Paris, Day 5: Pompidou and Square du Temple

When we first arrived in Paris, we parked our car a couple kilometers away in a free area in the Bois de Vincennes, a huge park with lakes, a chateau, etc. We hadn't been back to check on it since we arrived, so first thing in the morning I biked out there to get some things and make sure it hadn't been towed. The trip through the park was a lovely way to start the day, complete with swans, peacocks, and a Grecian-style temple.

And then we were off to the Pompidou Center, an architectural anomaly housing a vast collection of modern art. I was particularly excited about this trip, because I love 20th century art (much more than the 14th-18th century collections you find in the Louvre).

My kids are getting quite good at reading the train maps and knowing how to get places. And look--they aren't even hitting each other!

The Pompidou is famous because its design has all of a building's normally hidden elements instead in plain view: electrical, ducting, heating, etc. are all on the outside of the walls instead of the inside. They are also color-coded so as you walk around you know what you are looking at. There are massive tubes outside in the square for air intake, and most of the walls are made of glass. It's a stunning building housing a stunning art collection. Also, the outside courtyard is a common gathering place for street musicians and actors, and we enjoyed the bubble man for quite some time.

I was so pleased that Mary recognized the mobile as a Calder. She knows some art!

Once inside we saw the children's gallery (which the kids were disappointed with--it was fairly small), then a temporary exhibit by Mona Hahoum a British Palestinian artist, and by then the kids were toast. I'll have to go back sometime to see their permanent exhibit of post-impressionist art to the present. We walked to Square du Temple, a park Linda had picked out as one she wanted to visit. We stayed there for two hours, because where there's sand, there are happy Stratfords. And as a side note, I've been very impressed with Mary, who puts up with a lot of parks and playgrounds, even though she's too old to find them exciting. She is really easy to travel with, flexible and accommodating, for which I'm very grateful.

The Square du Temple playground.

Why is it that they always have to bury someone? Sheesh!

Wherever we go, there is always a pile of backpacks, a jacket or two, and Linda's shoes. She hates shoes.

Dad finished up work early and biked downtown to meet us for crepes. Of course, once we walked to the creperie, bought them, and found a park to eat them in, the weather had turned a windy and rainy, making it very hard to eat the crepes. I've also realized that French people don't eat anywhere but at tables, so every time I eat in the park I feel like I'm defiling the food by not giving it the proper setting. Maybe that's why French people are so much skinnier. Or maybe it's because they are all chain-smokers.

The Parisians have no end to creatively unique playground equipment.