Did you know that the second oldest zoo in the world is in Paris, France. It is not a very big zoo (a Menagerie as Parisiens call it) but it was established in 1793 and it is still in existence today in the middle of Paris. We met up with some friends (the Atlan's) of ours whose kids are in both Zach and Emma's and Dania's class and are Parisians but have lived in Pittsburgh the last year and a half. It just so happens that they are spending the month of July in Paris and we were fortunate enough to get together with them at the zoo today. The kids had a great time and I think they were more interested in catching up and playing than they were in the procupines (which are really quite large), orangatangs, owls, yaks or any of the assorted repiles (big hairy spiders and really large insects and snakes). After spending as much time as possible with the Atlan's the kids after begging to have a sleep over, said their good-bye's.

We wondered over to the Ile St. Louis (one of two islands in the middle of the Seine River) for lunch and then dessert at the world renowned ice cream parlor, Berthillon. The second island, Ile de la Cite is the home of Notre Dame which was our intended destination, but as I have said in previous posts the best laid plans...the kids found a neat park behind Notre Dame and were much more interested in playing in the park than exploring Notre Dame and certainly it was better than climbing the 387 stairs to reach the top of the Cathedral. So we resorted to walking around Notre Dame and admiring it's beauty from the outside. Tomorrow it's off to an early tour of the Eiffel Tower. Au revoir!