A walk in the park

Today is another public holiday so we have decided to take a trip to the Parc de la Villette which is the NE corner of inner Paris in the 19th Arrondissment. Not sure what to expect but we do know that the canal which originates just down the river from us flows through the centre of it. (apparently the canal was a major source of supplies for the city at one time). The park is built on the site of the old abattoirs established in 1867 by Napoleon III and was designed by Bernard Tschumi after consultation with Jacques Derrida.
First impression is of something massive built on a monumental Russian scale (but with more flair). The square is immense and dwarfs the beautiful central fountain while the Grande Halle appears to be an immense 1900's railway station but was in fact the original abbatoir building (one can imagine all the comings and goings here 100 years ago when the boucheries from the city came to stock up on supplies). On the left is the Paris Conservatoire of Music and Dance and a very modern walkway leading into the park. We pass an old building which is home for the Theatre Paris - Villette and discover a wonderful play area which has so many activities for children of all ages that is bound to wear them out by the time their parents take them home (what a great idea). I also noticed a rather unique way of parking bicycles. In the park proper there are paths wandering off in all directions, some through lightly wooded areas and others through or around more open space. The cover of the walkway raises up and becomes a bridge across the canal as well as running off in either direction above the paved pathway/cycleway along the canal. From here we get a better view of the park and of the people enjoying their holiday in beautiful green surroundings (although there are many green spaces around Paris this is the largest - 35 hectares - and allows people to put the city out of their minds for a while).
From our raised walkway we spy a large silver dome which, acording to our plan, is part of the Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie so decide to head in that direction. As we approach we realise that the building is much larger than we first thought and extends down at least three floors below the level of the park. The low visual impact on the surrounding environment keeps everything in the park in perspective. The immense dome is created from small triangular pieces of polished metal which reflects the surroundings.
A quick whip around the inside of the building reveals the immensity of the museum and, like every museum we have been to, it has a research library (bibliotheque) where people can study or just read the latest journals on the museum's oeuvre as well as a bookshop (librairie). One gets the impression that there is still a great emphasis on learning in France and both young and old can be seen all the time in these bibliotheques. We decide that we don't need to spend $30 to see the exhibits so head off back through the park taking a different route up through the woods, past a closed water slide and empty pool (obviously not warm enough yet) and come out onto another area where people are picnicing, practicing martial arts and rap dancing, playing ball and generally making the most of a sunny day after all the gloom and drizzle.
This has definitely been a great day and good to get away from the grind of the work and the hustle and bustle of the city. We will try to get back for one of the concerts that are on during June.