Working, Playing and Visiting

Just as we seemed to be getting into a routine during our first two weeks in Paris, this past week threw us for some changes. While my work at the MNHN has continued at a good pace, Grandma Barb and Kari arrived with some other Minnesotans mid-week to explore Paris. This has taken us to a few new places, but it has also given us a chance to share some of our favorite hang-outs with our visitors. Barb and Kari’s heroic support of the weak US dollar is truly admirable, and I hope that they are getting everything they want out of their first trip to Europe.

Last Sunday, for our out-and-about time, we went to the Flower Market near the Cité metro station (right near Notre Dame). We had never been to the market before, but it was rumored that on Sundays, there are pets on show also. It was true! Lots of different plants and flowers and ornaments, and then some animals as well: birds, rodents and even freshwater mussels! It was an interesting morning, especially for Nancy and Daphne. Once I got through the plants and wishing I could bring a live baobab cutting to plant in our yard in Alabama, I parked myself by the river to read while the girls explored the vermin.

On Wednesday, Grandma Barb and her friends Clare, Cathy and Beth arrived from Minnesota via Philadelphia International Airport. Nancy, Daphne and I met them at the Jussieu station, dumped their copious luggage at the Timhotel Jardin des Plantes and walked them over to a café by the Panthéon to eat lunch. During the afternoon, we explored around Notre Dame, and then looped back to the Timhotel so that the ladies could check-in and freshen up for dinner. We dined at a touristy spot on Mouffetard. It was a fun diversion, but exhausting.

My sister Kari arrived on Thursday. Word had it on the Internets that her flight was going to leave Philadelphia three hours late. If one was a glass-half-full person familiar with that airport and USAirways, then really the flight was only two hours later than expected. Barb and her friends decided that Kari could find the Timhotel without them, so they toddled off to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up their Paris Passes. On a hunch, I took a walk in the rain at lunchtime to eat my cheese sandwich and walk down to the Jussieu Station. Kari arrived just as a gully-washer set in, and we were stranded under an awning for a bit. Eventually, I got her checked into Mom’s room, a café, a crêpe avec jambon et fromage (from Le Buffon: mmmmmm), and some tea at the Mosque. That is where Grandma, Nancy and Daphne caught up with us, and I went back to work.


Friday was just a regular day for the three of us while the Minnesota girls tried to whoop it up on their open top bus ride. And then Saturday, we took Grandma up to Sacre Cœur to see the chuch, the sights from atop the big hill, and the proliferation of the adult entertainment industry near the Moulin Rouge. At lunch, Grandma Barb, had 50 cL of Belgian beer with her lunch, and she got nicely lit up.


But our week wasn’t spent only in showing visitors around Paris. Notably, Daphne felt the vibe of the place and got philosophical. She constructed the following: “You can’t poke a hole through me, so I am real.” Suck on that Descartes! My own research hasn’t advanced the philosophy of zoology too much further this week, but I am starting to become quite data heavy and ready to move on to the next exciting phase of my work: rearranging the specimens and identifying the types.

Kari goes back to Minnesota on Monday, and Grandma Barb departs on Tuesday, so I am sure there will be more adventures to describe in the next blog!