First thing on the agenda today was a visit to the Science Museum for the kids. It is right on the edge of the Paris city circle so was a 15 minute Metro trip. Our research showed there was a kids section for 2-7 year olds. Perfect we thought as this place has great write ups and is rated the second best thing to do in Paris for kids.
It all looked pretty cool with a big silver ball out front (which has a cinema inside) but I have to say was a little disappointing. The exhibits were quite dated. You can get more high tech stuff on an ipad these days and Perth's Scitech and Sydney's Powerhouse Museum are way better. There was a session time limit. We had no idea of this so when they said it was closing we looked really confused and the kids were very disappointed as they hadn't finished seeing everything. We considered doing another session but the sun was shining and we decided to return to the real Paris.
We headed for the Louvre so we could show the kids the huge glass pyramid which they thought was pretty cool. Then given we were so close to Place de la Concorde and the Champs Élysées Neil decided it was time to do his finale ride. To get to the Place de la Concorde we had to walk through the Jardin de Tuilleries. It is a beautiful garden full of huge grand sculptures and large ponds with fountains.
There were a lot of people out lounging on the garden chairs just enjoying the sunshine. No lounging for us though as Neil had a mission. We got Neil's bike at the Velo Libre station and he rode off into the distance and into the crazy traffic. The kids and I headed back to Place de la Concorde to meet him. It did not take long before we had him back and we were all celebrating his great achievements.
It was here also that I asked Heather to take a photo of Mummy because when I was going through all the photos the other night I realised there wasn't any evidence I had actually been in France, so in front of the fountain that is always a conversation topic between Neil and I in July (I am sure it used to be white and a couple of years ago it was painted, however Neil thinks I'm mad) I had my photo taken. After this the kids had nothing left, so Neil took them home on the Metro while I went walking as I felt like a wander where I could go where I wanted and look at what I wanted. I headed in the general direction of home and took in and absorbed Paris. I walked through the heart of Saint Germain des Pres which was really lively with lots of cafes spilling out on to the thin pavements, and has cute boutique shops. I then went off track a little and ended up at a huge church. I don't know the name of it but it was spectacular.
After consulting my map (I have to go back to paper now we don't have Victoria) it turned out I wasn't far from Jardin du Luxembourg and home so after a quick call to Neil to tell him I was going to be later than planned, I kept going and took the scenic route through the Jardin du Luxembourg to look at the sculptures.
It was a gorgeous walk taking in a very small portion of Paris, but the route I walked through had ever changing scenes. Paris is a truly an incredible city. Tomorrow we plan to explore the added kids attractions of the gardens that are open on a Sunday, being the big family day in Paris.
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