Autoworld

There is a very cool museum super close to the apartment in Parc du Cinquantenaire called Autoworld. We got there so quickly today that the girls kept wondering what was wrong; we barely had time to eat our nectarines along the way. The whole time we were there we kept saying how much my Dad, aka Grandpa Dave, would absolutely love it. And we three girls loved it too. So much so that we took 114 photos while there. We did want to get our money's worth, as we had to pay €2,50 (that's 2 euros 50 [cents is implied]) for the extra privilege of taking pictures. That was in addition to our entrance "tariff" and the kids were not free.

Anyway, I don't know how many people are quite as interested in the history of automobile production worldwide, with a focus on Europe, but as usual I wanted to share some of our photos and learnings from another non-art museum. I had hoped to see some art today too, but we are on a low-key cycle this week after the whirlwind of Paris. The rest of our afternoon was spent on lunch, writing, and playing.

First, very early transportation via buggy, pulled by either a horse, donkey or reindeer depending on the country. Next we noticed that some of the earlier cars had gas-lit headlights. I should mention there were hundreds of cars in this place. It was impressive.

I particularly enjoyed the various hood ornaments; this one is from an aircraft designer who dabbled in automotive design. Lucy noticed this was one of the first license plates. I also learned a lot from the placards about the impact of wartimes including materials and fuel shortages on car designs, and how for the first fifty to sixty years of production, often the chassis would be designed by someone besides the car manufacturer. There were luxury cars, sports cars, some racing vehicles (including a few three-wheelers), tiny early Minis and even campers.

No examples of the car my Dad is currently restoring, but we found this old Corvette we thought he'd like. And to the right I share with Erin to please show to my buddy Cayden: does this look like it might belong in "Cars" the movie?