A giraffe goes to Paris

In 1827, the Pasha of Egypt gave the King of France a giraffe. Her name was Zarafa and she sailed from Alexandria, Egypt to Marseille, France in a special boat with a hole cut out for her neck. After wintering in Marseille, Zarafa “wearing sylish boots and a cape” walked 500 miles in four days to finally reach Paris.

My girls LOVE this story. I think it’s because the giraffe wore a special outfit – they ask me to describe it every time.

We went to the Zoo de la Barben on Saturday – can you guess what our favorite animal was?

To learn more about Zarafa (in French):

Une giraffe dans l’arbre by Anne Dardaud

“Une giraffe pour le roi” by Gabriel Dardaud

Children’s book (in English):

A giraffe goes to Paris by John Harris, illustrated by Jon Cannell