towards the centre to get great photos of the river, glorious buildings & the background of Notre Dame to the South & The Eifel Tower in the North. Pity it is another full cloudy day & the sun is having another day off by just giving us enough daylight.

Walking off the bridge you cross at the pedestrian lights to enter the Louvre straight from its side with the open causeway. When I was waiting for the lights, I took notice of a policeman about 100m down along the gutter waving a mother & child on a bike to head back. She was the only one on the 2lane one-way road. I thought it was a bit weird & in hindsight did I see a worker’s truck parked at the gutter about 150m further down? That’s all the intake I took & proceeded to cross the road with other pedestrians.

Directly opposite the traffic crossing lights is a large square opening in the external building which leads you into a grand central courtyard, completely encased by 4 magnificent 3storey Louvre buildings (massive). Walking under the clockface building to the North through another causeway opening you enter the front forecourt, where you see the large iconic glass pyramid with smaller glass pyramids adjacent to it & the mass of people awaiting to buy tickets &/ or to gain entry. Buying online pre-day is certainly the best way to get in.

After a lot of photos & avoiding people doing the same, I walked to the side to get around the large glass pyramid & to seek out my ticket entrance section. In doing so, I noticed very large platform grills (3mx3m) on ground floor pavement level & with a man using a control device opens one of them showing large hydraulic stays & a row of stairs, like the action out of the film, Gladiator & a stream of people come up from that stairway. I kept walking around to my ticket section & confirming I’m 50mins away from my actual entrance, which is good timing really. After standing in front of the entry barricade for 10mins or so, taking everything in, a Frenchman with a Louvre uniform speaks loudly in French, then English to the crowd; stating there is a “technical issue” happening & we are closing The Louvre. WHAT!!!!

Everyone finally starts hearing him but too confused to move back as instructed. Within about 2mins a Special Police Squad of about 12 fully armed officers come up from that stairwell I described earlier & form a barrier line to set up more barricades than was previously. I had already got the message & moved back but some ‘idiots’ kept asking the police where to buy tickets. Really? .. yes, I heard them several times. Stupidity, really does my head in. The Frenchman, referred to earlier continues to yell out “Full Refunds apply .. The Louvre is now closed for the day. Go see Paris”. Bummer!!!!

Within another 2mins the reservist army personnel with their AK47s (possibly) parade the forecourt & then the volumes of police sirens are heard getting closer. I saw the emergency hierarchy arriving & running to the senior police officers, so I’m thinking it’s more than a technical issue .. whatever that means. They did a rapid job of clearing the thousand or so people out from all 4 directions with the front courtyard being the main one. Might have been the show of guns. Haha. It was unusual for me to see the rush of the emergency hierarchy (in suits) towards the police in charge & for the 4 persons involved they were all doing the French double kissing on the cheeks (all males) … but it’s France, hey. Then they start talking & pointing. Most people have now got the message & shouldn’t be in this area so all but a few headed off when it was again reconfirmed The Louvre is certainly closed for the day.

I contacted my tour provider, (Headout) by their contact email stating the immediate events & confirming I cannot reschedule, so a refund must be forthcoming, despite their claims of no refunds, as it is out of everyone’s control & The Louvre stating all will be refunded. I await their positive response but it’s France & I have little faith based on what I’m coming across in Paris. Another point, I think they forget countries like ours saved their arses twice in world wars. With not much else to do & feeling the tiredness of all my walking I headed back towards the Eifel Tower that I can still see & be nearer to my hotel, but first I seek a light ‘lunch’ & a bloody hot coffee to wrap my cold hands around the cup first. Across the road from where I was yesterday having lasagne, I noticed a crepe shop. Sadly, they were empty of customers, yet the menu & pricing looks OK. The owner sees me & I gladly accommodate by walking inside to instant warmth. I ordered a cappuccino & a crepe & all is now good. With me sitting there, suddenly people start looking in & by the time I left, the restaurant was full. I told the owner I had brought them in. He smiled & said “Thank you”. My Louvre ticket also included a River Seine cruise, but I was not prepared to do this as I’ve already walked the same river walkway plus did not want to jeopardise my refund application.

By the time I got back to my hotel, I checked my fb & found The French Media & TV had already posted the reason for the Louvre immediate closure today, in that it was a jewellery robbery that took place this morning around 9.30am I believe. Go Figure, on the most valuable of museums there is a flaw in security. The female Arts Minister responsible for all Arts, Culture, etc is getting a full bashing due to her previous crappy performances they are bringing out. Head of Security at The Louvre is a female plus the security supervisor is a female also. Seems like a typical DEI promotion. Apparently, workers used a small furniture delivery truck (like an escalator) that scales up to 3storeys, parked on the street & with iron bar cutting saw they made out they were working on a Sunday as per a normal job setup on the street wearing the Hi-Vis & workers gear. It is also alleged, the alarm system for those windows & room areas had been turned off some weeks ago by all accounts. Wreaks of an inside job surely. No alarms went off anywhere, so the security is a joke. You would think or even expect a perimeter security check would be done each morning & night as a priority & any such work scene would be properly scrutinised. Everyone was asleep at the wheel. I’m one of the people that won’t get to see The Louvre this trip, so to say I’m pissed is an understatement on my #1 tour pick! The Louvre should pay for my Paris trip return. Hold my Beer!! End of rant!!!  For now!!! I’d say, if I returned to Paris, it would solely be to see the Louvre & the inside of Notre Dame.

Not much is happening in this freezing afternoon, so I’ll end my #11 blog off here. Many thanks for reading my blogs. My next blogs will be leaving Paris for Amiens (tomorrow, 20/10/25),1hr by train to the North for the WW1 experience. Hopefully, I’ll have a better run at the dreaded Garde de Nord train station tomorrow. Please stay safe, happy & healthy. Cheers.

Post Blog: There were 4 robbers involved. 3 were caught within 2weeks. They left a jewelled crown (damaged) next to the truck in their getaway on small motorbikes. The internal robbery took 7mins apparently within the building. Confirmed 1 robber had worked in security at The Louvre. No sign of the jewels or crowns to date. With hindsight or whatever you wish to call it I remember seeing a policeman acting a little weird about 100m down the street from the bridge & also the furniture elevator truck but really didn’t register that strongly with me however I know which elevation they used to enter the window but 30mins earlier I would have seen everything unfold.