9.28.8
3.7.9
10.8.9
Monday, October 12, 2009
Playgrounds of Paris - Part VI
Jardin des Plantes
Next to the Zoo
5th Arr.
5th Arr.
This is a cute little playground just outside the Zoo at the Jardin des Plantes. It's backed by a cafe, which is convenient. There are several elementary schools in the area, and so the 
playground empties and fills in shifts. It's worth noting that throughout our playground tour, the older kids were almost always extremely kind and careful around the young chai walla. When he wobbled into their field of play, some little girl would invariably make a point of saying, "Watch out for the petite." and throw a guiding arm around his shoulder and lead him to some safe spot a few feet away. Boys did this too, though not as often.
The Jardin des Plantes area could easily consume an entire day. There's a modern natural history museum, a botanical garden, a zoo, another park, and a block away, the Paris Mosque.
playground empties and fills in shifts. It's worth noting that throughout our playground tour, the older kids were almost always extremely kind and careful around the young chai walla. When he wobbled into their field of play, some little girl would invariably make a point of saying, "Watch out for the petite." and throw a guiding arm around his shoulder and lead him to some safe spot a few feet away. Boys did this too, though not as often.The Jardin des Plantes area could easily consume an entire day. There's a modern natural history museum, a botanical garden, a zoo, another park, and a block away, the Paris Mosque.
Playgrounds of Paris - Part V
Jardin des Abesseses
18th Arr.
Down the road from the finiculare. A narrow, rectangular garden with ivied walls on two sides. Very quaint. Private, too.
Benches along the two paths. Most kids more interested in running through the plants than working the wooden train engine setup in the small, soft-top play area.
Just outside the gate is a small carousel with day-glo painted Harley trikes, helicopters and hippie vans.
Friday, October 9, 2009
La Piscine Suzanne Berlioux
Our visit last time to La Piscine Josephine Baker went so, ehh, swimmingly, I thought we'd try it again. This time we chose La Piscine Suzanne Berlioux, named after a former coach of the French women's Olympic swimming team.
La Piscine Suzanne Berlioux is located in Les Halles, in the underground shopping center near the cineplex. The pool is an olympic size 8 laner with 5 lanes dedicated to serious lap swimming and 3 lanes given to recreational use; the pool complex is massive, with super high, scallop-arched cielings and a rather curious crescent shaped patio/lounge area trying to serve as a tropical jungle simulacrum.
Having already run afoul of the Speedo police, I was sure to check ahead to find out whether the Birdwells I'd brought along would be suitable.
I was informed that indeed they would not be suitable, which meant a stop off at Decathalon sporting goods for a cheap pair of Daniel Craigs. Ego, gut and adequate sense of shame prevent me from showing a pic of myself in my new boxer Speedos. The term "muffin top" pretty much nails it, though.
Sadly, the water was a bit chilly for Nik's taste. He preferred to hang out by the ladder and play around with styrofoam kickboards.
La Piscine Suzanne Berlioux is located in Les Halles, in the underground shopping center near the cineplex. The pool is an olympic size 8 laner with 5 lanes dedicated to serious lap swimming and 3 lanes given to recreational use; the pool complex is massive, with super high, scallop-arched cielings and a rather curious crescent shaped patio/lounge area trying to serve as a tropical jungle simulacrum.
Having already run afoul of the Speedo police, I was sure to check ahead to find out whether the Birdwells I'd brought along would be suitable.
I was informed that indeed they would not be suitable, which meant a stop off at Decathalon sporting goods for a cheap pair of Daniel Craigs. Ego, gut and adequate sense of shame prevent me from showing a pic of myself in my new boxer Speedos. The term "muffin top" pretty much nails it, though.
Sadly, the water was a bit chilly for Nik's taste. He preferred to hang out by the ladder and play around with styrofoam kickboards.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Playgrounds of Paris - Part IV
Montmartre
Base of Finiculare
18th Arr.
Beautiful double-decker merry-go-round. Small, non-enclosed playground off the base of the basilica tram. A play house and two ladders. Mix of local locals, neighborhood locals, and tourists comme nous.
18th Arr.
