Paris, J'taime! Bonjour Bretagne!

Last day in Paris involved coffee next to Shakespeare and Company followed by a brief detour inside. Even though we've been there often, and often two days in a row, it's incredible to see how much rearranging and changing occurs in such a cramped space. From there we walked to to and through the Natural History Museums and gardens, founded by French naturalist Georges Cuvier (perpetuator of catastrophism as the main mode of extinction). Museum #1: Paleontology. We got in for free between being students and under 24 years old. THREE LAYERS OF BONES. Most had completely articulated skeletons for creatures living and extinct. SO MANY SKULLS. And brains. And a Tree of Life chandelier!!! Not sure who was happier, Margot for simply being around skeletons again, Autumn for the marine creatures, or both for the dinosaurs. There was a small section on hominids, though they jumped from the Miocene to the Holocene. Annoying. Then on to Museum #2: Gallery of Evolution. Interior looked like an old train station plus the set of Next to Normal. Mostly full of taxidermied and plastic-replications of animals, NOTHING on the evolution of humans. We did not stay long.

Chandelier/Tree of Life, representing the kingdoms!

Top to bottom: Chimp, Orang, Human, and Gorilla skulls through their ontological processes.

Bones everywhere, not behind class. You could touch, if you were so daring/sneaky.

Brief naptime/last minute tidying and packing, ice-cream eating (Berthillion brand, get some), meeting up with Fred, took the Metro to the train station, met up with Georges, and away we went to Rennes, to Bretagne in the north! Can't believe our Parisian jaunt is over. It was wonderful and already we need/want to return someday.


Now in Bretagne where we are staying with more family friends, the Morizot family (Babeth, Philippe, Antoine and Emy) at the hotel they run. Off the train, into Babeth's arms, and off to their hotel for a homecooked meal of salad, veal and potatoes au gratin, bread and cheese, mini creme brulee, pomme de terre, pomme tarte, apricot and cherry pastry, and wine. YUM. Life will be good here, with even more Belle moments.


WORD OF THE DAY: L'homme chauve-souris = BATMAN.