The sharks of La Rochelle Aquarium

With the (grand)parents visiting, we're having another at home vacation. The farthest we've gone so far has been La Rochelle, where we went on a day-trip to visit the aquarium.



This aquarium is amazing -- it's huge with tons of tanks of fish on three levels (representing different ocean regions). It's also very educational, with lots of information on ocean life, ecosystems, habitats, etc.



However, if you've seen any of the advertising for this aquarium, you'll know that the big draw is the shark collection:



This is what we went for. I've talked about Nico's fondness for sharks when I was discussing the birds and the bees and the whales, and sharks have been a frequent theme for him at playtime and in stories he invents. So we knew he'd love to have the opportunity to see the sharks up close and personal.

Here's a picture of me and my two kids contemplating the sharks as they swim past us:



The shark tank is really impressive. The aquarium has a number of large tanks, but the shark tank is the largest -- it's three stories tall, and you can see in on three levels. And it's filled with a number of sharks that swim right next to the glass wall so you can see all of the detail, including their teeth. Nico loved it, and was ready to sit there and watch the sharks all day. (He and Leo named them Frankie, Lenny, and Don Lino...)



I was amazed and impressed too, but after about a half an hour of it, I was like "Um, this is starting to creep me out... Can we go look at something else?"