The Jardin du Luxembourg (about 15 minutes west of me) is a hard act to follow, but I've been very impressed with the Jardin des Plantes (10-15 minutes east of me). Here are some more scenes from the "fancy" part of the gardens, with the first two looking on to the Grande Galerie de L'Evolution (part of the Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle).
Nearby are the greenhouses (Les Grandes Serres). Based on what I can see from the outside, these remind me of the greenhouses I have seen in Golden Gate Park. I will have to pay my six euro sometime and go inside. This detail photo shows the interesting purple tint of the glass:
Just past the greenhouses, Ellen and I encountered this "Bee Hotel" (not to be confused with the "Beat Hotel" on Rue Gît-le-Cœur). I saw a similar structure in the Jardin du Luxembourg today, though it seemed to be less exclusive; it was called simply "Maison des Insectes".
In the "educational area" of the park, I saw one of its possible residents at work:
Another museum associated with the gardens is the Galerie d'Anatomie Comparee et de Paleontologie. It has lots of skeletons and, to my understanding, a devoted following. Near the entrance is this statue of a man with a mastadon in his hand and -- a platypus?? -- on his head:
Also on the grounds is a tree (below), which, if memory serves, was recently discovered in Australia, and has been planted in different locations around the world for preservation. I'm a bit fuzzy on this, so I may have to go back and reread the plaque... and perhaps go inside and look at all the skeletons.
Ellen and I actually went into the lobby of this museum when we were visiting the garden, so I could use the restrooms -- In the lobby is a very large and dramatic sculpture of an orangutan strangling a human. (Yikes!) I did a little research and learned that the sculpture is by Emmanuel Frémiet-- who also created the statue of Jean d'Arc in the Glisan Avenue roundabout in Portland, Oregon!! (Incidentally, the sculpture post-dated Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" by about 50 years.)
I have visited another, smaller museum on the grounds, which had an exhibition of ornithological art (as I mentioned previously). (I caught it the day before it ended!)
The texts below are from, respectively, 1738 and 1557 !
This hummingbird text is from 1834, and it indicates that the female of this species had not yet been discovered-- by humans, that is. She was probably not overly concerned.
Nice illustrations of kestrels (?) and another great horned owl:
The following were done by Edward Lear (better known for limericks and "The Owl and the Pussycat") when he was only 20 years old. (Below the paintings is a stuffed toucan or one of his cousins.)
I really enjoyed this exhibit and definitely got my 3 euro(s) worth. So there are some bargains in Paris. (Like baguettes... but I believe their price is set by law.)
A bientot, et Bonne Fete du Muguet!
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