Baby Steps! - Wednesday, 3 October

It's taking YEARS for them to rebuild the parks above the Les Halles transport/shopping center, but today I saw that a new playground was finally open.  It's cute but small.

Patronne de Paris and Some Other Patroness - Tuesday, 1 November

Sainte Geneviève is the Patron Saint of Paris (or, as it says on her statue, Patronne de Paris, 423-512). A peasant girl from Nanterre, she saved Paris from Attila the Hun. And she influenced subsequent marauders to show clemency. Impressive. She deserves a visit to her statues at Jardin du Luxembourg (at the top of the stairs on the east side of the big pond) and other locations (I just learned that there’s one on Pont de la Tournelle – next trip!).

the Patronne de Paris
and one of her big fans

Here’s her story (my summary from a Wikipedia article and other sources):

A peasant girl born in Nanterre, Geneviève became a nun at the age of 15 and moved to Paris to live with her godmother Lutetia upon the death of her parents. Later, the bishop of Paris appointed Geneviève to look after the welfare of the virgins dedicated to God, and by her instruction and example she led them to a high degree of sanctity. In 451 Attila and his Huns were sweeping over Gaul; and the inhabitants of Paris prepared to flee. Geneviève encouraged them to hope and trust in God; she urged them to do works of penance, and added that if they did so the town would be spared. Her exhortations prevailed; the citizens recovered their calm, and Attila's hordes miraculously turned off towards Orléans, leaving Paris untouched. When Childeric I besieged the city in 464 and conquered it, she acted as an intermediary between the city and its conqueror, collecting food and convincing Childeric to release his prisoners. Some years later Merowig (Mérovée) took Paris; during the siege Geneviève distinguished herself by her charity and self-sacrifice. Through her influence Merowig and his successors, Childeric and Clovis, displayed unwonted clemency towards the citizens. It was she, too, who first formed the plan of erecting a church in Paris in honour of Saints Peter and Paul. It was begun by Clovis at Mont-lès-Paris, shortly before his death in 511. Geneviève died the following year, and when the church was completed her body was interred within it.

Now, that's what I call a Patronne! Her feast day is January 3. She was a vegetarian and fasted all but a couple days a week, but let's not hold that against her, OK?

Here are some other photos I snapped at Jardin du Luxembourg today:

La fontaine Médicis

plantings at la fontaine Médicis

Le Palais du Luxembourg (le Sénat)

just two little boats on the big pond today

but plenty of waterbirds

Peace Amid Chaos – Jardin Anne-Frank – Tuesday, 3 May

Paris has so many hidden parks and gardens (in addition, of course, to the not-hidden-at-all destination gardens and parks!).  This is one I had seen on a map but never visited.

Jardin Anne-Frank is located in a high-traffic, hectic, noisy area (buses, cars, motorcycles, emergency vehicles, sirens, tourists) just across rue Rambuteau from the Centre Georges Pompidou.  Just head down a short passage-way right at the Rambuteau Métro station, and suddenly you’re in another world.  No crowds.  Only distant sounds.  Today the blooming trees were FULL of bees, the city workers were painting benches and watering flower beds, perennials were emerging, some junior high age boys were hanging out, a couple kids were on the playground equipment, I was just soaking it all in & catching some rays.  Sanity regained.

Peace amid chaos.  What a beautiful way to remember Anne Frank.

the entrance to the garden is just down this passageway; Pompidou is across the street

playground

over my head - you probably can't see it, but it was full of bees!

hanging out

A Stroll in the Jardin - Tuesday, 16 April

This afternoon I needed to run some errands in the Sevres-Babylone neighborhood (in and near the Bon Marche department and food stores).  Switching from bus 85 to bus 84 took me right past the Jardin du Luxembourg, and it was a lovely day and the park is so huge and well organized that it rarely feels cramped even if thousands of people are there.

So I decided to take a little stroll and, while I was at it, visit the statue of Sainte-Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, who saved Paris from Attila the Hun.   (In 451 Attila and his Huns were sweeping over Gaul, and the inhabitants of Paris prepared to flee. Genevieve encouraged them to hope and trust in God; she urged them to do works of penance, and added that if they did so the town would be spared. Her exhortations prevailed; the citizens recovered their calm, and Attila's hordes miraculously turned off towards Orléans, leaving Paris untouched.) 


The leaves on the trees in town responded enthusiastically to Sunday's warmth and sun, are now starting to unfurl.  Tulips and other bulbs are just starting to bloom, so although the garden doesn't yet display a riot of colors, the glorious freshness of hundreds of shades of green and the whites and pale pinks of flowering trees absolutely delight the eye.

I wish there was a way to record "a walk in the park" on a beautiful day to replay it on some future day when it is severely needed.  The warmth of the direct sun, the slight breeze, the clay paths under one's feet, the cool dappled shade under a canopy of green, the hoop edging on the grassy areas, the sculptures, people talking quietly, a mercifully small number of joggers bouncing past, people dragging two comfy metal chairs (one for their butt, one for their feet) to a good spot, pigeons pecking along the paths for crumbs of bread, classes of schoolkids chatting as they follow two-by-two behind their teacher, the splash of the fountains, unhurried haven from the mad rush of the boulevards.  Aaahhhhh...contentment.

