Parc Monceau

Last weekend we took the metro to Parc Monceau.  The weather was beautiful and the park was hopping.  This park was once owned by the Duke of Chartres.  He wanted his garden to be a "pays d'illusions" so he built something to represent lots of different countries.  There are pagodas, pyramids, roman ruins, etc.  During the Revolution, the duke lost his land and after much back and forth, the city of Paris bought it in 1860.  Monet and other artists painted here.  It is a lovely park.

Not bad for an entrance

The girls enjoyed scooting.  Lillian and I battled a few weeks ago about wearing helmets.  Rarely do you see anyone wearing a helmet on a bike and never on a scooter.  I insisted and there were tears.  While at Parc Monceau, Sylvia was run over by a big girl learning to rollerblade and I was grateful I had put my foot down.  Sylvia was fine.  The girl and her mother were both horrified and very apologetic.

Lots of lovely gardens and lots of people running loops.  Most French runners seem to head to the big parks to run.  During our park outings there are always lots of people running laps round and round.

This was our favorite statue

You can even play on the grass here.  In many Parisian parks, you must stay off of the grass.  It was a treat for our girls to be able to run and play in the grass.

Tree climber

Racer

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