Les Vacances: Day 26 - Guys' Day Out

Flat Stanley* and I headed out on our own today. First stop on our adventure was the Pantheon, an ancient landmark in Paris commemorating the lives of famous Frenchmen. The building is undergoing a multi-year renovation to correct structural problems that come with age. One interesting attraction is the Foucault pendulum, just like the one at the SF Academy of Science Museum. Of course the one in Paris is the real deal while others are replicas of Foucault's model.

From the Pantheon we headed back toward Luxembourg Gardens but veered off on some side streets hoping to find our way to St Sulpice church. Along the way we had a pain du chocolat as our second breakfast. Stanley has such a sweet tooth. He keeps eating like this and he won't be flat much longer.

The small streets in Paris are so interesting and picturesque. We followed one that looked enticing and were fascinated by the colorful and imposing doorways. We wanted to knock on the doors to see who lived there but decided against it since Stanley can be very shy.

At the end of the street, we discovered a large, old building with a door that was open. Since Stanley is braver than I, he went first and suddenly we were inside a magnificent church. We had discovered St Sulpice. The church was quiet and there were other people visiting there also. Some were praying; others were looking at the stained glass windows and statues. We saw the pipes of the great organ. Would have been fun to hear some music but we were too late today. We walked through the church and out the front door into the bright sunshine. There was a beautiful fountain in the plaza in front of the church where we sat and enjoyed the sunshine.

After resting for a bit, we decided to go back to Luxembourg Garden. There are pretty flowers and statues and even a playground. Stanley insisted on spending lots of time at the playground. Then he wanted to ride the ponies. He sure has lots of energy. After the ponies, we had PB&J for lunch while we watched the toy sailboats on the pond. Stanley was curious about the boats. He thought they were run by remote control. But the truth is that they are simply wind-driven. We will need to report this to Monsieur Gabay who was certain they were operated by the NSA.

It was time to catch the bus to go to Jardin du Plantes. This garden is a free botanical garden where all the plants have name tags. There were all kinds of flowers and plants many of which are also found in California. Near the garden was the paleontology museum. We didn't go in, but we saw a big stegosaurus outside. Stanley also had a close call with a large animal that looked like an elephant. I think it was a mastadon. After that, we skedaddled out of that place and jumped on a bus to escape.

Next thing we knew, we were standing outside Notre Dame cathedral in a long line of people. We followed the line and soon we were inside the magnificent church looking at the stained glass and statues and candles. It is a very majestic place.

Stanley is a great travel companion but he was getting a bit grumpy so we beat it for the 21 bus to take us home. It had been a full day. Besides, I needed a beer. --John

*For more info on Flat Stanley, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley Our granddaughter; Sammi, sent Flat Stanley to Auntie Kat, then we got him. Uncle Jay gets him next.