Jardin des Plantes .- the botanical gardens, yawnnn........
But not really. There are 2 must-sees in these gardens: Le Jardin Alpin and the Musée de la Minéralogie.
Le Jardin Alpin
Enter the gardens from Rue Geoffrey Saint Hilaire (free entrance), go straight ahead (remember to admire the all roses !)
Turn left at the end of the glasshouses, under a tunnel, follow the signs for Le Jardin Alpin. This garden is a haven of peace for the senses (which are on a constant overload in Paris). The garden is dug down in the ground so to give the effect of looking up mountain-sides and there are hundreds of different mountain flowers, stone-wall-plants and alpine trees (I%26#39;m not really that much into botanics, but that%26#39;s not the point here). This is sheer peace and relaxation.
Le Musée de la Minéralogie
Leaving the park (same place you entered) on your left hand is this museum of minerals and gemstones. I%26#39;m talking to my sisters-in-arms here who too love things that glitter !
Entrance fee 6 euros.
I always wanted to see it as I am a sucker for gemstones, crystalls, strange minerals a.s.o.
At first: mucho disappointing. At ground level there are some really giant crystals (and I mean giant: about ½-1 meters high) dug out in South America, but that%26#39;s about it. Well, there goes my 6 euros.....
But when you go down in the basement ! I tell you girls: WAUW !!!
I cannot remember the latin names of all the stones and crystals and what have you minerals, but it is virtually the first museum I have been to where I decided to see it ALL - and see it twice even.
The colours, the shine, the mystic forms that Earth can bring about in the middle of something that on the outside looks like a grey, dull not-interesting rock. But when you cleave it, it is like looking into a jewel box. They had an ametyst-rock about 1½ meters high, with
the beautiful purple ametysts inside.
I am going back to Paris in a month - this time with my sister-in-law who is a Paris-virgin - and I will definitely drag her to the Jardins des Plantes !
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Gitte - I LOVE gemstones, precious (of course!!!) as well as semi-precious. That museum sounds spectacular. I probably won%26#39;t have time for it this trip ( about 2 more weeks!) since it%26#39;ll be only my second trip to Paris, and I%26#39;ll be there just 4 1/2 days. But I%26#39;ll make a note of it.
It sounds like your trip was wonderful. You%26#39;re so lucky that you live in a country that%26#39;s close enough to Paris so that you can make frequent trips there.
Welcome back!!!
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When i was a child my dream was to cradle in the big giant amethysts...I have never dared to try though...
Have you visited the galerie de l%26#39;évolution? One of my favorite places!
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No, Raphy - I skipped the other exhibition, I am not really a museums-afficionado.
The whole place was swarming with yahooting, yeepee-kai-aying kids, as there was a theme exhibition going on about Dragons (facts and fiction-thing).........
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