A Perfect Paris Day

It’s nearly my last day in Paris so I am carefully choosing how to spend it. I stop by the neighborhood pattisserie to purchase provisions–une sandwiche avec jambon and Roquefort, pain aux raisins, and un botteille de l’eau.  Then a quick stop at Shakespeare and Company to pick up a copy of Julia Child’s My Life in France.  Next a walk to the Jardin du Luxembourg down Boulevard St. Michael.  At the garden I find a shady bench to have my picnic and read my new book.

My peaceful state is interrupted about an hour later when a mother with two children decide to join my on my bench, of the hundreds of EMPTY benches in the park. Soon the baby cries, the toddler whines and off I go to watch children at the fountain.

The Luxembourg Garden is a magical place for children. Here a vendor rents little wooden boats to float in the fountain.  The children retrieve them with a long wooden stick—no high tech controls here.

After the fountain I stop by to watch children ride the ponies.  The horses remind me of home in Wyoming.

On the walk back to the apartment I stop at Larduree, the famous macaron shop that has a store on the Left Bank,  I proceed down Boulevard St. Germain and listen to a fantastic Dixieland Jazz band playing on a street corner.  I was so enthusiastic when I put money in their hat that I nearly fell into the band.

Next I come to the intersection of Boul St. Germain and Boul Mich as it’s called and traffic is at a standstill.  It’s the rollerbladers of Paris once again, skating through Paris. NoLo E-hub and I love to rollerblade but this crowd skates FAST.  Oh my God, they fly through the streets—I’ll stick to the sidewalk thank you very much.

When I return to the apartment,  I’m happy that I’ve had such a full day.