On a particularly rainy day on my trip to Paris I set out to visit somewhere unusual. Paris is most romanticized for it's lovely spring days and blossoming pink trees but if you ask me the city's beauty is really in the rain. The grey buildings with their slate blue tops and old world architecture set against the drama of the clouds give the city the ethereal feel of walking in a dream. The diffused light brings the flowers and greenery startlingly to life. You are wandering in a painting. The expectation of a mysterious stranger set to lead you on an adventure is not so unrealistic on these days.
The influence of the Victorian Era is evident everywhere in Paris. As one of the greatest times in modern history for the pursuit of research and art with Paris as one of the culture centers of the world it makes a good deal of sense. Many people associate the Victorian Era with strange death practices and stuffy clothing but in reality there have been few times in history that the advancement of science has ever been greater. Of course this was not without a price as the damage done to the environment by the Victorians was one that can never be undone. But if only they had known then what we know now- I suspect a good deal more care would've been taken to assure the legacy of the world. The planet and nature was something that was to be conquered and tamed. Not left the way it was to grow and evolve. It wrought a lot of destruction to land, oceans, humans and animals alike. But in their own way, they treasured the planet and all it had to offer. And a number one priority to many of them was to try to educate the population of the cities from which they hailed.
Many of them chose to do this by bringing back specimens from trips and voyages from the far reaches of the lands. They would keep them in different collections in their homes or smaller museums. Then in 1898 a group of people got together and built one of the most comprehensive collections of paleontology in the world as well as fossils and thus The Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy was born. One of 14 different museums and libraries put together by this society it stands out for it's absolutely unreal exhibits and collections. I visited a handful of these institutes as well but this particular one was just beyond comprehension. And truthfully besides knowing the things I could see here, I also wanted to visit the site where one of my favorite movies was filmed The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec
The main path in the gardens that leads to a dozen different museums. The large building you see is the Grand Gallery of Evolution. For another post. Here we turn left...and see this upon entering..