Beautiful double-decker merry-go-round. Small, non-enclosed playground off the base of the basilica tram. A play house and two ladders. Mix of local locals, neighborhood locals, and tourists comme nous.Very pigeon-y.
Civil Servants to Avoid
Listen, if you ever travel to France, stay away from this guy.
Nik and I were out at La Villette the other day and we came upon the Argonaut exhibit, a french Cold War era submarine. We wanted to check it out, but our friend here seemed uniquely invested in wrenching our plans. Couldn't quite figure out what the problem was at first, but boy did he wax large with the bullshit non-accomodational pretexts.
First, it is too tight inside. Also, the baby is not tall enough (huh?). And what's more, you need a special ticket for entry. This last piece was true enough, but there was a self-operated billet machine standing directly in front of us. Same machine I'd used an hour earlier to buy Nik's entry to La Cite Des Enfants indoor playground. So I said I'd purchase our ticket right here, no problem.
"Ah, but your card is no good at this particular machine. It has not the special 'Bancard Francaise' chip in it."
That was creative, I must admit. Perhaps he didn't feel like keeping an eye on our poucette, le Maclaren Spitfire. Or perhaps the real reason he didn't let us in is, well, because he's a dick. A monumental dick, at that- a French civil servant dick. In fact, he probably grew up in Dickbourg sur Seine, and attended L'ecole Pour Tout
Petites Dicks. Maybe even received a scholarship to L'Universite du Dicks Redoutables.
And then he scored this gig. Which puts him in front of thousands of curiosity seekers every week; so many opportunities to say, "NON!"
Dick.
Yeah, we went back to the main office and bought our tickets there.
And we saw the Argonaut, too. It's a submarine. It was ok.
But the guy at the door's a friggin' dick.
Nik and I were out at La Villette the other day and we came upon the Argonaut exhibit, a french Cold War era submarine. We wanted to check it out, but our friend here seemed uniquely invested in wrenching our plans. Couldn't quite figure out what the problem was at first, but boy did he wax large with the bullshit non-accomodational pretexts.
First, it is too tight inside. Also, the baby is not tall enough (huh?). And what's more, you need a special ticket for entry. This last piece was true enough, but there was a self-operated billet machine standing directly in front of us. Same machine I'd used an hour earlier to buy Nik's entry to La Cite Des Enfants indoor playground. So I said I'd purchase our ticket right here, no problem.
"Ah, but your card is no good at this particular machine. It has not the special 'Bancard Francaise' chip in it."
That was creative, I must admit. Perhaps he didn't feel like keeping an eye on our poucette, le Maclaren Spitfire. Or perhaps the real reason he didn't let us in is, well, because he's a dick. A monumental dick, at that- a French civil servant dick. In fact, he probably grew up in Dickbourg sur Seine, and attended L'ecole Pour Tout
Petites Dicks. Maybe even received a scholarship to L'Universite du Dicks Redoutables.And then he scored this gig. Which puts him in front of thousands of curiosity seekers every week; so many opportunities to say, "NON!"
Dick.
Yeah, we went back to the main office and bought our tickets there.
And we saw the Argonaut, too. It's a submarine. It was ok.
But the guy at the door's a friggin' dick.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Playgrounds of Paris - Part III
Cite des Enfants
Parc de La Villette
19th Arr.
"Nothing hurts like having to sit still!"
That is what the dear boy screams. He screams it through tears on a morning of driving rain. Thankfully, on such a morning in Paris, France, there are several decent alternatives. One of them is La Villette, a post-modern educational/cultural complex with a killer science museum & library, a concert hall, and acres upon acres of outdoor space. I'd been here many years ago to check out a movie en plein aire. I had no idea how vast it is.
Where to begin? Well, the main building dedicated to Science & Industry is about 2/3rds the size
of the Javits center. Its six stories offer a massive library, a few cinemas, several permanent 
natural world-related exhibits, several temporary exhibits (like an anti-gravity chamber), and two indoor playgrounds- Cite Des Enfants I for 2-5 year olds; and Cite Des Enfants II for 5 and up.
