Undeterred by yet another rainy forecast, we all donned our slickers and took the metro to the Marais district to try a new playground and a new patisserie. The playground was cleverly camouflaged along the periphery of the Place des Vosges - leaving the overall impression of a sophisticated, tree-lined square. Jacqui and Charlotte, starved for the company of people considerably smaller than Jack and I, tried engaging a sister and brother duo named Isabella and Michael Angelo - the later proving too ornery to be a satisfying playmate - saddled with that name, is it any wonder?
On our way home, we stopped at Gerard Mulot Patisserie (also featured in our book) and each picked out a treat to enjoy later at Natalie's 1/2 birthday party. We would have gotten a cake but then Jack wouldn't have had the opportunity to try 5 different pastries! The birthday party was a smashing success complete with decorations and home-made party hats. Natalie had her first taste of rice cereal and ate it with gusto. I think she figures that the quicker she gets through the mushy stuff, the sooner she can get to those yummy looking pastries.
Today being the 4th and final day of our museum pass (and although we were suffering from serious audio guide fatigue) we decided to check another couple of major destination museums off the list . We started with Rodin, which was enjoyable yet emotionally taxing given his preoccupation with tragedy, death and damnation. Certainly a master of his craft and a prolific artist, it must have been kind of a drag to hang out with him - 'Hey, Auguste, what cha working on these days?' 'Oh, same as last year, more statues of tortured figures trapped in the 9th circle of hell. You?'
On our way to Musee de Quai Branly, we happened to pass the Invalides which I've always been curious about but never explored. Inside is an army museum and a chapel which contains Napoleon's tomb. The word chapel brings to mind a quaint, cozy building but the scale of this chapel is truly shocking. Not to be outdone, the tomb of Napoleon is enormous, probably about the size of a pick-up truck and twice as tall - pretty big tomb for a short guy - it seems his complex may have followed him to the grave.
And then, for something completely different, we visited Musee Quai Branly - a vast showcase for the ethnic art of non-european cultures. Although carefully curated and dramatically presented, I walked out 2 hours later feeling like I'd been shot with a tranquilizer dart. Jack really enjoyed it though and they had to shoo him out at closing time. Without a restaurant reservation for dinner, we wandered the streets of the 7th to find a good looking brasserie for french onion soup and entrecôte de boeuf. We ended our day at Bar du Central, at a sidewalk table, sitting side-by-side, facing the street. The food was disappointing but a glass of wine and a little people watching goes a long way to improving one's outlook on dinner.
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