Earlier today, I walked up to Jardin du Luxembourg - a perfect, beautiful, peaceful place to take a casual stroll. According to Wikipedia (not the most reliable resource, but this looks right - I even saw some kids getting pony rides):
"The Jardin du Luxembourg (familiar nickname Luco) is a 224,500 m² public park and the largest in the city, located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. Luxembourg is the garden of the French Senate, which is itself housed in the Luxembourg Palace. These gardens include a large fenced-in playground that is very popular with local young children and their parents.
Adjacent to it is a puppet theatre and a merry-go-round. On occasion, pony rides are also available. In addition, free musical performances are presented in a gazebo on the grounds and there is an anonymous, inexpensive restaurant nearby, under the trees, with both indoor and outdoor seating from which many people enjoy the music over a glass of wine. The garden is famed for its calm atmosphere. On the little pond children play with miniature boats.
The garden contains various statues and sculptures. Surrounding the pond are a series of statues of former French queens. The École nationale supérieure des Mines de Paris and the Odéon theatre stand next to the Luxembourg Garden."
Afterward, I meandered around a bit - and did lots and lots of window shopping. The term for window shopping in french literally means "licking the windows" - unfortunately, I don't know what the term is in french - but I did hear that somewhere and it makes perfect sense. Each window - no matter what the shop sells - is a delicious display of delights (some are even delectable!) that encourages lots of lazy lingering (yeah, that's right - I'm getting my voice back...).
I stopped at a fantastic market on the way home to pick up some orange juice and some mousse to tame my crazy hair (I have a wicked mass of blonde frizzy craziness happening - big hair rules!). When I got back to my apartment, I made a sandwich and had a glass of orange juice - which, for some reason, tasted absolutely amazing.
It's like today I experienced a re-birth. I feel incredible - so happy and healthy and grateful to be able to have this experience. Everything looks good, smells good (except the urine under a bridge on the Seine where some homeless folks live) - it even feels good here!
Anyway, after lunch I got caught up on e-mails and was Skyping my wonderful husband when the sun finally came out! I ditched my hubby - sorry, honey! - so I could go outside for awhile. It's been days since I've seen the sun so I didn't want to miss it.
I walked down Rue de Seine (which does not run along the Seine) to Rue des Beaux Arts. It was at 13 Rue des Beaux Arts (a two-minute walk from my apartment) that Oscar Wilde died, at the age of 46, in 1900. I then took Rue Bonaparte to Quai de Conti (this does run along the Seine), but decided to duck down off the main road to walk directly along the river. This was probably not the wisest decision on my part.
This area is very nearly deserted, save three homeless people and two street musicians (I was definitely the only woman). This is also where I had to walk under the stinky bridge. It was long and dark and under each archway, there were mattresses, pots and pans and other 'household' items belonging to unseen inhabitants. I was all but begging to be mugged. Fortunately nothing happened except some mean-spirited hissing by one of the mattress owners. Lesson learned.
I finally came to some stairs that led me back up to street-level and to the Pont du Carrousel - which took me directly to Musee du Louvre. It's truly fantastical how massive this structure is. I walked around the pyramids - amongst hundreds of visiting students and tourists - through Cour Napoleon, through Cour Carree and over Pont des Arts toward the Institut de France where I found a tiny little entryway which, magically, took me directly back to my little street. I almost started to cry - isn't that funny?
After my first day of getting lost and feeling so incredibly out of place, to suddenly have this kind of luck? I don't want to jinx anything, but this is exactly the kind of day I imagined I'd have while I was planning this trip (except maybe the stinky bridge part).
-Shannon
PS - If you're interested in what's hip and hot in Paris:
Super-skinny, ridiculously tight jeans with ankle openings barely big enough to get your foot through (mostly for the younger girls and unless your parents are trees and you're a twig, forget about it.)
Everyone - even the men - wears a scarf
Knee-high boots - NO heel - pants/jeans tucked in
Over-sized handbags
Opaque tights - mostly black but I've also seen a few girls wearing bright, neon colors
Ballet flats
Chuck Taylor's (Converse) mostly on boys but on girls, too
Leather jackets - clean cut - not bomber-style
Black trenchcoats
Perfume! When the women walk by, they smell divine!
Yorkshire Terriers - I've seen many dogs, but not any one breed more than the Yorkie. In fact, one woman had three of them with her!
