Observatoire de Paris

I had a glorious September day in 2011 to wander through Paris. The plan was to meet up with my cousin at the Rodin Museum in the early afternoon, so I decided to spend the morning walking around on the left bank. I started near Maubert-Mutualité in the 5th arrondissement, went by the Pantheon and then into the Luxembourg Gardens. As I crossed the gardens, I could see the dome of the Paris Observatory to the south.

The Arago dome on the Paris Observatory seen from inside the Luxembourg Gardens.

The observatory was established in the late 17th century. The dome was built in the mid 19th century to house the Arago telescope. While it was state of the art technology in its time, the telescope is mostly a historical curiosity today and is sometimes used for teaching purposes.

A Perrier with a slice of lemon really hit the spot that day.

After the gardens, I walked through the neighborhood where I went to school in 1981-82 (yesterday's post) and enjoyed the memories. The day proved to be very warm, so I stopped along the way for a refreshing Perrier and lemon at a café that Ken and I knew over in the 7th, not far from Invalides.