Luxembourg Gardens

On the weekend I found my second home in Paris. At any given moment, from
this point on, I will probably be found here... lying in the sun, people watching,
reading, picnicing, or just being generally Parisian.

The Luxembourg Gardens were created in 1611 my Queen Marie de Medicis. She
had them built in order to have a place in Paris that reminded her of her home
and childhood in Florence.

Queen Marie

It was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday, the autumn leaves have just started to
turn orange, and there were people everywhere. There were the obvious tourists
with their cameras, there were people jogging trying desperatly to dodge the
crowds, there were people drinking and having picnics, there were kids playing
ball games and heaps of old people sitting in the provided chairs, reading a book.
There are ping pong tables, a place reserved for petanque, (see my previous post
for a detailed explaination of this amazing game) there were chess tables and
little shops to buy cute toys like kalaiedescopes, balls and frizbees.

Best of all, was the big lake in the center of the garden, and the kids that had

hired old fashioned  wooden sail boats for 3euros an hour. These cute little
angels, dressed in clothes more expensive than what I will ever own, had looks of
pure joy on their faces as they spent their time launching their boats from one
side of the lake, and waiting for them to sail to the other. I could have watched
this innocent fun for hours.

I love the fact that this garden was like a microcosm of Paris. Everyone here was
just doing their thing, but everyone was doing it together, and loving life. When
we first walked in, I was so overwhelmed that I actually teared up. I felt like
cheesy music would start at any moment, and suddenly I would star in my own,
"girl moves to Paris, girl falls in love with Paris, girl learns life lessons and takes
them home from Paris" type movie.

Lucky for me, Paris is 30% green space, so there are plenty more gardens to
explore and enjoy. Hopefully the sun sticks around some more so I don't freeze
in the process.