For me, viewing the Mona Lisa was the most anticlimactic part of my trip.  It might be my engineer brain getting the best of me, or it might be that I just didn’t have time to set in front of the painting and soak it in.  However, the crowds and buzz around the painting were quite interesting.  People filed in, videotaped, snapped pictures, shoved, stretched, and finally got their couple seconds to view Leonardo’s masterpiece.  All the while, there were three beautiful works by Leonardo hanging in the main gallery that you could get close enough to smell, and for as long as you please.