Maps are Meant to be Used, Silly! - Thursday, 11 April

My legs were really irritated with my brain this afternoon.  They were so looking forward to taking me on a walking tour of the renovated historic greenhouses at Jardins des Plantes.  http://www.francetoday.com/articles/2012/06/14/the_jardin_des_plantes_flora.html

But rather than taking a few minutes to confirm exactly where the entrances to this gigantic garden were (it's been a few years), my brain thought it remembered an entrance on the northwest side and so it sent me to the Jussieu Metro.  And my silly brain was so sure that it was right that (even though it couldn't see the entrance in the distance from the Metro stop), rather than consulting my map more carefully for the exact location of the entrances, it sent me down the rue Jussieu hill and around the thick walls on the east side of the garden (that's where the zoo buildings are, duh, so of course there are solid walls!) and along the fences on the quai Saint-Bernard (how I could have used one of those doggies and the refreshments he carried!) before I got to the main entrance a LONG walk away (for me).  The hills and the sloping sidewalks weren't friendly to my knees, but I did finally reach the Jardin for a sit-down.  I pulled up an online map and discovered that the greenhouses were at the very far end from where I was sitting - another long walk away.  Huge sigh, and it wasn't a sigh of relief.

So I sat for a while, contemplating my folly and deciding what to do and enjoying bits of the garden in my general vicinity.  This garden and its zoo and its natural history museum (and its conservatory) really do deserve a good long visit, so I decided to go to a cafe close to the main entrance for a restorative Orangina and then jump in the Gare d'Austerlitz Metro entrance that was right there (yup, less than a block from the Jardin's main entrance) to go back to the apartment.  I'll tackle Jardin des Plantes another day.  Happily, I'm here for another week so there will be time.  But aren't you glad that you weren't trudging along with me today?

And remind me.  What again is it that I'm supposed to do with all of the detailed maps and websites at my disposal?!?

Palais-Royale Garden - Wednesday, 25 January

I hadn't hung out in the gardens on the back side of the Palais-Royale for several years, but since my path from the bus stop to E.Dehillerin (my favorite cookware store) and G.Detou (my favorite baking/confections shop) took me near it, I decided to swing in for a look!  It's very lovely, even in winter, formal, and highly structured, but it totally takes you out of the hustle and bustle of the city to just relax and commune with nature for a while. Or to stroll.  Or to have a cup of tea.  Or to shop if you have big bucks (e.g., Stella McCartney's boutique is on the left in this photo -->)!

Square Boucicaut - Saturday, 21 January

I just love all the small parks and squares that dot Paris - they make it such a livable place, almost no matter where you go.  Square Boucicaut is one of my faves!  It is a small triangular parcel of land with hugely varied flora, a playground and merry-go-round for the kiddies, nice walking paths, benches on which to relax, and slightly secluded little corners where you can get away from the crowd while still feeling completely safe.  It's right at the Sèvres-Babylone Métro stop, just next to Le Bon Marché department store (so very handy for talking a load off your feet if you've spent too much time shopping) and, thus, just a couple blocks from the apartment I'm using this trip!  See.  It's all about me!!!

Jardins du Luxembourg - Thursday, 12 November

I took a short stroll in Luxembourg Gardens this morning, and thought you might like to see some snapshots. This is an enormous (more than 60 acres) set of gardens in the heart of Paris, just on the south end of the Latin Quarter and very close to the Sorbonne. The large palace on the grounds was built for Marie de Médicis in 1620. It contains formal terraces, gravel paths, a giant pond (on which kids launch toy sailboats in the summer), a candy stand, a coffee shop, orchards with 300 varieties of apples, an apiary (that apparently gives beekeeping lessons), a bandstand, pony rides, chess tables, tennis courts, graceful sculptures, a merry-go-round, and thousands of benches and chairs in which to relax. Who says city living is confining?

I gotta say it was very thoughtful of them to plant a big bed of maroon and gold mums in honor of Duluth Denfeld High School to commemorate my visit!!!

Here’s a panorama of the pond and area closest to the palace. Ain’t technology grand?!? My new camera came with software that can automatically analyze and “knit together” a set of photos into a panorama.


And here’s the statue of Sainte Geneviève, patron saint of Paris. My guidebook says of her: “By the early fifth century, Roman rule had effectively collapsed in northern Gaul. In the ensuing chaos, the exemplary life of Ste-Geneviève – and the threat of war – helped confirm many converts in the new faith. As the legend goes, in 451 Attila the Hun and his army were approaching Paris. Its people prepared to flee, but Geneviève told them to stay, saying the Hun would spare their city so long as they repented of their sins and prayed with her. Miraculously, Attila moved off to the south. Geneviève was acclaimed savior of Paris.” What a woman! My kind of heroine!

Up North it Stays Light Longer! – Wednesday, 17 June

I took these photos, sans flash, of the park that sits on top of my metro station, La Tour-Maubourg, at about 9:30 tonight. It stays light pretty late up north here! (Paris is at 48 degrees N latitude; Minneapolis is way down south at 44 degrees N.)


I don’t know if you can see it, but at the left side of the garden there’s a border of lavender that’s just starting to flower! Here’s hoping that it gets real smelly before I leave town on Monday! (You should be able to click on any of the photos in this blog to get a larger view of it.)

Parks - Friday, 26 Sept.

One of my (very) many favorite things in Paris is the abundance of small parks and squares all over the place. Square du Temple is just a block from my apartment – its mature trees (a wide variety of species), small pond with waterfall, greenery (with a splash of floral color here and there) playground, giant sandbox, bandstand, lush lawn, and meandering paths offer babies, moms, school kids, office workers, old folks and tourists (!) a great place to hang out, read a book, chat with friends, relax, eat lunch, feed birds, make business deals, soak in the sunshine, play chess. So restorative! Hopefully no drug deals are going down – I didn’t see any, but then I didn’t look for any!