Day two of my trip happened to be Palm Sunday. I woke up early, determined to make all the sights on my list, and took the Metro toward location #1: The Museum of Natural History. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I had a little hiccup on my way there thanks to some of the more old-fashioned Paris Metro cars. With these older cars, in order to get out at the station you have to flip the door handle up...but the sign is in French and the diagram is really not as self-explanatory as it seems. Anyway, I was supposed to get out at my station but fumbled the handle, couldn't get the door open, and the train continued on. Luckily there weren't too many people on the train. I tried to play it cool -- no, I didn't REALLY want to get off there -- but thankfully at the next station someone else was getting off so I was able to follow them out the door. I doubled back and got to my intended destination.
I've been to Paris a few times but the Museum of Natural History was a brand-new stop for me. I entered through the park gates and had a pretty walk up to the main building. Surprisingly, there were all these French people in the park -- jogging, doing aerobics, stretching. In spandex and gym shoes and ratty old t-shirts. If you've ever been to Europe -- especially Paris -- you NEVER see Europeans "exercising" and wearing gym clothes. I was pretty amused by the whole situation. I thought that Parisian girls stayed skinny by walking everywhere and smoking a pack-a-day, but I guess they sweat it out too. I'm a little surprised that there's no Lululemon in Paris, especially since it's a Canadian company...but I digress.
My real goal in going to this museum was to see the
Hall of Bones. I'm not sure how I missed it, I think it was in a different pavillion, but I was pleasantly surprised by a huge hall of taxidermy! I'm kind of a weirdo in that I love taxidermy -- the taxidermy section of the Chicago Field Museum is one of my all-time favorite exhibits. I was also introduced to taxidermy at an early age by my pediatrician who is a family friend of ours. Despite being an easy-going guy and care-giver to small children, he went big-game hunting in Africa during the 80s when it was still legal. As a child, I spent many a Christmas and New Year's Eve in his study/trophy room, watching cable on a tiny TV while the adults were celebrating. This room consisted of a stuffed full-grown male lion, two leopards, a zebra rug, an elephant foot table, elephant tusks flanking the fireplace, and about twenty hunting rifles behind a glass case. I was always afraid that the animals would come back to life and exact some kind of revenge upon me. Anyway, this is an amazing museum (they have a special little room dedicated to the Dodo bird) and it's free if you're a student! The biologist in me was fascinated :)
Not too far from the Natural History Museum is one of my favorite places in Paris, the Ile Saint-Louis. This little island is right behind Notre Dame, and its winding streets are the epitome of French charm. I walked along the Seine, passing lots of little waterside gardens along my way, an entered via the island's east bridge. Again I was looking for something from the past -- a little mysterious chocolate shop that I visited with Jess a few years back. This place was straight out of the movie Chocolat. The owner was an older woman and definitely could have been a witch or at least a gypsy. The hot chocolate she served was a rich, dark and creamy drinking chocolate, and since it was pretty cold outside I was hoping to buy a cup and warm-up inside the cafe. Alas, the shop was nowhere to be found. I walked up and down the main street a few times but it wasn't there anymore which makes me very, very sad. It was a magical shop.
I settled for a Nutella crepe from a little stand at the west end of the island and made my way over to Notre Dame. The church service was just getting out, and I passed lots of people with little green branches in their hats and coat pockets. I wasn't about to climb to the top of the church alone, but I did want to make a stop at the famous Shakespeare & Company bookstore. It was definitely filled with tourists but I didn't really mind. Check out that first edition copy of Lord of the Rings they had in the window! (awesome) I picked up a few gifts and then headed toward my next destination, the Musee d'Orsay.
The church courtyard above is at Saint-Severin, and this pretty tile is something I saw at a nearby Metro station. More on my afternoon in the next post.