The playgrounds work on a reservation system. 15 slots at 90 minute intervals. 6 euros. We arrived at 11:30am on a very slow Tuesday and purchased next available time - 2:30pm. We burned an hour inside the library- kids' section on the first floor towards the back. We burned another hour making our way across the
Brazil-like cityscape, past the reflective Geode and over to the exhibit featuring the Argonaut, a French cold war era submarine.
Sadly, our Cite des Enfants playground reservation coincided with the young chai walla's nap time. Happily, the sun came out just as he fell asleep, and pops got a chance to stroll the grounds, making his way in the direction of a thunderous bass & drum to-do booming out from some location on the other side of the Ourcq canal. I needed to know why that sound in the middle of the day. Our approach took some time, and required a bridge crossing and two elevator rides. But finally the mystery was solved as we came
upon the gigantic Zenith theatre where, wtf?, an MTV concert taping was taking place. Look closely and you'll see two groupies trying to get a glimpse of the action inside.
Whatevs.
We turned in the opposite direction, strolled down a narrow lane or two and came upon a bamboo forest.
La Villette is amazing!
Bamboo. Big fan.
My theory: all one ever needs in order to survive is water, duct tape, and bamboo. I love to see bamboo in a non-tropical environment, like in France or outside of Quakertown, Pa. Bamboo is a pure good. And to know that it thrives pretty much everywhere minus the poles is to be satisfied that the uber design is a righteous design. That is, if there is an uber design.
Anyway, Nick woke up in time to enjoy a stroller tour of Cite La Musique where, beginning next week, a Miles Davis retrospective will be taking place. The French do dig their jazz. Then it was off to the 18th for some merry-go-rounding.
19th Arr.
"Nothing hurts like having to sit still!"
That is what the dear boy screams. He screams it through tears on a morning of driving rain. Thankfully, on such a morning in Paris, France, there are several decent alternatives. One of them is La Villette, a post-modern educational/cultural complex with a killer science museum & library, a concert hall, and acres upon acres of outdoor space. I'd been here many years ago to check out a movie en plein aire. I had no idea how vast it is.
Where to begin? Well, the main building dedicated to Science & Industry is about 2/3rds the size
of the Javits center. Its six stories offer a massive library, a few cinemas, several permanent 
natural world-related exhibits, several temporary exhibits (like an anti-gravity chamber), and two indoor playgrounds- Cite Des Enfants I for 2-5 year olds; and Cite Des Enfants II for 5 and up.The playgrounds work on a reservation system. 15 slots at 90 minute intervals. 6 euros. We arrived at 11:30am on a very slow Tuesday and purchased next available time - 2:30pm. We burned an hour inside the library- kids' section on the first floor towards the back. We burned another hour making our way across the
Brazil-like cityscape, past the reflective Geode and over to the exhibit featuring the Argonaut, a French cold war era submarine.Sadly, our Cite des Enfants playground reservation coincided with the young chai walla's nap time. Happily, the sun came out just as he fell asleep, and pops got a chance to stroll the grounds, making his way in the direction of a thunderous bass & drum to-do booming out from some location on the other side of the Ourcq canal. I needed to know why that sound in the middle of the day. Our approach took some time, and required a bridge crossing and two elevator rides. But finally the mystery was solved as we came
upon the gigantic Zenith theatre where, wtf?, an MTV concert taping was taking place. Look closely and you'll see two groupies trying to get a glimpse of the action inside.Whatevs.
We turned in the opposite direction, strolled down a narrow lane or two and came upon a bamboo forest.
La Villette is amazing!
Bamboo. Big fan.
My theory: all one ever needs in order to survive is water, duct tape, and bamboo. I love to see bamboo in a non-tropical environment, like in France or outside of Quakertown, Pa. Bamboo is a pure good. And to know that it thrives pretty much everywhere minus the poles is to be satisfied that the uber design is a righteous design. That is, if there is an uber design.
Anyway, Nick woke up in time to enjoy a stroller tour of Cite La Musique where, beginning next week, a Miles Davis retrospective will be taking place. The French do dig their jazz. Then it was off to the 18th for some merry-go-rounding.
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