Jardin du Luxembourg

My feet may be seriously injured, and I think my Achilles heel is bruised. I’m not sure how I’m going to get to class and work tomorrow! Let’s just hope my feet heel tonight. I have never walked so much in my entire life, and it doesn’t help that the majority of my shoes are new and require “breaking in.” I’m hoping that my feet will transform into one, rock-hard callous that can withstand absolutely anything and that will be immune to any sort of pain. Here’s to hoping!

On a very sunny, warm day, I hopped over to the Luxembourg garden, a very large green space complete with manicured lawns, overflowing lines of flowers, am impressive Baroque-style fountain, and shady areas with lots of benches. It reminded me of many Impressionist paintings of Parisians at leisure. Sunday Afternoon at the Grande Jatte and Luncheon on the Grass came to mind. I didn’t spend as much time here as I’d like, but I have 4 months to return.

I’ll be sad when winter comes and all the beautiful flowers go away!

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Montmartre & the Salvador Dalí Museum

Montmartre used to be a village on the outskirts of Paris, but as the city grew, this charming, hilly, cobble-stoned area was eventually integrated into Paris. “Back in the day,” so to speak, starving artists and bohemians frequented this area. At the base of the Montmartre hill lies the famous Moulin Rouge and Pigalle, the red light district of Paris.

Lucky for me, the metro line I live close to takes me directly to Montmartre! I surfaced from the metro at Abbesses (TAKE THE ELEVATOR UP – I made the mistake of using the stairs, and I think I hiked up about 10 floors-worth of stairs) and the first thing I saw was a vintage clothing store. I immediately went inside to see what they offered, and was extremely happy to see dresses priced at 10 euros and skirts at 5! I didn’t end up buying anything, but I will definitely return someday.

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Marché aux Fleurs

This is the second half of my Ile-de-la-Cité trip!

The Metro station Cité dropped me right on the edge of the flower market, and directly in front of St. Chapelle. I was pleasantly surprised by the flower market because I had forgotten about its existence, and because I love anything to do with flowers.

Not only were there flowers neatly arranged in rows and bunches, but also pots, lanterns, and garden accessories strewn about in the most charmingly chaotic way. I’ve heard that this area also becomes a bird market on certain days… I’ll definitely have to see what that’s all about. I mean, how many people can there possibly be who buy birds every week? In any case, here are the photos:

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