The men here dress beautifully - immaculately. I've not seen any dumpy-bottoms (except for one kid who was probably an American tourist).
"The Jardin du Luxembourg (familiar nickname Luco) is a 224,500 m² public park and the largest in the city, located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. Luxembourg is the garden of the French Senate, which is itself housed in the Luxembourg Palace. These gardens include a large fenced-in playground that is very popular with local young children and their parents.
Adjacent to it is a puppet theatre and a merry-go-round. On occasion, pony rides are also available. In addition, free musical performances are presented in a gazebo on the grounds and there is an anonymous, inexpensive restaurant nearby, under the trees, with both indoor and outdoor seating from which many people enjoy the music over a glass of wine. The garden is famed for its calm atmosphere. On the little pond children play with miniature boats.
The garden contains various statues and sculptures. Surrounding the pond are a series of statues of former French queens. The École nationale supérieure des Mines de Paris and the Odéon theatre stand next to the Luxembourg Garden."
Afterward, I meandered around a bit - and did lots and lots of window shopping. The term for window shopping in french literally means "licking the windows" - unfortunately, I don't know what the term is in french - but I did hear that somewhere and it makes perfect sense. Each window - no matter what the shop sells - is a delicious display of delights (some are even delectable!) that encourages lots of lazy lingering (yeah, that's right - I'm getting my voice back...).
I stopped at a fantastic market on the way home to pick up some orange juice and some mousse to tame my crazy hair (I have a wicked mass of blonde frizzy craziness happening - big hair rules!). When I got back to my apartment, I made a sandwich and had a glass of orange juice - which, for some reason, tasted absolutely amazing.
It's like today I experienced a re-birth. I feel incredible - so happy and healthy and grateful to be able to have this experience. Everything looks good, smells good (except the urine under a bridge on the Seine where some homeless folks live) - it even feels good here!
Anyway, after lunch I got caught up on e-mails and was Skyping my wonderful husband when the sun finally came out! I ditched my hubby - sorry, honey! - so I could go outside for awhile. It's been days since I've seen the sun so I didn't want to miss it.
I walked down Rue de Seine (which does not run along the Seine) to Rue des Beaux Arts. It was at 13 Rue des Beaux Arts (a two-minute walk from my apartment) that Oscar Wilde died, at the age of 46, in 1900. I then took Rue Bonaparte to Quai de Conti (this does run along the Seine), but decided to duck down off the main road to walk directly along the river. This was probably not the wisest decision on my part.
This area is very nearly deserted, save three homeless people and two street musicians (I was definitely the only woman). This is also where I had to walk under the stinky bridge. It was long and dark and under each archway, there were mattresses, pots and pans and other 'household' items belonging to unseen inhabitants. I was all but begging to be mugged. Fortunately nothing happened except some mean-spirited hissing by one of the mattress owners. Lesson learned.
I finally came to some stairs that led me back up to street-level and to the Pont du Carrousel - which took me directly to Musee du Louvre. It's truly fantastical how massive this structure is. I walked around the pyramids - amongst hundreds of visiting students and tourists - through Cour Napoleon, through Cour Carree and over Pont des Arts toward the Institut de France where I found a tiny little entryway which, magically, took me directly back to my little street. I almost started to cry - isn't that funny?
After my first day of getting lost and feeling so incredibly out of place, to suddenly have this kind of luck? I don't want to jinx anything, but this is exactly the kind of day I imagined I'd have while I was planning this trip (except maybe the stinky bridge part).
-Shannon
PS - If you're interested in what's hip and hot in Paris:
Super-skinny, ridiculously tight jeans with ankle openings barely big enough to get your foot through (mostly for the younger girls and unless your parents are trees and you're a twig, forget about it.)
Everyone - even the men - wears a scarf
Knee-high boots - NO heel - pants/jeans tucked in
Over-sized handbags
Opaque tights - mostly black but I've also seen a few girls wearing bright, neon colors
Ballet flats
Chuck Taylor's (Converse) mostly on boys but on girls, too
Leather jackets - clean cut - not bomber-style
Black trenchcoats
Perfume! When the women walk by, they smell divine!
Yorkshire Terriers - I've seen many dogs, but not any one breed more than the Yorkie. In fact, one woman had three of them with her!
The men here dress beautifully - immaculately. I've not seen any dumpy-bottoms (except for one kid who was probably an American tourist).
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