26 Dec 2013

DSCN0875 Our last day in Paris. We stash our luggage in an unused toilet (really!) and head out. DSCN0874 Nikki and Austin suggest that we go to the Museum of "Arts et Métiers" - literally Arts and Crafts, but more acurately, Technology DSCN0873 Ian appears dubious but was in fact game DSCN0876 Vivi approaching the Statue of Liberty
DSCN0877 Liberty is included here, as it was for its time, an engineering marvel DSCN0878 In the presbytery of the old church is the original Foucault's Pendulum, though it was first hung in the Panthéon DSCN0881 In the nave is a collection of means of transport DSCN0882 Detail of a column
DSCN0884 It is easy to imagine Umberto Ecco scribbling madly away in a corner here somewhere DSCN0885 The goddesses of innovation DSCN0886 An old plane, a rocket engine and Liberty DSCN0887 A propeller-driven car, one of the odder devices
DSCN0888 A steam-powered military "engin" that moved forward at 4 km/hr with ratchets driving a front wheel - weird! DSCN0889 Another hallucinegenic object: a steam-powered plane inspired by bats DSCN0890 It is made of silk and bamboo, the stuff of nightmares DSCN0892 I don't think that it ever became airborne
DSCN0893 A collection on insane gears DSCN0894 Only mathematiciens could come up with these things DSCN0895 But this! An early cyclotron used by Joliot at Collège de France DSCN0897 The sun had come out: group photo in front on the museum
DSCN0900 Statue of La République in the square of the same name. DSCN0904 The light was suberb! DSCN0902 Le Tricolore DSCN0906 Lunchtime in café I
DSCN0907 Lunchtime in café II, with Ian attempting Asian? DSCN0908 Lunchtime in café III, as our attention shifts away DSCN0909 A lock on the Canal St-Martin DSCN0910 A tourist boat was being raised to continue its journey
DSCN0911 Into the lock it slid DSCN0912 Waiting for the water to be released DSCN0913 The boat rising on the waters DSCN0914 As it goes toward la Seine, it is covered by a linear park
DSCN0915 Late afternoon in the 10th Arrondissement DSCN0916 Light reaching down into the narrow streets DSCN0918 Right! DSCN0919 Light and shadows
DSCN0920 Angoulême, a city in Poitou-Charente, also has a link to this part of Paris DSCN0921 I espied myself DSCN0922 When it's cold outside, head to the Winter Circus DSCN0923 One ring only?
DSCN0925 We returned to the Place de la République, went back to the apartment, and retrieved our luggage from the (free) storage space of the toilet. DSCN0926 People of the Bag on the move DSCN0927 WE took a bus back to the Gare de Lyon DSCN0928 We bid adieu to la République
DSCN0929 At the station, Mary Jo and Greg went to check out le Train Bleu, a renown "buffet de la gare" DSCN0930 The décor was extravagant! DSCN0933 with paintings of all the cities served by the Paris-Lyon-Marseille railroad on 1900, in this case, Toulon. DSCN0934 Elegant dining possible with a view of departing TGVs
DSCN0935 The ceiling fresco, illustrating God knows what DSCN0936 Christmas decorations in the station DSCN0937 Nikki and Austin in their seats on the train home DSCN0938 They had a good time, as did we all, in Paris!