My turn to do a non-cycling blog because Nicola has started packing ahead of departure day on Wednesday. We bought a new set of scales to help with the task of meeting airline weight limits so no ruthless chucking out of stuff just yet, however it is early days.
Today was lots of fun. The predicted rain arrived through the night so we had a soggy start. After breakfast Heather dutifully did her daily journal so we could make our way, with raincoats on, by Metro to the Natural History Museum, and particularly to the Grande Galerie d'Evolution which must be French for "big old building full of stuffed animals". The building was very impressive, located in a corner of the Jardin des Plantes, with a huge five storey hall with a lit roof that changed colour periodically much to Callum's delight. The displays were rather good and the kids enjoyed looking at all the animals, whale skeletons and the like, while learning a thing or two along the way as they did so. We were there for a couple of hours before we emerged back into the gardens to discover that the rain had stopped.
Before we left the Jardin des Plantes we decided to visit the very large hothouses right beside the museum. These were really good too. In places it was like walking through a jungle, then around the corner there was desert with cacti. A third glasshouse had ancient species of plants, one of which rather took Nicola's interest. It had a very odd flower or seed pod (we couldn't figure out which it was) and so it was very unusual. The kids enjoyed the explore through the greenery and Heather was surprised to learn (and is still not entirely convinced) that chocolate comes from trees, at least the cacao bean. She thought I was joking so I suspect she will ask her teacher when she gets back.
After the glass houses, and given the fine weather and having discovered that the Museum of Magic was not open today (apparently it simply disappeared and no-one knows how), we wandered through the streets towards Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter so that Nicola could buy some t-shirts. Just wandering the streets is one of my favourite pastimes so I was pretty content, even so after also having walked around the museum and the glass houses, we were all a bit tired so we stopped for an aperitif (which sounds much nicer than 'beer and juice') at a cafe with a view across the Seine to the Notre Dame.
Suitably refreshed we had a quick look in the Shakespeare and Co. bookshop nearby, an English language bookshop that used to be run by an eccentric guy (he died last year) who offered free board and lodging to aspiring young writers. They would actually stay in the shop and write in the small alcoves all over the rather dishevelled place. Hopefully the new owners can maintain its quirkiness, however I already noticed that they actually had prices on books and a proper till. When we were there in 2004 I fronted up at the till and the old guy simply made up a price in his grumpy way, as he did for all his sales. It was hilarious.
Next we wandered through the Latin Quarter hoping to have an early dinner, however this section of town is horrendously touristy and all the restaurants seemed to offer the identical menu of touristy French food so we kept walking and quickly ended up back in our neighbourhood after another walk through the Jardin du Luxembourg.
After what we thought would be a quiet day at the museum, today ended up being a very enjoyable day wandering around. The museum was interesting and the glasshouses too. The wandering around enjoying the city once again and taking in the odd sight was fun too. While everyone was rather tired and dinner conversation non-existent at the restaurant tonight, it was worth it.
Tomorrow's activities will very much depend upon how the packing goes, and on the weather where rain has once again made its way into the forecast. I have promised Heather one last ride on the Metro so we will end up somewhere.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad