Day 15 - Museé Carnavelet and Fête de Musique

On Tuesday we had an easy day.  The kids and I went to Place des Vosges to play in the park located in the Marais district and on the way to Jack's work.  It is a beautiful park with a fountain in the middle.  They had a playground and the kids were happy to share with the many school aged children.  It started to rain but one would never have know because the park is outlined with old trees manicured to make a canopy so we stayed dry while playing.  The buildings surrounding the four corners of the park used to be houses for the wealthy in the 17th century.  They are gorgeous.  Victor Hugo lived in one which is know a museum.  There are many art galleries, cafes and a hotel today.  A wonderful place to have a respite.  On our way home we went to Musee Carnavalet, Paris' history museum.  It is a great find.  The museum is 2 buildings, a home that belonged to a wealthy merchant by the name of Kernevenoy and the former site of Hotel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau.  This museum is dedicated to Paris' history and have artifacts dating back to the prehistoric times.  It was a great place for the kids and I to see after watching Midnight in Paris because there were paintings and rooms dedicated to the different periods shown in the movie.  Additionally, they have a model of what Paris looked liked when it was established to only the island that Notre Dame sits on.  It shows how there were houses on top of each other and the homes of the bridges.  We have heard about it several times but the kids couldn't visualize it until they saw it on the model.  There were paintings of the1889 World's Expedition in Paris which we are reading a book about.  Lastly there was an area dedicated to the Bastille, the prison cells, guillotine models and the Temple prison where Maria Antoinette was held prisoner.    It was very educational and worth another trip someday.  We meet Jack at home for dinner but couldn't resist taking a walk around the neighborhood because it was Fête de la Musique, a festival of music.  Music is played through the city on every street corner and cafe....a grand celebration.  Jack and I enjoyed hearing the different bands and sounds.  The kids found it loud and overstimulating.  Fortunately at first, but unfortunately after a few hours, we had "Stomp"-like band playing very close to the apartment which went from rhythmic to repetitive after the 20 thousand times hearing the same sound with drums.  But it ended early by Fête standards, like around 11 pm, and the kids fell asleep.