Wednesday 17 January - Jardin des Plantes

The weather forecast was for rain all day today so we decided to go the the Jardin des Plantes where there is at least a greenhouse where we can take cover.

However, although it was raining when I got up the sun was shining brightly in the Square des Batignolles.

My grandmother Foster always used to say "Rain before seven, fine by eleven" and this held today. With one short exception we had a clear blue sky with blustery winds.

At the Gare d'Austerlitz the staff were getting around using Segways which make a lot of sense in this sprawling station

 We admired the scroll work on the arch of the station where metro line five enters through the roof.

It was bright and sunny in the Jardn des Plantes which was well used by school kids and lunch time joggers. We have had a lot of rain recently and everything was very green.

We spent a great deal of time in the large greenhouses with their profusion of tropical plants and trees.

We decided to walk past the Sorbonne and cross the Seine into the Ile Saint Louis where a dark threatening cloud gave us a few drops. But it cleared up quickly and we walked on past the Bastille as far as the Place de la Republique from where we caught the metro back to Villiers.

We finished up having a pretty enjoyable "rainy" day.

This evening I watched on Canal+ Paris Saint Germain put Dijon to the sword 8-0.  Neymar scored 4 goals including a penlty.