Day 17 in Paris: Parc de la Villette and Dinner at L'Ardoise

My sight seeing options have dwindled down so I chose a photo in a guide book that looked interesting to visit: Parc de la Villette.

Unfortunately the only thing worth seeing was the Geode, which reminded me of the Cloud Gate in Chicago.

My trip to the park wasn't a total waste of time. These women doing synchronized disc Tai Chi entertained me...

...as well as this woman striking a pose.

After I strolled along Canal St. Martin and ate my lunch along the water.

Then I walked down Rue Montorgueil, a pedestrian street lined with cafes, pastry shops, fromageries and other specialty food stores.

My cousin was talking about rum cake the other day so I bought baba au rhum from Stohrer, a pastry store that is the original creator of modern baba au rhum. At first I thought rum cake was created by people in the Caribbean, but when I bit into the baba au rhum, the yeasty texture was nothing like the cake-like texture of the Caribbean rum cakes. I definitely prefer the Caribbean rum cakes.

I also got macarons in various flavors. Om nom nom nom!

Cathie and I went to dinner at L'Ardoise, a bistro close to the Jardin des Tuileries. I started with eel (the taste was like eel at Japanese restaurants) with some sort of fish on a bed of mango puree.

Cathie had ravioli with chanterelle in a creamy butter sauce.

For the entree I had cod with a vinegarette sauce with bacon waffles. While I enjoyed my meal, there were too many flavors going on in one plate.

Cathie had lamb.

We both had creme brulee served with strawberry sorbet and strawberries.