The rain had stopped by the time we walked out but it was still very cold. The plan for the morning was to visit the Confluence Natural History Museum. As it didn't open till 11am we caught the bus over to Republic to take a walk. This has UNESCO World Heritage listing as a streetscape. We had seen parts of it in our travels but now walked the length. There is a very ornate building we couldn't identify, the Theatre and the Town Hall. We didn't take photos because it was very cold and we have lots of photos of buildings. We then walked the short distance across the Peninsular to the Saone River Landing for the Vaporretto or ferry as we know it. Our timing was very lucky because it was just starting to dock as we reached the bridge. It only runs down river hourly so if we had missed it we would have been using some other transport. It was an enclosed ferry thank goodness because the wind was bitter but the scenery was worthwhile. There are lots of retired river boats moored along the river banks used as houses, restaurants and offices which we are told are very expensive accommodation.
When we arrived at the last landing stage we found we still had quite a walk to the Confluence and the Museum entry but there is some exotic architechture in this new area and it was along the river so we took some photos as we went.
Unfortunately there was a half hour queue standing in the cold to just get into the building because it is school holidays. If it had not been so highly recommended I think Bob would have walked away. Once inside we found the shorter credit card queue for tickets and headed for the display rooms. The building itself is a bit like the Sydney Opera House in that it is a lot of building for a relatively small purpose dedicated space. Never the less it is architecturally interesting. The display rooms are dedicated to displaying the evolution of Earth's life forms and cultures. This has been achieved by thoughtful selection of facets rather than the whole overwhelming story. There was quite a representation of Australian animals including a Tasmanian Tiger and lots of Aboriginal Art detailing dreamtime stories. We spent an hour and a half taking it in and then squeezed ourselves into a small space in the cafe to have baguettes for a late lunch. Afterwards we went up to make use of the outside viewing platforms because the SUN was shining. From there we took the steps and walkway down through the building and decided not to visit the temporary exhibition. We took our first tram ride back to the area around the Gallery Lafayette shopping complex and scoped out the nearby train station that we leave from on Saturday. It was a short walk home from there and time for a rest.
In the evening we walked the streets around our apartment searching for a restaurant that was not Asian. French restaurants are all closed for the season or seem to only operate for the traditional hot midday meal. We have been told by our guides that the French are work shy and it is only immigrants who really put in the hours. We have decided to take the bus into the central square in future where there is a concentration of restaurants which stay open for tourists. Our walking guide pointed out a side street where the meals are not over the top expensive. We did eventually find a Bar/ Brasserie near the Station and had an edible meal.
No comments:
Post a Comment