More Paris

Not everything was playgrounds, although Ben might have liked that. We also visited the Tuileries, although the playground there was very poor, and after one walk around the grounds we went off to richer pastures (so Ben could use his new pail and shovel). Ben also enjoyed the Jardin des Plantes, where we took in a small playground and visited the zoo, where Ben was fascinated by the monkeys. The Parc de Bercy, within walking distance of our hotel and Grandma and Grandpa's, was also fun for a wander, a bit of playing in a playground, and a ride on a carousel. He also rode carousels at the Jardin des Plantes (varied rare animals) and the Eiffel tower. He finds them a little scary but quite fascinating, and we generally chose an animal that didn't move up and down. At the Eiffel Tower carousel, one mommy had a little dog who refused to wait with her friend and instead ran around with the turns of the carousel, hoping to jump up. The Jardin de Luxembourg was also fun beyond the playground. The fountain with boats was fun, as was playing ball on the bit of grass that people were allowed to use. We also picnicked there a couple of times. Ben, who is a connoisseur of rocks, also thought that the rocks at the Jardin de Luxembourg were of a very high quality and collected several to ride around in his cars at the hotel room and at Grandpa and Jan's.