She's Big in Japan

Katrina's Favorite Part of the Louvre







Well, that and the mummy.

About ten seconds after Jon took that last photo, two Asian ladies literally RAN across the courtyard toward Katrina. One knelt and took Katrina's hand, smiling. The other lifted her camera and took pictures of her friend with Katrina. Then they reversed positions, smiling all the time, and talking gently to Katrina in, we think, Japanese. Katrina was a bit bewildered, but smiled for their cameras all the same. Then they said "sank you," giggled a bit, and walked away.

I've told people before that random Asian tourists take pictures of Katrina whenever we're in tourist areas here in Europe. I'm sure that others think I'm exaggerating, until they see it happen. It's a little disconcerting, but the picture-takers are usually women, and Katrina is usually confused but not shy or frightened. I assume the attention is due to her long blonde hair, but, as my mother-in-law said in this case, if these women had traveled all the way to Paris, you would think that they'd have seen blonde-haired children before. Who knows? Perhaps they had just arrived.

So, Katrina is probably in several vacation photo albums across Japan or other parts of Asia. "Here's the Eiffel Tower, and here's the Arc d'Triumphe. Here's the Venus de Milo, and here's a Leonardo di Vinci painting. And look at this girl outside the Louvre, feeding the pigeons. Imagine! Blonde hair! We just had to take her picture. No, we don't know her name or where she's from. Look! There I am, holding her hand!"

Katrina and the Venus de Milo. Both renowned the world over.