Day Four – Slow Down and Smell the Seine

After two days of rushing madly through the museums of Paris, Ruby elected to enjoy a slower pace today. We started with a cruise along the Seine on an open-air boat. Really, Paris is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been in. Every little podunk bridge on the river is decorated with fabulous sculpture; every apartment building has blooming plants on the balcony; every Parisian you pass looks better than you.

The cruise was nice. We had a little audio guide that told about the passing sights; better than that, we listened in as the American family in front of us enjoyed a tour with a private guide.

Then came crepe No. 8. Ruby wanted one for lunch and I said, fine, so long as it’s not a dessert crepe. She chose a plain one, and I forced her to have something that looked like whole wheat batter. Then the crepe-maker said, “Really, are you sure you don’t want sugar with that?” Ruby looked at me with big eyes, and the crepe-maker looked at me like I was a crepe Nazi, and I gave in.

We explored the Jardin des Plantes, which has the oldest tree in Paris (can that be right?), a cedar from Lebanon planted from a seed carried over by an Englishman about 300 years ago. It’s also the home of the Museum of Natural History, which has this column of stuffed animals trekking through the center of the exhibit. It was pretty cool to see the animals up close, but sad to think about the circumstances that landed baby hippos, giraffes, elephants and their parents in the taxidermist’s office.

Right around the corner was the largest mosque in Paris. We wandered around and tried to peek in at the beautiful mosaics, but I was afraid we women-folk would get shooed away. Rick Steves recommended a Moroccan restaurant right there. We went in and drank mint tea and shared a pastry with the birds that flew freely in and out of the dining room. Outside, people sucked on brightly colored hookah pipes – not a good anti-smoking advertisement. Ruby thought it looked cool.

After a budget meal of Chinese takeout, we’re turning in early tonight.